Episode 8 - Ed Brown

On Episode 8 of the SwifTea Podcast, we're sitting down with Ed Brown, Third-generation owner of Missouri Eagle, the Anheuser-Busch wholesaler serving the Lake of the Ozarks and surrounding communities. From a family business that dates back to the end of Prohibition to managing one of the region's largest beverage distributors today, Ed shares what it takes to keep millions of beverages moving while navigating an industry that's changing faster than ever before.

Ed takes us behind the scenes of the beer business, explaining how Missouri Eagle has evolved over four generations, what it's like representing one of the world's biggest beverage brands, and how consumer tastes have shifted from traditional beer to craft brews, hard seltzers, ready-to-drink cocktails, non-alcoholic beverages, energy drinks, and even hemp-derived THC products. He also breaks down why bars are so important to the industry, how Missouri's alcohol laws compare to other states, and what really goes into keeping shelves stocked during the Lake's busiest weekends.

We also dive into some of the biggest stories impacting the beverage industry today, including the Bud Light controversy, the challenges of leading through national headlines that affect local businesses, and how distributors adapt when public opinion changes overnight. Ed shares fascinating stories about the iconic Bud Boat, classic Budweiser marketing campaigns, planning months in advance for the Fourth of July rush, and the logistics behind supplying one of the busiest lake destinations in the Midwest.

Filled with behind-the-scenes industry insights, business lessons, fascinating history, and plenty of laughs, this episode offers a rare look inside a family business that's helped shape the Lake of the Ozarks for generations. Whether you're interested in entrepreneurship, distribution, marketing, the beverage industry, or simply love learning the stories behind the businesses that keep the lake running, Episode 8 is one you won't want to miss.

🍺 Learn more about Missouri Eagle and drink responsibly this summer!

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Thinking about buying or selling at the Lake of the Ozarks? Reach out anytime!

🌊 Follow Swift & Co Realty for more unfiltered tea from the Lake of the Ozarks!

📍 Powered by Swift & Co Realty
 🌐 www.swiftandcorealty.com

Follow us on social:

😎 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swiftandcorealty/
 📸 Instagram: @swift_and_co_realty
🎥 TikTok: @SwifTeaReal

Thinking about buying or selling at the Lake of the Ozarks? Reach out anytime!

Transcript

Fourth Of July And Guest Intro

SPEAKER_03 0:15

All right, guys, we're back and you're listening to Swift T podcast. It is officially Fourth of July weekend, and nothing says the fourth without an ass cold but our next guest says help keep your coolers filled at the Lake of the Ozarks for decades.

SPEAKER_04 0:33

He's excited about a very special birthday. He represents a global brand here at the lake. And now that he's here, I'm sitting next to both of Brian Hills's bosses. Ladies and gentlemen. Ed Murray.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Boss one. Nice too.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

Thanks for getting that can open. That's stressing me out. Your boss one, by the way. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

All right, I'll take it.

SPEAKER_04 0:56

Good move. Good move. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:57

He actually would agree with that. I think he would.

unknown 0:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:00

So for people that don't know, you are in charge of the wholesaler here at the lake, Missouri Eagle. So where does that all start? Or kind of give us the backstory on the whole

Prohibition Roots To Fourth Generation

SPEAKER_04 1:10

Brown family?

SPEAKER_00 1:11

That's a long one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:13

There's no time limit on this, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:14

Paul Brown. He started in Oklahoma and moved up to Aurora, Missouri, where he was a habitasher clothing guy. But on the side, during prohibition, he ran liquor across the state. And everybody knew that. It was just part of the world they lived in. One day, Gussie Bush came down in his train, got off the train, walked up to him, said I introduced himself. Would you like to be in a legitimate beer business? And he said, Absolutely. Shook a hand, and that's it. Never signed a contract.

SPEAKER_03 1:52

That's how they did it then, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:55

And he so he ran it. We started he started in 1933. We went to Anheuser Busch in 1939. And we've been that ever since. So he was the first generation. My dad took over in 62 about the year I was born. Right when he got out of college. And then I came into the business in eighty well, I worked in eighty, eighty one, eighty two, but officially in eighty-five. So I think last year was forty-five years.

SPEAKER_03 2:29

Yeah. And did you now did you start when you f first started? What were you doing for the company at that point?

SPEAKER_00 2:35

During the summers during high school, I was sweeping floors.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:40

Sneaking beer. Yeah, yeah. Oh yeah. Actually, uh uh my first job was when we moved in 1970 from downtown Lebanon out to the interstate where we are now. And I was riding with one of the older guys and he had a cooler of beer, everybody did, yeah. At that time, in the truck. And I just looked at cooler and he said, You want to you want to taste it?

SPEAKER_01 3:01

I said, Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:02

So that was when I started actually my first sip was when I was a kid. It's been a tradition.

SPEAKER_03 3:08

That's what I I was trying to remember. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:12

And put it in the baby's mouth. And there it is.

SPEAKER_02 3:15

I feel like everybody remembers that like with your dad or grandpa or something the first time.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

I told the boys I did that. Did you do that to the boys?

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Oh yeah. That's fair enough.

SPEAKER_00 3:24

And I probably didn't tell Julie.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

Tell Julie.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Nah, we're in I'm in trouble. But yeah, he he once I took over, dad worked with me until uh he wouldn't quit. So he he passed two and a half years ago, and he was still thought he was in charge at the time. But that he wasn't. And then consequently, my both boys are are in the business now. And my oldest son's actually running the company. He uh a lot of people don't think he is, but I don't do anything but come down here and stock shelves, which is what I like doing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So they're they're both that's fourth generation, which is really pretty awesome.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:04

You don't hear that a lot in the in the industry.

SPEAKER_02 4:07

Right. Any industry, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:08

Any industry, yeah. They talk about it. But even the you go to a family business group council or something, they're saying, I that never happened.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

And it's so it's fun for the boys together. Oh, absolutely. I mean, people are getting bought out, people are uh you know, getting together, making these huge groups distributors and and they they'll you know they're they're strong. It's a competitive market.

SPEAKER_03 4:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

Especially down here, because everybody wants a piece of the pie. Yeah. You know, it used to be when I started you Bud Busch Michelobe. Now you got Miller Coors, all that, you got Constellation, you got all these uh FMBs, and it's it's incredible.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

Yeah. And and you guys, you know, not only distribute all of the Anheuser-Busch products, but you have a ton of other ones also. Like you're you're a beverage distribution company as well. So there's all kinds of brands.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Yep. About 15 years ago or 20 years ago, I think, I said, boys, we need to become a beverage wholesaler. And it never really took until recently, and and it uh it it exploded. Yeah. We have everything from the non-alcohol, not not like a cola or coke or diet coke type stuff, but we do have water, some energy drinks. Uh it's it's incredible. And now the NA beers, which are taking over. Yeah. That's a huge market.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

That's an interesting twist and like change from you know what he means.

SPEAKER_04 5:39

Oh, there's so much stuff. Well, I remember like when I started Barton when I was like 21, it was like if you're getting a beer, like, do you want a Bud Lyot or Miller Lyot? Or like a Coors Lady, like, oh, you must be from Colorado. And then it was like Boulevard kind of came along, and then there was a like, there's just too much stuff. Like some of those, like there's a place in Key West called World of Beers, and they're like, We have three, you know, 350 beers you can pick from. I'm like, that's too many. Like, I don't even want that. You know what I mean? Like, so it's like there's so much stuff. And then the seltzers drop in, and it's a whole like who knows what's gonna hit, and then it's just a marketing, it's madness.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

So I I think I've been there.

