Nearly a year ago, Steve Brown of Brighton found a few men and women to sport his Wetbeer T-shirts and hats. Even though at the time, there was, technically, no such drink as Wetbeer.
Then, about six months later, he decided on a beer to go with the merchandise.
Before taking on the "big guys" in the beer industry, Brown said he wanted first to float the idea to his target market for Wetbeer - a concept the former marketing executive brewed several years ago.
"I had watched the beer companies battle it out," said Brown, who worked for six years as public relations director for Penske Speedways. "It's about who can come up with the coolest ads. This is a very large, brutal business."
But Brown is convinced he can make it.
Brown came up with the idea for his beer trademark about four years ago following the Cleveland Grand Prix, when he sat down to drink on of the dry beers marketed in the United States.
"It's a poor idea," Brown said of dry beer. "If you've just spent time mowing the lawn or are at the beach, you want something wet."
Since then, Brown has been going it alone as he prepared a plan to market a "wet beer," and contacted companies about his idea.
More than a year ago, Brown approached an Ann Arbor trademark company about his business prospects. Shortly after his visit, the company informed Brown of good news - while companies already had dibs on using "dry beer," "draft beer" and dark beer," none had trademarked the term "wet beer."
In the summer of 1997, Brown kicked off his beer company by displaying "Wetbeer" merchandise over the Internet.
"Within weeks, we were flooded with messages from people asking, "Where can we find this beer?" Brown said.
Nowhere, was the response, as messages popped up on the Internet that stated the beer was sold out and that urged people who may find a case in stores to buy it immediately as it may be the last available case.
In reality, Brown had not begun producing the beer, but was just putting out feelers to learn how people would respond to the product. Those initial months indicated a strong demand for the beer, he said.
"People are really having fun with it," Brown said. "I've been hearing two things. They're saying, "Yeah, beer is wet," and, "Gosh, it sounds better than dry beer."
By December, Brown finally located a beer producer willing to work with him.
"Everything, you hear about starting a business is true," said Brown, who contacted a number of companies before reaching the Cold Springs, Minn., corporation. "People were laughing at me and I had a lot of unreturned phone calls."
Over the 1997 holidays, he had relatives and friends sample a number of recipes the Minnesota company provided before he decided on one he describes as a domestic golden lager that has a "hint of sweetness."
"I wanted to appeal to the masses," said Brown, adding that he realizes he won't be able to go head-to-head with the large domestic brewers, but hopes to capture some of the microbrew market.
Brown's Wetbeer hit the stores in May and already he's pleased with its success. The brew - marketed around the state by 14 distributors - sells for about $5.49-$5.99 for a six-pack and has been very popular among women, Brown said. He recently closed a deal with the Kroger chain to carry the beer in its Michigan stores and is in talks with Meijer about also selling the beverage.
And, just weeks ago, Brown moved into a second floor downtown Brighton office, where he spends hours trying to find business owners who will carry his product.
"It's really satisfying to know that in a short time, and in a small area, this is catching on," Brown said. "People are really for the little guy."
