Today we’d like to introduce you to Shane Watterson.
Hi Shane, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Level Beer was founded by Geoff Phillips, Jason Barbee and Shane Watterson. We opened in 2017. Geoff was the owner of Bailey’s Taproom, Jason and Shane met working at the Deschutes PDX Pub in 2007 and worked together for 3 years. Shane took a brewing job at Laurelwood in 2010 and worked there until 2016. Jason took over brewing at Ex Novo in 2014 and ran that brewery for 2 years. We all had little kids when we opened in 2017 and wanted a family friendly place and wanted to focus on lower ABV beers and making more traditional beer styles along with popular beers. But the focus was always on making balanced beers.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Running a business is never easy. We barely got off the ground with expensive construction and slow permits. We had a lot of expansion and construction for the first 5 years or so and we also had to deal with the pandemic during our period of growth. We opened up our Multnomah Village location right as the pandemic started. The pandemic also killed Bailey’s taproom in downtown PDX and we ended up opening up our 3rd (L3) location shortly after since Geoff had so much useful stuff for a tasting room. Climate change has made the barley and hop markets more variable than usual and maybe the biggest current challenge is the beer market decline. We have lost business to the marijuana industry and other beverages like seltzer, canned cocktails and low or no alcohol options. The younger generation doesn’t seem to go out near as much as past generations and they also seem to drink less, especially beer. Plus, the cost of doing business is higher than ever.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
At this point I guess I’m kind of the brewery manager. I make sure the brewery staff has what they need to get the job done. I work on what beers we will be putting out in the future. I still write recipes. I work with distribution and sales to help make sure the beer has somewhere to go. I set the production schedule to make sure beers are ready on time. I deal with hop and barley purchasing/ contracts, and help with landscaping/ maintenance at the brewery location. I also help out in the brewery if people are sick or on vacation…or if I’m tired of looking at a computer. I try to be involved with the community and try to help support the people who support us. We’re a small company, things are always changing, and really our small team just tries to do what needs to be done. I couldn’t do this by myself, that’s for sure. I feel like every year we take a look at what’s working, what isn’t and we try to make our best bet on what will work in the upcoming year.
I’m most proud that our business is a place that helps support the community that I live in. I like seeing my friends and neighbors here with their friends, family, kids, dogs, etc. All of our locations are very welcoming. We see people celebrating birthdays, retirement, weddings, funerals, etc
I think what sets us apart from most breweries around here is that we don’t take ourselves that seriously. Beer is beer and it’s not that complicated. We just try to have fun with it.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I like what Portland was and what Portland could be. I think that we are in a wonderful spot in the world. We are close to the mountains, we are close to the ocean. There is tons of natural beauty around us. It’s a wonderful place to make beer. We have hops, grain, yeast and great water all close by. It’s also a great food city.
But, the pandemic was really hard on Portland. It destroyed a lot of businesses, culture, and it just got dirtier and less safe feeling than it was. We haven’t recovered from that yet. But, I have hope that it will get there. It can be safe, clean, have good public transportation, thriving businesses, affordable homes and good public schools…
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.levelbeer.com
- Instagram: @levelbeer