SPEAKER_04 6:13

World of beers?

SPEAKER_00 6:14

Yeah, because I they said the same thing, and I said, I'll take a Budweiser.

SPEAKER_04 6:17

Yeah, you know, I said, Yeah, I was like, Do you have Nickelab Ultra? And they're like, We have this, yeah. Yeah. We went to like a beer festival thing in in Denver, and it was like at a big convention center, and everyone walked around, took like little hits of beer, and they had like pretzel necklaces, and it was wild. But by the end of it, everyone was just farting. It was crazy because everyone's ripping like no, everyone's like ripping like half cups of draft beer the whole time, and then you're like, it was just like you're in like the basement of like a frat house. It was weird. You know what I was talking about? Yeah. Seriously, you know what I'm talking about. These guys are nices. You're not making this sound very obviously. No, seriously, am I wrong?

SPEAKER_00 6:51

Yeah, they dress up as teams, you know, be Waldos. Yeah, free Waldos, and they're in there, and and you you lose your cup, you're out of yeah, you're out of luck deal. You pay a lot to get in there. It's not cheap.

SPEAKER_04 7:02

No, and there's like big lines, and they're like, this is some strawberry shortcake, banana bread thing. They only made it for this conference. And then like there's a line of like diehard like beer fans, but I'm like, it's too much.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

It is too much.

SPEAKER_04 7:15

It's too much.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Is it like like the test market, would you say, for a lot of different things?

SPEAKER_00 7:20

It's an avenue. Well, they all get judged. So a lot of the brewers are there to try to get win the uh the little gold silver bronze medal, and it's big to them. And it r and it's there's so many people out there that like that type of beer, which is great. It's actually helped our business. A lot of people say, Oh, craft beer's killing you. It's not. You know, we've really had a little downturn in the past ten years and craft beer helped it revitalize away from wine and spirits. Now kids were drinking and they drink the shots and they drink the you know, some are drinking wine. Hard liquor. That hurt.

SPEAKER_02 7:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:59

But that's fine, it's cyclical, it'll come around.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

But it's yeah, trending again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:04

Now craft beer, they they got it the ball rolling again, but it also opened up to all of the all all the stuff like neutral, which now the craft beer is sort of reaching a little area where they won't go any higher. You won't you won't you won't ever see like a Boston beer that'll be a nationwide craft beer.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

Right.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

You just can't do it. But there'll be regional that are really good and they're great to taste. Yeah. I like going around tasting beers. Every once in a while, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:31

For sure.

SPEAKER_00 8:32

What I do.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

Open it.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

Yeah. Not that I don't drink every day. Oh.

SPEAKER_02 8:39

Not

Craft Beer Seltzers NA Beer Shift

SPEAKER_02 8:40

not any to the ends and why. Yeah. Well, it's America's hot. Like this week, it's America's week.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

So it's America's Week. You drink every day.

SPEAKER_04 8:47

So it's not, it's the 250th anniversary on the 4th of July. Yes. And then it's Budweiser's 150th anniversary, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:55

150. We we we were trying to get the the our sales team to promote the lake 250, 150, 95. This year's the 95th birthday of the Lake of the Ozarks. Oh.

SPEAKER_01 9:07

Actually, I didn't know that. That's cool. Thanks, Ed.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

Can we start promoting it now? We'll run with that. I feel like that's a very important point.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

I mean, I I figure I got five more years in me. I want to be back here for the hundredth. I hope the lake really promotes it because it should be really fun.

SPEAKER_01 9:26

We will promote that.

SPEAKER_02 9:30

So we're like, why are we missing this?

SPEAKER_03 9:32

We miss we missed that one.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

But hundred, like you said, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:35

So in five years, hundreds can be the name. You don't promote a ninety-five. That's a big deal, though. I mean, that's a long time. But yeah, I guess in the night. Right. We had to pick something in. Yeah. Everything in threes. There was actually a fourth one. I can't remember what that was. Oh, it was last year, was the uh 250th anniversary of the military.

unknown 9:53

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 9:54

Oh, that would have been properly. We have Fort Leonardwood promoted that pretty heavy.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

So so I I guess really you're kind of the Budman of the lake.

unknown 10:03

Right?

SPEAKER_03 10:03

I am. You are the I am the Bud Man.

SPEAKER_00 10:06

And that's very proud of that. You should be. As a wholesaler and as a bush wholesaler, you always consider yourself the Bud Man.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

In fact, I used to my license plate used to say Bud Man until it got to be a hassle with the cops. But Yeah. You know, yeah, there's a lot of guys. Every wholesaler calls herself the Budman.

SPEAKER_01 10:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

And you always want to be the Bud Man. Back in the 70s when my dad started getting into it, they were the Bud Man was original back then and he was and it we hit it hard. It was just a great marketing campaign. Yeah. So who like I guess because somebody came up with it just for another niche or to be fun with it or just to be fun and and and it was a it was actually marketing for out here in in like in the grocery stores and convenient there weren't convenience stores back then, but the liquor stores like trick of marketing to get somebody's attention. Budweiser was great, had a the best campaign was pick a pair, two pairs of six packs, and the Budman was there holding two pairs of six packs. And over the years, Budman came from being an a nerd looking type thing, which we were like, and it and then it went to a a more contemporary one. I hated the contemporary, bring back the old guy.

SPEAKER_03 11:24

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

And sure enough did and today the Budman costume that we wear in promotions and stuff looks like the old old school back. So he's uh withered the time.

SPEAKER_03 11:35

I'd say I think Swift is a really big fan of Bud Man.

SPEAKER_00 11:39

And didn't he he said something about maybe roughly Budman's family over there?

SPEAKER_03 11:44

Yeah. Oh so I think he uh Budman rules. He sure does.

SPEAKER_00 11:51

He's a Budman at heart.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

Definitely. His dad actually worked for Anheuser Busch. And so he's kind of like like you, you know, with your boys and your sons. I mean, he he was into that, and then I guess I don't know what happened, honestly. We should ask Jim, like, what the hell, man?

SPEAKER_00 12:10

He probably sleeps in there.

SPEAKER_03 12:12

Clara loves it. Being the Bud Man at the lake. You also have the Bud boat.

SPEAKER_00 12:17

We do have the Bud boat.

SPEAKER_03 12:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Bud boat's been around for a long time. For quite a while. I can't remember 17 years, I believe.

SPEAKER_03 12:25

Yeah, something like that. I love the Bud Man.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

And just had its first update.

SPEAKER_03 12:29

I know. It looks great.

SPEAKER_00 12:31

It's actually not done right now. I believe Captain is over there working on it as we speed. Yes. Get it ready for the weekend.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

Is that Captain Hills? Captain Hills. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:40

That's uh one of my favorite boats to ride on. Everyone's like Nikki's a go fast chick. Like she loves all the fast boats. Like, give me the bubble boat all day, some tunes, some gears, like the chill and a grilling.

SPEAKER_02 12:53

You fly by. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's always fun.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

I g I g I gotta I gotta give August credit. He really did a good boat. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:01

And they don't make blue waters anymore.

SPEAKER_00 13:05

So it's which makes it hard to get parts. Oh.

