EP-421 Kevin and Britt Templin of Templin Family Brewing

Brewing is famously a science and an art. There are loads of technical
aspects a skilled brewer should nail down to create something special, but
there’s also a point where you just have to give up some autonomy. Or, at
least accept it’s OK to play a little for some R&D. One of the most
important things people in American craft beer have learned in recent years
is how this also applies to their customers. A diverse menu that may expand
beyond just beer is becoming table stakes and creativity in what kind of
styles and flavor experiences you offer—in or outside of beer—can matter
more than ever. You can control your taplist, but you also have to be
flexible to what you hear and learn from people sitting at your bar.

In this episode, we explore this idea and what it means to grow a business
and expectations with Kevin and Britt Templin of Salt Lake City, Utah’s
Templin Family Brewing, also known simply as TF Brewing. Since opening in
2018, TF Brewing has become known for its lager program, including its
award-winning flagship, Granary kellerbier. The brewery has also earned
recognition at the World Beer Cup, where in 2024 it won gold medals for its
coconut-guava berliner weisse and Squirrel Juicy IPA. There are other
medals from the Great American Beer Festival and WBC, but that hasn’t
stopped Britt, Kevin, and their team from expanding their menu and
listening to what customers are telling them they’re interested in
drinking. The science of their beers has been stellar and the art of
refining what that means for drinkers continues to evolve.

You’ll hear us talk about what it takes to feel OK about making these
changes—which for TF Brewing has included a new wine program and successful
cocktail menu—along with what it means to be a growing brewery in 2024. The
value the Templins place on their staff and how those people help the
brewery succeed is high. By the time this conversation wraps, you’ll have
an understanding of how “family” isn’t just in the name of the business,
but how they want to make people feel. Even in that, there’s a science to
running a brewery that’s a business, but an art to creating a space that
promotes imagination, community, and closeness.