With July being Michigan Craft Beer Month, breweries across the state are being appreciated by bars and beer aficionados alike. The State News caught up with MSU alumnus and the founding partner of Short’s Brewing Company, Scott Newman-Bale. In his senior year, Newman-Bale founded Short’s with Joe Short, before he graduated from MSU in 2003 with a degree in general management. Now he is the CFO and vice president of the Bellaire, Mich.-based brewery.
Tell me a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in England. At 16, I started as a video game designer for Electronic Arts, but after I took a vacation out here, I met my wife, who lived in Lansing. So I went to (Michigan) State to stay in America. In my senior year, I started Short’s with my partner Joe Short and funded the company through a mortgage firm.
Where did you get the idea to first get into brewing?
I was more into the business side, so I’m more interested in the business aspect. It was really just an interesting thing at the time. My partner was so passionate about it; at the time, he convinced me it was a good idea.
What was it like to start a business while you were still in school?
It was kind of fun in that project mode. It almost didn’t seem quite real to me. I still think of it as a class project, and it just seemed natural. I actually worked at the Physical Plant at MSU, so I got a lot of advice and help from people who knew how to build things. It was really interesting. It was such a small brewery, it was like a small restaurant. It didn’t bloom into what it is today until about three or four years after we started it.
Why is craft brewing so important to Michigan?
We have over 100 breweries now in the state and growing our sales as an industry; sales are up 20 percent. All of that goes back into the Michigan economy, and Short’s is a Michigan-only brewery as well. We’re interpolated with a lot of industries in Michigan — tourism, agriculture, even our packaging comes from Michigan — and that is just a big stimulus to the local economy, not just in the brewing industry.
Is there much competition among Michigan craft brewers?
It is nowhere near any other industry. Everyone’s friendly and helpful to each other. There’s a brotherly competitiveness, and right now I’m actually emailing two other breweries who need commercial doors; we got a deal on them, so I’m helping them get theirs. (In) any other industry, you’d keep that to yourself, but in this industry, we all help each other.
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