SPEAKER_03 13:08

Yeah. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 13:10

When they were thinking about the boat, like were they like, hey, we're gonna get a blue water, or were there other boats in consideration, or that was the one?

SPEAKER_00 13:18

That was the second blue water. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 13:22

70 feet, 72 with the swim platform. Okay. But that that's been also a really big thing around the lake. Like, how big is this boat? There's been debates on how big is it? How true big is it, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:34

So yeah, we take a lot of heat.

SPEAKER_03 13:37

Yeah. But Brian's a really respectable captain.

SPEAKER_00 13:41

A lot more respectable than some of the other boat divers I see at the end.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

Wakeboard boats make more wake with all the mounts and all that stuff.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Wakeboard boats make a bigger bigger wake per capita. Yep. Or per pound, I guess it is.

SPEAKER_04 13:52

Well, every time that's cruising around, you have all the the jet ski flippers going behind you the whole time. So it's like okay. These guys are insane. It's a circus they're going behind there. They're fun to watch. They are.

SPEAKER_03 14:02

It's a great boat, though. It is a great boat. And it's it's pretty iconic.

SPEAKER_04 14:05

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

He's like, needs to be set.

SPEAKER_00 14:11

Oh. I see all kinds of gray hairs out there.

SPEAKER_04 14:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:16

He just caught some gray hairs.

SPEAKER_04 14:17

We have a dock now, so we have to put something in it. So yeah. Yeah. I've caught like five fish though, so I got that going now.

SPEAKER_00 14:24

So that's better than me.

SPEAKER_04 14:25

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:26

I've only caught two.

SPEAKER_04 14:27

It took him a minute. I'm not sure.

SPEAKER_02 14:29

The whole silver so far? Or just in general?

SPEAKER_00 14:31

I I don't have anything in the water. I haven't really seasoned the dock with some crappie beds or anything.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Yeah. Except feed them beef jerky. You throw that on. Maybe throw that Budman costume in the water.

SPEAKER_04 14:44

It might attract them. I don't know. Yeah, yeah. You get the minnows from the top of the strip. That's been the secret sauce.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:51

So like when the energy drink stuff hit down here, it was like a whole race of like who's going to have the most energy drinks. And then I think you guys carried monster for a while. Was that just like a whole different like how does that change like delivering? Because it's like all of a sudden you didn't have a product and now you have like one of the most popular products you got to deliver. Like, how's that?

SPEAKER_00 15:09

That was our first foray into non-alcohol, and it happened to be Monster. They came to Anheuser Bush, wanted everybody to have it, so we all did. We had no idea what we're doing. But we did have problems because we delivered it on our beer trucks. Well, some places that don't carry beer carried monster. And they didn't want that beer truck in there, so we had to actually buy a monster truck to deliver that product. And that's, you know, energy drinks was uh quite an awakening for me because I, you know, I I'm a Coke man, true and true. And and the I had one and it's the only one I've ever had in my life. I couldn't take it.

SPEAKER_03 15:55

Never again.

SPEAKER_00 15:56

I will never put uh it it about put me over the year and the yeah was just stay away from the Pineapple Expresses for sure.

SPEAKER_02 16:06

Because that's like when all the bars started doing that, like a topsiders and shootout, then you were getting you know monsters or Red Bulls and everybody's drinking it and we got in after Red Bull, so Red Bull had always has the shots. But people are just out of their mind. You can just you just have out of body experience because you're like so.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

And we didn't know. I we we were out on the boat, I had uh all my kids on there and some other kids, and they were drinking three or four or five.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

Right.

SPEAKER_00 16:28

I had no idea that I was about to kill 'em.

SPEAKER_04 16:31

I don't think anybody We used to drink much of them at work and you'd be so tired from Barton, and you'd lay in bed and your heart it'd just be a liver.

SPEAKER_00 16:40

Yeah. But they've they've hung on and they've got better. Yeah. You know, some are uh when you you just have to read the milligrams and what's in there.

SPEAKER_04 16:49

I feel like

Bud Man Marketing And Bud Boat

SPEAKER_04 16:50

every six months one comes out and they're like, this is a healthy one. And they're like, and then six months later you're like, this one doesn't work.

SPEAKER_00 16:57

No, no. I don't know if there's anything really healthy with the 200 milligrams of caffeine going in at one point at one drink. Trevor Burrus, Jr.

SPEAKER_04 17:08

Speaking of milligrams, the uh like the weed seltzers and stuff that are out now, like to me, I'm not a very big weed guy, but I've drinking them and it's like like two or three milligrams cooked and I can't talk and I'm just like anxious and like stressed out. But some of those are like 10 milligrams, and I'm like, that goes from if you go to a bar and you drink four or five beers, you drink one beer and you just hide in a corner. Like I don't even know what those are for. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:31

Those are that's just di it it and the the thing about that is affects it affects everybody differently. For sure, for sure. You know, some people have a tolerance, some people that have tried it before, and it's not it's not really for the a a weed guy. Yeah, that's not made for them because it's not gonna do anything for them. I mean, when you're the difference between what we're selling with a three milligram or five or ten, I mean, pure weed and some of the strains they have now is just it's everything's crazy. Yeah. I mean, you'd be lucky to finish one joint. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

You're done. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:07

So this is more regulated. It's it's you you know what you're drinking. If you feel a little bad, just to stop. Yeah, just stop. You know, but once you intake the weed, nothing you can do because it's a few minutes before you're gonna be able to get it. Same thing with the gummies, you know. If you're taking, oh, I don't I didn't feel that. Well, take take another classic mistake.

SPEAKER_04 18:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:28

Next thing you know, you're you're in the corner. You're in the walls, you know. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. In the front row at a Sasquatch concert.

SPEAKER_04 18:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:40

But I love it. I think it's a great idea. It's good for you. We we it's healthy, it's a good pain reliever for people. And there's a lot of people that use it for that reason. Uh it's not really like you can abuse it like you could anything. Yeah. I hope it stays around. We got a big November deadline here. We'll see if the government allows us to keep it or not.

SPEAKER_02 19:04

That's a lot of probably paperwork.

SPEAKER_00 19:06

Oh, really? Are they saying they're just gonna nix it or right now as as it stands, it goes away in November. I didn't know that. Unless something changes. The state could man up and do something about it, but I don't think that's gonna happen. Come on, state. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:22

Interesting.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

So we're hoping they change their mind and and do something new. Yeah. Just say, hey, it's it's good and it's hemp. You know, it's not THC it is THC driven, but it's hemp, and then and hemp is a has a lot of uses in this world. And it's good to have around. And like I said, a lot of people can't smoke. Uh it's just too much for people. Yeah. And this is a way to you know, it's not habit forming or anything like that. It'll relax you, it'll make you feel better. And you know, for those of us who have chronic pain, sure is nice instead of having to take an opioid. For sure.

SPEAKER_02 20:00

So a whole other level of addiction for people.

SPEAKER_00 20:02

Yep. True.

SPEAKER_04 20:03

When you were like distributing stuff, is there anything because I'm sure being a wholesaler, you have all kinds of products that come in front of you and you guys are selling. Is there anything that came in front of you where you're like, this isn't gonna work, and then it turned out to be the next big thing, or anything that like really surprised you that like took off?

