UnCapped: Cofounder of Full Tilt Brewing Co. in Baltimore talks about its closing

Lauren LaRocca, The Frederick News-Post, Md.
Updated ·4 min read

Mar. 8—In this episode of the UnCapped podcast, host Chris Sands talks with Dan Baumiller, cofounder of Full Tilt Brewing Co., who recently announced the brewery will be closing on March 12. Baumiller filled us in and spent some time reminiscing about the great times the brewery has brought people. Here is an excerpt of their talk.

UnCapped: Today we have a somewhat somber episode of UnCapped, where we bid farewell to Full Tilt Brewing. We have with us our good friend Dan Baumiller — who I'm not even gonna make fun of, I don't think, today.

Dan Baumiller: Don't make promises you can't keep.

So, anyway, Full Tilt Brewing is closing its doors for good, or seemingly for good, on March 12. It sucks, but I'm here to talk about it. Maybe it will help to inspire people on what to do right. Maybe it will inspire people not to do what we did.

UnCapped: Have you ever heard the podcast How to Not Start a Damn Brewery?

Baumiller: Is that what this is?

UnCapped: No, that's the name of a podcast.

Baumiller: No, I haven't.

UnCapped: It's a guy who, I think, opened a brewery and then went under, so it's all about trying to convince people not to open a brewery.

Baumiller: It seems like something I would do. For the record, I've told lots of people not to open a brewery.

UnCapped: I believe almost every brewery owner I know has said at least once, "You should not open a brewery."

Baumiller: It also depends on who you're talking to. If you meet somebody who has less money than me, and they're trying to explain to me, "I think I, too, should contract brew out of Peabody Heights [Brewery in Baltimore]." Then I'm like, "Well, no you shouldn't. I don't even know where to begin."

But at the same time, if that's your dream, I want you to follow it, and I'll help you.

When you list the reasons as to what can go wrong ... there are people who have said, "I almost did that, [until] the conversation that you had with me."

But lots of other people talked to me and did open their brewery.

I just think you should tell people the truth.

UnCapped: When did you come to the realization that it wasn't worth continuing?

Baumiller: I don't want to get into too depressing of statistics, but a lot of bills hitting us recently were just huge, and we were like, we're not gonna be able to manage this much longer and make payroll. It's all pretty new.

We tried to throw last-ditch efforts to stay open, talked to our lead investor, but we just couldn't come up with the right answers to make it feasible.

We pursued everything. We just couldn't do it.

We met with our [general manager] the other day and said, "This is what we're facing. Tell us it can work." Our GM is awesome. He's been in the beer business a long time. But the numbers aren't there.

UnCapped: Full Tilt is more than a brewery. You're a sports bar that happens to brew your own beer. So even if you were just making craft beer, which you weren't, there are breweries who have gone under and that's why. But you're a full-fledged bar with a full restaurant — with amazing pretzel bites, which may be what I'm gonna miss the most.

Baumiller: I don't wanna make you jealous, but I ate a couple of them yesterday.

We could continue on as a contract brand.

UnCapped: Is it worth it though?

Baumiller: If you ask me right now, no. But you never know. We could mess around with some collabs.

UnCapped: Like, keep it as a brand that's still alive?

Baumiller: If the right opportunity shows up.

This excerpt has been edited for space and clarity. Listen to the full podcast at fnppodcasts.com/uncapped. Got UnCapped news? Email csands@newspost.com.