STARTUP BUSINESS OF THE YEAR: ASLAN BREWING COMPANY
Pursuing perfection in a brew
pushes Aslan into fast-forward growth By Mike McKenzie
T
hree autumns back, a foursome of fellas, good friends each to all (two of them brothers), quit their productive, full-time jobs to pursue a vision. Their website describes that vision as “in pursuit of the perfect beer….”
The founders centered their vision on craft beer with a twist unknown in any other microbrew32 | BUSINESSPULSE.COM
ery around: 100% USDA Certified Organic. So Frank Trosset, Pat Haynes, and Jack Lamb formed Aslan Brewing Company. First they found an old warehouse and set up some equipment, and gathered certifiable ingredients. They tinkered through several months and beaucoup batches – about 130 types – until hitting upon some formulae they thought their pub house patrons would drink, come back for more and, over time, draw widespread acclaim. About 18 months later, after long
hours of precise product development and build-out of their Forest Street location in the heart of downtown Bellingham, and with Boe Trossett joining the team, they opened for business at the first bloom of Spring 2014. And wow! From that humble small-staff beginning through 2015, Aslan Brewing roughly doubled its growth. With just 15-barrel capacity, the Aslan team produced 840 barrels of beer in the last 8 ½ months of 2014. During 2015 they produced 2,300 barrels.