SPEAKER_00 20:20

We've we've been lucky that we haven't had we I think I can't remember what the brand is, but we did have one that we should have grabbed. And it wasn't because we didn't we turned it down, just somebody got to it first. So we really haven't turned one down that knocked our socks off, but yeah, but there's a bunch out there you wish you could get. Oh, for sure. And it's it i that what that's what keeps it fun though. Yeah. Because my uh son Bennett, my younger son, he handles all our new innovations and he gets calls daily for new brands and pi people pitching, I guess, thanks to him constantly. It's insane.

SPEAKER_03 20:59

I feel like I mean that's a big thing. Everyone wants to create their own.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

But his office, you can't see the floor because it's got all these samples.

SPEAKER_03 21:06

Yeah, oh my god. Tell him to bring it up here.

SPEAKER_00 21:13

Brandt's gonna run down and say free samples? Yeah, yeah. It's probably a good idea that we sample it first because some of them no.

SPEAKER_03 21:19

Not nothing.

SPEAKER_00 21:20

That's a big hard no.

SPEAKER_04 21:21

Yeah. So is it like is it different rules state by state? Because like I know like because a lot of people contact me and be like, hey, we just came out with the Seltzer, you know, do you you know the bar owners? And I'm like, well, that's not how this works. You have to go to wholesaler and then they have to go to the bar. Is it like that different state by state, or is it just like different regions or yeah, the good good thing about this country, the twenty first amendment, every state has their they can do whatever they want.

SPEAKER_00 21:46

And so every state is different. There is not one liquor law that's the same as another state. And and that's it's a good thing. Yeah. You know, a lot of states, you know, geographically speaking. speaking or or the you know what kind of population you have. You don't need a full it's just different. It's and it's fun to watch. But then again you're gonna lose too no matter what kind of rules you have. Missouri's pretty good. They could a lot of their rules are antiquated because they were all made in nineteen thirty three and now you have the state can you know that they they can look at a law and and interpret it different. That's the the only problem we have. We we we would we're trying to get them to say you know a you know apples to apples.

SPEAKER_01 22:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:37

Because every time you have a regime change they interpret it different. So we have to change rules. But you're right, if a new brand comes along they have to go through the state first before they come to us and get licensed. And that's a task. It's a hard a lot of these people don't think of that and they come to us and I say well show us your paperwork. Well it's nice of the at least it filters down so you don't have to be the bad guy a lot of safeguards you gotta have in this because we don't want anybody to get hurt or or and the state will run them through the ringer on on how what kind of product you have and if it has any bad stuff in it. As they should which because that's not our job. Right.

SPEAKER_04 23:15

Yeah there was a guy down here at the Casa de Loco winery and he'd cut some corners and the they were blowing up on shelves because he like lied about all the stuff so they would like sit there and explode in grocery stores like it was crazy. But he just made everything up but that's why you need to have the safeguards.

SPEAKER_02 23:33

We had that yeah it does blow up yeah well I gotta ask like speaking of that to blow up as far as obviously you've been you've doing this for a minute. So we like wrote out with NBEV coming in with Budweiser and all that. Yeah I'm sure you have stories about that but I have to ask about the whole Bud Light debacle like how was that to go through as far as with Mulvaney when it came out as far as during yeah so I mean I feel like everything's all back to normal now, right?

SPEAKER_00 24:02

It was that's interesting you would ask that.

SPEAKER_02 24:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

It was probably the lowest point of our history. And we were very close to being out of business. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

Because I I looked I tried to look up like facts, you know, to talk about it and it was just like the word B with billions is what it was. There was never like a set but it was and I didn't realize that it actually happened during March Madness. It was like a during the basketball and it went quick.

SPEAKER_00 24:31

It was uh it was like fire. Yeah it spread like wildfire.

SPEAKER_04 24:35

Well and also they like gave away those cans if they put people on cans it was like a bunch of different influencers

Energy Drinks And THC Drinks

SPEAKER_04 24:40

and then the media just ran with that one. Like they were that was going to be in every bar in the country. So it was like it was a little bit it was a whole like circus of stuff but like the marketing came back like Shane Gillis is like one of my favorite people and post Malone and I thought like they came back with some of the best stuff they came back with a vengeance of bringing it back.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

Unfortunately here you know we just we're not uh bringing it back like it would in around in around the uh country. Yeah I think there's two or three states and we're one of them that just it never came back and it probably never will.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

I was in Nashville this past weekend and there was I I saw a lot of I saw quite a bit of Bud Light it's still I mean you think about it Bud Light's still number three in the world.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Yeah I mean that it's still a s a viable brand it just took a hit and we got hit harder than most people but we survived and we'll be fine. It's it's just one of those things that happened they didn't pay attention to what was going on. They're on a roll they hired people and go go get these influencers because this is the way the world was going. Yeah. And they gave them eight they had little a six pack of cans made for each one. Yeah just the wrong thing to do.

SPEAKER_04 25:47

I didn't I forgot about that they did have different six pack for everybody after they had a bunch of ones but like it was like the like on the news they're acting like it was going to be like in every store or whatever. Sure.

SPEAKER_02 25:57

But well like in everything they just exaggerate you know it's like the bad the bad press always takes presents still a great beer.

SPEAKER_04 26:02

Oh still a great beer. But yeah the only people they're hurting is like the delivery drivers you guys like the people that I was like this such a weird thing to get mad at.

SPEAKER_02 26:09

Did anything else then did any did I guess since then if you don't circulate as much Budweiser gone up as far as sales Yeah what are kind of the rankings right now as well I feel like before you say anything I would say as being a Bud Light guy we actually have a a gang called the Ultra gang.

SPEAKER_04 26:26

It's me, Landry Hannon, Mike Wright and I feel like being a Bud Light mover I've gone to Ultra and now I I can't go back.

SPEAKER_03 26:33

I I still like Bud Lights but I really like Ultra pretty big ultra guy too we need to induct him into our gang.

SPEAKER_00 26:39

She's coming to the Ultra gang I've I've I loved Ultra because one of the reasons is is because we introduced it. Yeah this is the first market in the country to have Mick Ultra and good job eh. I mean it was an August baby and he's I want to take it down here and it exploded that people were just rolling in buying 10 cases putting a trunk taking it back to St. Louis that's my favorite the World Cup the Mick Ultra the MVP awards is Mick Ultra now that's the gym it was good ultra's on fire right now Bush Light is taking off like crazy.

SPEAKER_04 27:19

We did a deal that's off yeah bush latte we did a deal that started out as a joke because we had extra whipped cream for this party and uh it was a when I worked at Shady Gators and we started doing whipped cream and putting sprinkles on top and a cherry and it was just like we were messing with Sean Mayer because we would just give them to him when he ordered it and then we called them Bushlight Sundays and then like it was like two years where it just blew up where there was girls going around with shot trays of bushlight sundays and people just love they thought it was like so gimmick and there was t-shirts and stuff but no bushlights are great.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

So they are good.

SPEAKER_04 27:47

Yeah I really enjoy it so we we're really lucky at the lake to have the presence that we have where they introduce new brands, you know is it like when like there's a marketing budget to push new different products is it like you just kind of picking ponies or is it like hey we're gonna get behind this one this summer or is it just kind of changed or no th the Bury's going to tell us what they want to do.

SPEAKER_00 28:09

So we sort of listen to them and they'll we have to give them feedback and if the feedback's negative they're more they're more responsive now than they used to be. But the prior prior to MBEV the the response would be no, just sell it. Yeah. Do what I say. MBEV has has for all their faults has done really good job of of uh learning from us. It's been a a good team effort. And I really because that was a big change for everybody.

