5 Stupid Questions with F.X. Matt Brewing’s Fred Matt

, 5 Stupid Questions with F.X. Matt Brewing’s Fred Matt

If ever there were a craft brewer that deserved to be considered a true heritage brewery, Utica, New York’s F.X. Matt Brewing Company would be one of a very few. Nestled at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains, this family-owned business has been brewing beer since 1888. And in spite of that kind of history and presence, many in the craft beer community don’t realize that they are a powerhouse and were ranked as the 8th largest craft brewing company in the US based upon 2012 beer sales volume. Fred Matt is the President and COO of this impressive operation and he foolishly agreed to submit himself to our reckless questions.

F.X. Matt Brewing Company is one of the largest craft brewers in the country. And as its President, you could be talking with any number of “credible” journalists.Why in the world would you ever have agreed to be profiled by us? What were you thinking?

Excellent question, why am I? Nevertheless, here I am. But seriously, we really enjoy your site and we’re honored that you would take the time to talk to us. Especially since this is a big year for us – our 125th anniversary of brewing.

, 5 Stupid Questions with F.X. Matt Brewing’s Fred MattF.X. Matt Brewing Company is a family-owned business. You’ve been brewing your own beer for more than 125 years. Did you ever consider not being part of it? Or is this like in “The Godfather,” where once you’re part of the family, you can’t really leave?

Beer is our family’s legacy. With that said, my uncle and company chairman, Nick Matt and I were both several years into careers in very different industries before coming back to be a part of the brewery. Just because you have the same last name doesn’t make you a shoe-in to work here. Our policy is that while it is a family business, it is a business, first – you need to bring valuable experience to the table.

Branding and brewery identity play big in today’s craft beer industry. We’re pretty sure that many craft beer fans don’t connect F.X. Matt Brewing with a heritage craft beer brand like Saranac. Does this present problems for you? And if you had a chance to do this over, would you have set things up this way?

When you’re a 125-year-old company, you face a lot of challenges and you learn to win. The misconception is that because you’ve been around a long time, you’re old. Having said that, you’re not around 125 years unless you’re brewing beers your customers love. We have done that by continually brewing innovative, award-winning, and quality beers. We’re somewhat biased, but we’d say we make some of the best beers in the country. For those who don’t agree, they’re the ones who are missing out!

, 5 Stupid Questions with F.X. Matt Brewing’s Fred MattSaranac recently collaborated with fellow New York state brewers Brewery Ommegang and Brooklyn Brewery to create a special limited-edition beer for SAVOR 2013. What can you tell us about that experience and how did it feel to have your beer showcased on this kind of stage?

As you know, 35% of our business is contract production, and as far as we’re concerned, we’ve been collaborating with some of the best brewers and the most commercially successful brewers on the East Coast since the early 1980s. Having said that, brewing a special beer for SAVOR was a great honor and great fun to brew with our NY friends, Brooklyn and Ommegang.

F.X. Matt Brewing is celebrating its 125th anniversary and brewed something special to celebrate it. Tell us about Legacy IPA.

Legacy IPA is actually based off of an original 1914 IPA recipe from my great grandfather and company founder F.X. Matt. The stars must have aligned because we recently found this recipe just in time to celebrate our 125th anniversary. That original IPA recipe used the most innovative ingredients available at the time, and inspired us to pay homage to our history by recreating a modern variation. The new Legacy IPA blends historic, traditional, and innovative hops for a full-bodied flavor. As a thank you to our customers, we’ve added a pint of our Legacy IPA to specially marked 12-packs of Saranac Pale Ale, White IPA, and Trail Mix. In other words, we’re giving our customers a pint “on us” to celebrate our 125th anniversary.

Even cooler is the fact that we were brewing what has become known as “craft” beers in the early 1900s, so the way we look at it is, our success with Saranac is just us coming full circle. As the old saying goes, history repeats itself. Cheers to that!

Bonus Question:

Everyone has a “house beer” – a beer that’s their staple at home. What’s yours?

I’m kind of a multi-personality beer drinker. I tend to lean more toward our ales, but it really depends on how the “spirit moves me”… which is a pretty cryptic way of saying I love all of our beers.

 

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