Brooklyn native Steve Brown is 34 years old and living a dream. He has his own beer.
We're not talking home brew, micro brew or brew-pub draft.
Brown put his brand of suds, WETBEER, on the market in Michigan last month.
"For a long time, people were just laughing at me. They didn't think one guy could do it. A lot of people would not return my calls," Brown said. "I've got the last laugh now, because I've got a good beer on the market. And it's rocking."
Brown, a 1982 graduate of Columbia Central High School who lives in Pinckney, was propelled into the world of beer barons a few years ago when he sipped Bud Dry, a beer brand that has since disappeared from the market.
What a stupid name, he thought. Beer is 95 percent water. It is supposed to be refreshing. They should call it Bud Wet.
His background in marketing - Brown was public relations director at Michigan Speedway from 1991 to 1996 - got him thinking. Slogans like "Get Wet" jumped to mind. "I'm not Anheuser-Busch. I'm one guy. But if they can market dry beer, I can market wet beer," Brown said.
Brown checked and discovered that no brewery ever registered the name Wet. So he filed his own trademark on WETBEER in March 1997.
He had a name, but no beer.
Then Brown developed a logo and opened a web site (www.wetbeer.com) to sell WETBEER T-shirts, hats and other stuff. It was virtual beer. "I started getting e-mail from people who wanted to know how they can buy WETBEER," he said.
After getting more than one door slammed in his face, Brown finally contracted with a brewery in Cold Springs, Minn., to bottle WETBEER. The brewery gave him several recipes to try. With help from golf buddies and hockey pals, Brown began rigorous testing to find the right flavor.
"I was looking for the smoothest, most drinkable beer I could find. It's a real good, smooth lager," Brown said.
He took 2,800 cases from the brewery last month and lined up 14 distributors. WETBEER is available in Jackson bars and stores.
"I am going to keep growing it as fast as I can. I'm that passionate about it."