SPEAKER_03 28:42

Right.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

I was I was actually on a the wholesaler panel at the time and it was scary. I bet I didn't we didn't know what was going to happen. I couldn't understand them. They couldn't understand me because obviously I'm country bumpkin but but it was fun. Yeah and uh they they came in with an iron iron fist and but they've learned their they've learned their lesson. They're very tempted to listen to you and they'll they're they just want to sell beer.

SPEAKER_02 29:10

Yeah and that's that's a great attitude to have nice one I was going to say one of the coolest things that you guys have just done recently was during the Super Bowl for 26. You did the free bird and they had the eagle with the Clyde's tails and all that for that for to kind of kick off the 150th.

SPEAKER_00 29:27

Did you cry?

SPEAKER_02 29:28

I didn't I did I almost always cry on those fired out the beginning of this right to kind of kick off what this year the 150th like that was we had the the 150th party in St.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Louis for a lot of the wholesalers went and they had that eagle there. It was awesome. That's cool it was just really awesome. That bird is huge.

SPEAKER_03 29:49

Yeah whose bird is it?

SPEAKER_00 29:51

Oh yeah it's at there there's a company that uh it's a countrywide deal and they they that bird travels all over okay and that's all they do is they said that shot in that commercial because they like is it fake but like when it like comes up behind the cloud cell just like a killer shot so dumb.

SPEAKER_04 30:08

Yeah I love that shit.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

The cloud sales are so cool. Yeah they've been here at the lake you guys used they used to bring them in.

SPEAKER_00 30:14

Yeah we haven't we're trying to get them into the military base at Fort Wood and it's a struggle this time of year with the with the 150th we can't get them in and one one but uh problem we have is bringing them in we don't have anywhere to put them they really require Swift's got some extra bedrooms.

SPEAKER_04 30:32

Yeah they sit on there with Pledger somebody's got a scoop that's used I got a porter's kind of like a Clyde's tail yeah yeah it's it's hard to get them around down here because it's a little tight and the last thing we're gonna do is on a busy weekend tell everybody they can't go down on the strip or something.

SPEAKER_03 30:52

Yeah but they are cool. They are cool if we can get I would love to get them back here at some point for the hundredth in the the University of the Lake we can route this way after prohibition they sent up a case of Budweiser straight from the Bury in St.

SPEAKER_04 31:05

Louis to the president and like brought the clides cells up and delivered it like that's so gangster and awesome. Like that's so cool.

SPEAKER_00 31:12

We uh we'll be doing that we we take them at Fort Wood we'll have to go by a bar and get off and give them a case of beer and everybody does that so if they're ever in your market you do that you you you make a round if possible. Yeah you know we don't want to be going down highway 54 delivering beer down there but definitely not for Is there like a stud horse he knows he's the guy that's delivering the case of beer I wonder if there's like you know like when you have different dogs like they're better with people so is there like a certain horse Yeah. Oh they'll do that. Oh they know Oh yeah yeah because you don't want uh somebody with a little spirit in them because if you decide to go that's a big mouth it's gonna take someone with it when he does it so yeah the the the most the calmest horse we'll go and do that.

SPEAKER_03 32:00

That's cool.

SPEAKER_04 32:01

I'm uh I'm a big marketing guy I love all that stuff and so Budweiser commercials growing up was like some of my favorite stuff or like all the A B stuff but like do you have a favorite commercial like I used to love the was it the Buddry penguin the doobie doobie doo like that was of course I love all that stuff so much. I mean like Spud McKenzie like I almost wish they like kind of get silly with it again. Even the the WhatsApp fro all right the what's up guys but where the frogs the Budweiser frogs like I mean they have the what's up guys were good guys were good. Yeah that was that was a big one that changed the world in my opinion yeah it it made everybody the uh feel calm about being an idiot yeah yeah and yeah thank you commercial yeah but no it's I appreciate it I'm I'm the man again no it's wild to just like see a it's a commercial it's not a show it's a 30 second commercial and then everyone's walking down the street just being like what's that and it's just like wild like the cultural impact of that stuff like it was immense.

SPEAKER_03 32:54

Growing up I wanted I was always in like same I love marketing and advertising and I wanted to actually go into advertising and I was like man that was like one of my dreams I want to work for Anheuser Busch and you know be in there advertising and make those commercials because they're I love that stuff.

SPEAKER_04 33:08

Yeah my dad drove like a beer truck for Grady Go for 25 years and he'd get like if he didn't get hurt he got gift certificates to the store at the mall and then I get to go get like Budweiser shirts and stuff. I thought it was the coolest so yeah I'm like don't you get hurt man I need this shirt for school yeah I need this shirt for school you can't wear that there's but that's easier said than done because that's not an easy job. Oh yeah. That is the hardest yeah then in St. Louis it was like how they went it's like if you started there was like a certain number and then you went up to like number one and then if you'd been there the longest so then if you were number one in St. Louis as a delivery guy you just get to go to like the casino and they just pull everything out on pallets. And if you just started you'd have like a two-wheeler in like East St. Louis like going down a flight of steps and they just kind of work their way up.

SPEAKER_03 33:51

So interesting yeah yeah so you you probably have kind of been in almost every position. Brian said you did you were a driver delivery driver. You drove a truck for a while. Oh I mean but I'm sure you've probably done every single position.

SPEAKER_00 34:05

So ex except for some of the ones where you have to have brains like controller or that's what my son's for it. I don't know I don't know how how he got that but boy he's smart but like I I'm not the good uh money man

Alcohol Laws Licensing And Giveaways

SPEAKER_00 34:20

type deal.

SPEAKER_02 34:20

I'm just more the brawn right country boy stuff.

SPEAKER_00 34:23

Yeah I like I I do love it. I still go out and stock shelves on the weekend like I'll go tomorrow broadly and stock some shells.

SPEAKER_04 34:31

So like so down here, you know like beers are you know five, six, seven bucks and then you know you can sell a case of them at high V or whatever like so is like so there's on premise and off premise. So on premise is all the bars and stuff and that's where all your signage and everything is in off-premises the grocery stores. So do you like look at the on-premise more as like commercial to get someone to go buy stuff at high V or you guys constantly or is there like different focuses on that? Because you want to like you want someone to go have a beer at Shady Gator's and then go buy a case at High V, right? That's the game plan?

SPEAKER_00 35:03

Yeah that's that's one of the biggest things we've had since I started is uh we always my dad always believed that on premise was was for sampling purposes. There you go. You know you can't really afford to go buy a six pack of of a craft beer right now for fourteen, fifteen dollars but if you get one and say one at the bar go buy that then it's sampling that's and that's what it's always meant to be smart yeah now is it easy anymore? No because there's just too many they can't that cooler can only hold so many brands. So somebody's got to go before somebody comes in. So it it's it's changing.

