Meet Adam Eshbaugh of Fuquay Varina

Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Eshbaugh.

Hi Adam, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I moved to North Carolina from Maryland in 2006. The number one local brewery I became familiar with was Carolina Brewing Company. The brewery was minutes from my house, Carolina Pale Ale was available at Hurricanes games, and it was in every grocery store. So, CBC was what represented NC Beer to me at that time. A few years later, more breweries started popping up (Big Boss, Aviator, Lonerider) and I decided to start learning about them. Several of my friends and I were at similar points in our lives (working our way out of a recession, with young kids/families) and we decided to take a night a month and meet at a different brewery. I would set it up with the brewery and usually work out a deal where 10-12 of us would show up and pay like $10 for a beer, a tour, and a glass to take home. That group would continue meeting for a few years, and our meetings would grow to about 40-50 people at many of them.

Through this “beer club,” I became friends with several brewers and brewery owners, who eventually would ask us for some help with events. In 2013, Mark Doble of Aviator Brewing Company needed someone to work an event in Asheville, NC. Several of us said we’d be happy to help, so we made a weekend road trip to Asheville, in the name of “being helpful.” Coming back from that trip, with my then friend and now business partner, Wayne Holt, we decided that we could put on a beer festival in our town. Thus, 919 Beer was formed, and the idea of The Beericana Craft Beer and Music Festival was born.

Over the next 6-8 months, we did plenty of research (read: we went to a bunch of festivals and enjoyed ourselves), figuring out how to make Beericana stand out. And in late September of 2014, our first Beericana Craft Beer and Music Festival took place. We gave away a lot of tickets, lost a lot of money, and learned a few things. Over the next few years, we would work to make Beericana a successful and respected beer festival. We proudly partner with the NC Brewers Guild, along with a different local charity each year (including Meg’s Smile Foundation, Zach’s Toy Chest, Jameson’s Joy, and Three Bluebirds Farm). The most rewarding thing about running Beericana is being able to raise money for these hard-working local non-profits.

In addition to Beericana, Wayne and I record the 919 Beer podcast with our friend Joe Ovies on 999 The Fan, ESPN Radio. It’s a weekly podcast/radio show that highlights different breweries, events, and personalities in the local beer scene. After our first Beericana Craft Beer and Music Festival in 2014, I got a call from my friend, Jon Pierce, saying he was opening up a new restaurant called The Mason Jar Tavern in Holly Springs and that he wanted some help with the beer side of things. At that time, I was looking for something fun and different than the real job that I could do in my spare time, so I began setting the beer menus and doing the buying for The Mason Jar Tavern.
By the Spring of 2015, I decided to leave my sales job and join the TMJT family full-time, as we opened our second Tavern in May.

The intention was to get the second restaurant opened and then get started on a different concept: a brewery. And not just a brewery, but a lager-only brewery, which most everyone outside the industry had some opinions about… We eventually found a spot and, with our talented friend and head brewer, Dave Haydysch, opened The Mason Jar Lager Company in July of 2017. We’ve focused on making delicious, clean lagers, from traditional to innovative, and Dave has done an amazing job these past four years.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Ha! Smooth road. That’s adorable.

Not at all. Beericana lost much more money than I feel like discussing that first year in 2014. But, we had to start somewhere. MJLC has been a rollercoaster of stress and celebration. From the lows of broken pumps, chiller fires, glycol leaks, and 100+ degree Summer days in the brewery to the celebratory highs of new beer releases and anniversary parties, to the fun stuff like designing new cans, the emotional pendulum has swung hard in either direction, without much regard for a consistent rhythm.

However, with both companies, I’ve learned a lot about teamwork, focusing on each other’s strengths and talents, and filling the gaps, wherever they may be.

And, thankfully, I have possibly the most supportive wife imaginable. Brigid Eshbaugh is the hero of our house. No matter what is thrown at us, she’s right beside me, ready to take it on. She’s in charge of our volunteers and much of the backend of Beericana, and she’s rolled up her sleeves and jumped in wherever needed at the brewery these past four years. Oh, yeah, all the while working full-time and doing the lion’s share of work with our kids’ school and sports. I’d be curled up in a ball in the corner if she ever wises up.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think I’ve kind of covered this. But one thing I will say is that when you tell people you’re in the beer industry, their first thought is that you just sit around and drink beer all day. That couldn’t be further from reality. It’s a lot of hard work, long days and nights, sweat and stress, all in the name of passion.

Yes, I love beer. And I love bringing people together to enjoy it. But it’s a lot of work, and not always the kind where you get to enjoy a beer while you’re doing it.

How do you think about luck?
“Eshbaugh Luck” is a label my wife gives to the things that don’t turn out as intended. Those familiar with “NC State Stuff” can understand. It’s not necessarily that anything that can go wrong will go wrong. But it’s more of a combination of hard work, poor timing, and looking back later and saying “oh well.”

We thought Beericana would be a success from the start. The first year was fun for those who attended, but it was not what we’d call a success. Over time, we’ve worked to bounce back and make it one of the best festivals in the state. Similarly, we thought the brewery would be smooth sailing, and people would just show up. That wasn’t the case at first. And we had to pivot multiple times until we finally figured out how to make things work.

With a little bit of luck, both of those things would have been true, and it would’ve been easy from the start. But, the luck wasn’t there. So, hard work through frustration became the focus. The flipside of this is that both have taught me humility. I don’t go into a new project thing it’s going to be a home run. I stick to focusing on each new thing one step at a time.

Contact Info:

• Website: beericana.com
• Instagram: 919BeerAdam
• Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/919-beer/id898388130