SPEAKER_04 35:40

But uh we can you know we'll go in and sample whether they carry it or not you just want to go get something in people's you know take in the bartend stuff like there used to be these crazy industry parties they used to give everything away and you'd like go in and you'd leave and you'd have like a kayak and 12 hats and 20 t-shirts and it was the cr and being like a kid is the coolest like I said before the a new regime came in interpreted different and it was all over umbrellas at that time is what started it and so it screwed everybody had a new revision to they did have a revision that that we can do umbrellas to a certain point.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

But the the law actually if you read the law it says you can only give away matchbooks and church keys. 1933 you can get a church key which is what opened the can because there was no pull tab. It was just a solid church key open the tab. That's interesting. So they would give those away or a matchbook you know little trinkets but that's still the law and we're like that those don't exist. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:53

So you're just interpreting which is an umbrella the same as a matchbook could be Dale blue and you would just get dressed Dale he got he had a he had an in with somebody yeah so he got his from a different source which was gray that man could sell beer.

SPEAKER_04 37:13

Yep he drinks a lot of beer too yes he does and everything else I've seen beer like Dale walk up and just throw away Miller lights and so it's quite the quite the fuss. Yeah oh he would call people out on stage I mean he was brutal yeah yeah I saw him out of the bar the other day and he had a cool shirt on I go I like your shirt Dale and he goes you'll catch up to me one day motherfucker and just walk by I was like damn dude I was like Dale was abusing people before it was cool and he was like the original he's funny boy he's uh he's uh Nicky's husband Chuck's their uh best friends so yeah it's a lot of unusual smooches for lots of smooches I love that guy yeah Dale's a good man I hope he keeps going so like when you guys put together a game plan for the summer like in in our business like we're like okay winter let's catch our breath you know January let's gear up let's put a game plan together for the summer now we're now we're in it. You know me and Cassie were talking today like there's no fixing anything we're just holding on and going through it. Is that how you guys look at like a summer is it more a year round plan or is it like hey these are the new brands we're gonna push this is what's coming out or is there like any strategic like with the seasonality of the lake or yeah yeah the this the season we'll do trimesters.

SPEAKER_00 38:29

Okay and like next or this month we will we'll do our start planning for January football or not or Super Bowl. We've already done the planning for football be a college or an FL like the one also the major league baseball world series that's all done so we'll start and for Super Bowl and all the holidays after that actually St. Pat's right now. Now that's just with the brewery with marketing tools, you know display enhancers and what have you from the brewery our leg plan we have to get that in the minute we'll start the minute Labor Day's over. Really because we want to get together with all the bars say what and say we want this we want this menu we want this tap. We got this new brand coming out because if you don't do it somebody else will and then you know once you get deeper into the winter everybody leaves. You know you you can't find them anymore. So they want to do the planning too I don't blame them so they can take a couple of months off because they work so hard during this time of year. Yeah. So yeah it's w if we don't have our plan done probably before or Thanksgiving we're we're screwed looking way ahead. Yeah you really have to be on top of the game. That's interesting and that's what the brewery works with us on that too. Yeah so but it's that's the hardest part is planning for next year. Because you gotta know who's building on, who's new. You know are you changing strategy or is you changing menu or we gotta know.

SPEAKER_04 40:11

The one thing like the in St. Louis too like there's like you know Gray Eagle and stuff like that but the the lake, you know, when you say Budweiser Anhazer Busch it's not just you guys you have the Sedelia wholesaler too that gets like the top half of the lake right so you have like two that are because I remember when coconuts like started Jeremy Hall and them were like like uh talking about like well why isn't Brian coming up here and he's like well it's not our account. And it's like wait yeah it is it's the lake and it's like no not really you know like so a lot of people don't know that it's different county.

SPEAKER_00 40:39

You know once you get Morgan County that's not ours.

SPEAKER_04 40:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

But I think you know we'll we'll help them out if they ever ask up there. That's some pretty good pretty good accounts up there.

SPEAKER_03 40:50

So everything's growing the lake keeps growing you know when we are late actually gets smaller.

SPEAKER_00 40:57

Yeah because everybody gets smaller everybody knows where everything is so it's not like I'm not going up there.

SPEAKER_04 41:03

We lucked out and got to write around on Randy Sism's big dog MTI the other day and it's just so fast and so smooth and it's I couldn't imagine moving that around the lake like hey do you want to go to dinner? It's 30 miles an hour like away we'll be there in two minutes. Like it's just like that makes the lake so small.

SPEAKER_00 41:18

So it that's a good point because normally I'm like oh we'll be there in an hour.

SPEAKER_04 41:24

Yeah. Well even like coconuts when we were at lazy's I remember when Jeremy and like Jody and Boogie B were all up there. I remember thinking like when they open I go who's gonna go all the way up here? That's crazy. And we're at lazy's and then cut to like a year and a half later we started getting a little slower and I'm like are they kicking our ass? Shit. You know what I mean? Because like I didn't think everyone would go all the way up the grand boys arm and then they had it cooking for a while. So yeah. But no everyone's spread around and now I feel like instead of you know we talked to Derek Shoop who used to work at shooters here a little earlier and

Bud Light Backlash Ultra And Busch Light

SPEAKER_04 41:55

it was like it was just like hey these are the two places or you know everyone would just if you wanted to see everybody be like oh everyone's gonna be a top starter at Friday night now it's like everyone's kind of everywhere. Oh yeah it's gotta be hard to like pinpoint stuff to like go after or parties to try and promote or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 42:10

So those are the easy days. Yeah like in the late eighties nineties when all I had to worry about was topsider and shooter. You knew everyone was going to be there yeah large and horny toed horny toe was different then but that was a good old days. Now we got hundreds.

SPEAKER_04 42:26

Oh yeah lots of okay with scorpion shots.

SPEAKER_02 42:32

The guy did it you have to eat seven or eight scorpions or hot dogs?

SPEAKER_04 42:36

Hot dogs you have to eat all the gourmet hot dogs I had two hot dogs I was devastated I think it's like you had to eat the bread too like Kobeashi Kobeashi is the fourth of July that's coming up Joey Justin's the man now. Yeah for over under on seventy seven what's the record you know seventy seven anything's a lot I think seventy seven is the record that's go over yeah I I went under because I figure he's just a year older he's down digest he can go downhill don't tell him that he'll get fired up and crush a couple more dogs a lot yeah I think Hannah had 60 for lunch so she's almost there she loves my dogs I could barely get one yeah I'm done what are the Bud boat updates did you new flooring or what's the Yeah they did a whole whole deal.

SPEAKER_00 43:32

Um yeah there's all new flooring up top and inside yeah new countertops new like new lights we put well new light bulbs we took all those yeah we had a little problem with the old incandescent lights are hot and people when you hit a wave they go up there well you burn your hand. Yeah yeah so we went with LEDs a lot cooler and did some new bedding and new bedding just so interior

SPEAKER_03 44:00

stuff. But yeah. I mean honestly, they've kept that boat looking great for how old it is.

SPEAKER_00 44:05

Oh yeah. You wouldn't have great so much fun on the boat. It's so fun. It's seen a lot. It's seen a lot.

SPEAKER_04 44:11

Hills is the best for that job because he's very particular and he's he knows what's up.

SPEAKER_00 44:15

So he is. I'm sure he's sweating it out this week. Well yeah he's actually is sweating out because air conditioner went out. Yeah oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 44:24

But if you're going to take that out this weekend and enjoy.

SPEAKER_00 44:27

Sunday we'll probably go out to uh Redhead and go for the 150 party.

SPEAKER_03 44:31

Yeah oh that's what I was going to ask like what all kind of is going on is at least that you guys are kind of celebrating and where that one party is which is amazing that Elmo wanted to do that.

SPEAKER_00 44:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:44

What day is that?

SPEAKER_00 44:44

Is that Sunday oh Sunday? Sunday afternoon. Oh that's open. Yeah. So it's you know to do something on this weekend is hard a lot of people don't do that. You know you just can't. We don't really have you know Hannah's running around doing her thing but that's just too many people. Yeah. Just say hey we need this whole corner back here to have his promotion they're like no but they wanted to do it and we send all the power to you.

SPEAKER_04 45:12

So the fourth being on a Saturday is going to be wild. But it's also like from a from a like being a bartender I don't think it's a great thing for the bars because I feel like that Saturday a lot of people are going to be at like houses and stuff. Like the best bar setup is on a Thursday because then you get that long weekend. So that's what we like. I mean the bars are still going to be jamming don't get me wrong.

SPEAKER_02 45:32

But it's like a big family I mean it's a big family event and like we were talking earlier it's kind of the kickoff to summer. Yep. So everybody's done with school and sports and all that and just you know and it's American like the best way.

SPEAKER_00 45:43

So even as any day except Wednesday on for a fourth. Wednesday again yeah well it kill it kills both weekend when do we s send the whole crew out to stock it just splits it splits it yeah it just doesn't do it.

SPEAKER_04 45:57

Yeah that is a hard one yeah Monday's another good one because then that Sunday is another Saturday so it's that's the best right there.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

Yeah Monday. Monday and Thursday yeah they just cut loose on Sunday how do you people do that?

SPEAKER_04 46:10

I don't want to speak for the Lake House 13 crew but they're talking about going the World Cup rolls and going super late because they can on Sunday.

SPEAKER_03 46:19

You want to go out you want to go dabble into Lake House 13 on Sunday Sunday funday come on a table to see for you I would say we'll be in the thick of it yeah 20 years ago I'd have been with yeah that's going to be fun.

SPEAKER_04 46:33

But that's almost too late. Monday's going to be a rough Monday we're going to probably do anything. Yeah. So well unless the US wins so we'll put this out tomorrow put a teaser out today. So hopefully by the time this episode's out we'll be excited about Monday's game for the World Cup. So it will be fun. Yeah yeah yeah yeah and then Ultra's the big sponsor we were talking about it for a sec earlier but they're like the MVP of each they are yeah that's got to be a crazy thing to be on the trophy of an Ultra they paid a lot for that yeah good and I'm I'm happy for I honestly I haven't watched one minute of one game yet.

SPEAKER_00 47:11

Really? We've been so busy tonight's night knockout yeah we just we were we just get swamped. I feel yeah which is great well that's like your Christmas like you know this is a big deal. Yeah it's I mean Memorial Weekend it's busy because we're stalking people from scratch. This weekend we're actually promoting and doing what we can. Yeah. Memorial is basically what we call a shit show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 47:39

It usually is everyone's super excited. That's horrible we're just on a different level of shit show than you guys.

SPEAKER_00 47:46

We start three weeks in advance if we don't take your beer now. Not paying for that.

SPEAKER_03 47:51

Right because they don't have to be a little bit sometimes no but then they'll call you on Saturday Memorial Week bar doesn't do everything last year.

SPEAKER_00 48:00

The bars aren't bad the bars do pretty good like the strip they've learned their lesson you you get your stuff in there early because the truck can't get down. Yeah true or if it's one of the big big parties where they block the we've even thought about putting a golf cart or one of those side by sides back there just to if they run out but start dropping.

SPEAKER_04 48:23

How do you do bike fest with all the bikes in the that middle lane?

SPEAKER_00 48:26

You got to sometimes they let us in there in the morning really early if if we have an emergency I bet those drivers are like God damn I gotta get up and yeah.

SPEAKER_04 48:36

Oh yeah they don't like it at all.

SPEAKER_00 48:38

I bet Jim about it is a nasty on the morning before they clean everything but it's a fun party. That's where that stain's from pain that's permanent.

SPEAKER_04 48:56

Yeah I think I'm gonna get that out yeah maybe I found that shirt though no but like so the the big holidays down here for you guys would you say because we we talked about a podcast a couple ago but I never thought in a million years shootout week would be bigger than Labor Day. And now it's not even close. Like shootouts a whole separate thing.

SPEAKER_02 49:17

He's also not a big boat guy.

SPEAKER_04 49:18

So I'm feeling kind of caught on I'm very big boat guy.

SPEAKER_00 49:22

I'm getting a jet ski and I've caught five fish yeah I I know more people that have come to me about shootout than anything. What is this shootout?

SPEAKER_04 49:30

And I said I've got to come see it. Well for you guys like what are the big weekends would it be the the would it be shootout Memorial Day? I mean like what's what's your guys' Super Bowl of like weekends where you know you guys are going to get your ass kicked as far as delivering products and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 49:44

Fourth of July's the biggest biggest it it's it that's it. It's right in the middle I'm not saying you downhill but you do peak. Yeah. And you then you're coming downhill Labor Day is not that big a deal because school starts too early. Right and people kinda want to run at football football too early so we sort of get screwed on that one but but shoot out is just great for us because everybody's on the water. And if we want to do something on the water we can but we tried that and it didn't work 'cause there's just too many boats out. That's just too big. You you you're running the risk you know but ta like taking the big boat out I know we're gonna get hit. There's a lot of people out there and a lot of

Planning The Lake Season Big Weekends

SPEAKER_00 50:30

them don't know really what they're doing. Most of 'em yeah yeah yeah and I get that they come from all over the country they don't know this lake that well so it's uh it's a challenge.

SPEAKER_02 50:41

At a uh 4th of July we were on a boat a power boat and the steering cable broke and he thought that he was going to steer out of it which not realizing he had to pull the kill switch and we were basically destined to almost T-bone the Bud boat and the shady gators boat. Cool thank God you did it party it was uh it was interesting but when was that this would have been BC so this would have been about before 15 years ago.

SPEAKER_04 51:06

For all you listeners that's before Chuck but we got the boat was we made it over to Kano Complex got the boat up and was trash but we didn't hit the Bud boat that was the key that's good. Thank you I can't believe a land's been drinking all these beers it's crazy.

SPEAKER_03 51:23

He always does this to me like a hollow lake or something over there.

SPEAKER_04 51:26

Jeez yeah hey I can put them back that's for sure the uh the seltzer deal like I know you have neutral and stuff like that but did you think that was gonna hit like it was or like had no idea.

SPEAKER_00 51:37

Yeah I didn't either we didn't know what to expect.

SPEAKER_04 51:40

Because I feel like Zimas were kind of Zimas and then they just went to sleep and then they came back as white claws 10 years later and wrecked havoc right yeah I feel like I have to say I was probably and you when you guys came with neutral you know did you do this?

SPEAKER_03 51:54

I did that here at the lake. That I loved it and I still do to the um and that was like one of the main you know what I mean with real juice and vodka. And so like I remember being like JG this is it and he he and me pineapple neutrals man.

SPEAKER_04 52:12

They are refreshing as all hell they are good do you like the cut water?

SPEAKER_03 52:15

Dude I mean I like it but it smokes me.

SPEAKER_04 52:19

Ooh we got a guy we got a guy named we got a guy named Margarita Dave and he's rips these cutwater margaritas and he's putting them back on the boat like they're beers and they're like 10% alcohol and I'm like margarita Mike Wright's date oh yeah margarita dave went down because cutwaters are strong but you can't if it's good the sun's out the music's good you start drinking cutwater is like they're like their beers they're yeah I can cut you up yeah yeah they're delicious though those are good it's a great place no yeah I went out and visited out there in San Diego it's a place cutwater?

SPEAKER_00 52:52

It is cutwater the where they yeah it's in San Diego. Oh distillery picture of that oh nice it's uh it's right there close to the end of the runway at Miramar.

SPEAKER_01 53:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 53:05

So you can just sit there. If you like planes like I do I'm like that one going on that's just because you had five cutwaters in your pretty much we were with Margarita Dave even getting back to the you know we're all on buses from the meeting in town and I don't know if I can make it back on that bus. That stuff will just sneak up on you.

SPEAKER_04 53:27

Yeah really but now I feel like there's so many seltzers like that's the next I feel like gold rush people were doing the craft beers are doing it so it is yeah but I I really think the uh the seltzers will stay around. How do you too?

SPEAKER_00 53:40

You know it's like uh a the Bud Light seltzer and it it sort of went away but it morphed into the neutral I think the neutral and you know the with the alcohol it mixed in it instead of a malt based yeah yeah that's a big deal that was a big deal. I think that's gonna be the one that'll hang around. Because everybody mixed drinks. So here we mix them for you. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 54:02

So I I like that we have some buddies that were on here with Reese's offshore shine but they're out of Illinois so when they're coming into like a new state that's a whole different deal right if you're if you like if so if you manufacture it in a state and then you go to a different state that's a whole different another hoop to jump through right?

SPEAKER_00 54:19

Yep. Okay yeah every state's different you have to go to each state and get your licensing. Gotcha. And I'm sure that's not pleasant.

SPEAKER_04 54:27

No. And then you gotta be doing enough product to get it over to you to get it to the next that's the tough thing.

SPEAKER_00 54:34

You know one it's I know it's hard on them you go into a state you have to produce enough to supply that state. Well if it doesn't if your initial offering doesn't go good then you're backed up. And that's we've lost two because they just said we we just we blew it. We got too much sitting on the floor we can't sell it. Bankruptcy and then just go away but it's it's a tough call. Yeah I wouldn't want to do it. I I would personally if I was a craft beer guy or something new I would stick regionally as long as I could until it just absolute people were screaming for it.

SPEAKER_04 55:10

They had to have it yeah they'd be the people on the line at the beer show just waiting for it. And you're like okay now we got it.

SPEAKER_00 55:16

Now yeah now you got it move into the next state. Don't do five states at a time that's a kiss of death don't get too big for your britches too soon. Yeah we c we can tell when they're going away.

SPEAKER_04 55:27

So is that the next thing then you think seltzers will stick around or you think there's going to be more innovative stuff in the beverage industry that'll come in besides like the I think like the THC in my opinion the THC drinks are too much. And I don't but I don't know like at bars and stuff if that's even like a a play that I would make. But like do you think there's any other trends going? You think so?

SPEAKER_00 55:46

Yeah but the bars are really not you know a lot of people know this could go away so they're not really bringing in any we've got to wait. Hopefully hopefully we'll get they gotta make a decision pretty quick.

SPEAKER_04 55:58

You can't it won't be November because you can't just so here at Swift Co we're big fans of the Hills's family, the Brian and Landry. How did you run across Brian or Homer? When was your first introduction to these these nerds.

SPEAKER_00 56:15

Well Homer's been you know back when the complex was started I I took the beer there. Yeah and an Anneiser Busch complex and Homer was always there so we were just we were friends from the very beginning. He's the man yeah Homer is yeah he's cool dude oh he's the greatest yeah in fact uh I was it last year I think it was or year before you guys were gone and we had something come up and I said man we gotta have a captain Brian's like call Homer. Yeah and he did it and he loved it.

SPEAKER_03 56:47

Yeah I bet well because so Homer used to work for August and and yeah ran the complex and the boats and all of that. So when August had the blue water built Homer was the one at that time that worked with August to build the blue water. So he knows the ins and outs of that he designed it. Yeah he designed it with Homer did?

SPEAKER_02 57:07

Yeah yeah yeah yep so yeah Brian kind of got so teed up to the Swedish job up homes like thank you.

SPEAKER_03 57:15

But I mean Brian's been working for your guy your company for what will he just let's

Brian Hills Stories And Final Toast

SPEAKER_03 57:20

see Oh it had to be twenty he just did his two three he just did his twenty a couple of years ago yeah so yeah he's right I remember meeting him at the Hornytoe back and I've been down here for 23 years so that'd be around 20.

SPEAKER_00 57:32

So it's great to have the family deal and we were lucky we consider ourselves lucky to have him because we the transition was just seamless. Yeah and he just jumped right in I'll do it.

SPEAKER_04 57:43

Yeah I remember the boat they'd take the boat out to like party cove and I'd be at like lazy's getting ready for a shift and they'd all be out there like getting ready to go and I'll be like God I want to go.

SPEAKER_00 57:52

I got a bartend all that shit I'm I'm always amazed when we go to party cove or something that you know people say I'm not going to party cove I can't get my boat in now that I said I got a guy that'll take a 70 footer in there and put it in between it's insane and not touch he loves he loves that so much.

SPEAKER_04 58:09

Oh yeah he it I mean he's like let me let me just see if I can get this big ass boat in here and he does going he's just like we do that make uh make party cove great again and we had a huge line set up and Hill said to do something then he's he showed up and he wanted to like park right in the middle and he's like get Mike Wright Mike right so we like untie like put it in and then Mike Wright's like oh boy this is the whole thing but he knows how to do it he was showing off he knows what he's got all those cool there Chuck right Brian Hopp was there like it was the whole thing to split it up.

SPEAKER_00 58:43

We had a good story about the way he can drive the boat back when Bud Light Seltzer came out we had a uh program where we were delivering the product 12 pack eight to anybody so we'd go to different coves. Oh I remember that you're dropping them off on people's docks right that was cool. So he'd pull up these we'd go in some deep docks you know and he's watching the see how deep it was on there and he'd pull up close to those docks and people oh no no I said he's fine he's not gonna hit your dock he's like five feet away and they're reaching the boat. I said well you're not gonna what are you gonna do? Yeah yeah oh thank you and they're sweating he's gonna kill me he's he's amazing where he can get into boat daddy. Well big weekend it is a big weekend big big weekend so starts probably tomorrow. Starts tonight I better start tonight with the game I think it starts tonight at seven maybe early I'm wonder we we always wonder usually on Thursday nights at the grocery stores people will come in late so I wonder if they're not gonna come in tonight. It just depends on if they take the day off or they stay at home and watch the game before they come down there.

SPEAKER_03 59:54

Well so since 4th of July falls on Saturday do people get Monday off or Friday off right now everybody I've talked to is Friday they get Friday so I bet they're definitely I bet they're gonna take Thursdays off so they'll probably I bet tonight it's gonna be tonight I'll start heading and then no matter what anyone's trying to get done like by tomorrow I think everyone's gonna start sliding. So I think a lot of people have it's been busy here at the lake I think last week was really busy. Well I think a lot of people know huge they they fit that into their summer vacation so they'll they'll go like starting neck last weekend and then they take up this whole week and I think people are going to take off that week or they're definitely taking off Monday.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:32

So I would I'd do the Monday well we're excited yes just cheers to uh cheers to 150 years 250 150 95 yeah all right have fun be safe everyone drink responsibly and we'll see you out there champions