Meet Kali Gajewski | Owner & Beer Advocate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kali Gajewski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kali, every day, we about how much execution matters, but we think ideas matter as well. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I grew up in Sedona, and after living in Colorado for almost a decade I found myself looking for a place in Sedona to spend time when I would visit that felt comfortable to me. I had a hard time finding the right fit, and so I thought I would explore opening the place that I wanted to hand out. My husband had been brewing beer since we were in undergrad, and breweries were a place we liked to go. Sedona only has one other brewery that opened in the early 90’s so we figured it would be worth looking into if there was room in the market for another one. What we found was there was, but the road to opening a business in Sedona was bumpy, and I was grateful that it was my hometown because I was stubborn enough to to work through the challenges.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
By education I am a Social Worker. I received by Masters in Social Work from the University of Denver, and previously to opening the brewery (and for the first 18 months it was open), I worked as a medical social worker in Northern AZ. I believe this education has helped us with our success because its industry pedagogy believes in supporting people, knowing how to navigate complicated systems, and helping people reach their highest potential.

Opening Sedona Beer Company, not being from the beer or hospitality industry was definitely a challenge, and I learn new things every day. However, with the support of others in the industry, we learned how to thrive and use our strengths to make ourselves stand out!

What readers should really know about Sedona Beer Co. is that we believe that beer is for where you are in that moment. We want to make sure we are using local ingredients, respecting our area and land, and supporting a sustainable beer business. Beer for Here is about more than an awesome patio and a great place to hang out with your friends. It is about making beer that connects you with where you are. All of our base malt is grown and malted right here in the Verde Valley; we believe one of the one of the ways to remain truly Independent Craft is to break out of the macro-beer supply chain, support local businesses, protect our watershed, and use ingredients that the bigger brewers aren’t able to.

Our base malt is grown by the Hauser family and malted by Sinagua Malt which is a benefit corporation created to provide a market solution for declining flows in rivers and streams. To learn more about the river and the project from the Nature Conservancy and the Property and Environment Research Center click here.

With the globalization of our supply chain and the proliferation of technology and information brewers anywhere in the world can craft quality beers that mimic those beers that once made a region unique. However, the great historical innovations of beer have developed from regional constraints that have driven brewers to be creative on their quest make good beer for their local community. We believe it is not only the responsible thing to source as many of our ingredients as locally as we can but by using the unique products of the Verde Valley we are creating beer that while reminiscent of the rigid classic styles represent a local evolution that is entirely specific to where and when you find yourself drinking them.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well Northern AZ is a special place. The list I would have would be to get outside as much as possible. A drive to the Grand Canyon of course, but also a guided mountain bike ride around Sedona from Sedona Mountain Bike Guides. Hiking West Fork, and eating at Elote would be on the list as well. We also would have to go to Flagstaff, get coffee at Macy’s and Dinner at Shift with a stop at Mother Road Brewing on the way.

There is not a bad mile of trail in the Sedona area, and not enough time to hike/bike it all so that would be what would be worth focusing on for the week!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are tons of people who we are grateful to have on our team. First off our staff is incredible, dedicated, and kind. We would not be where we are specifically without our Executive Chef Marcus Kesler, and Brewer Tim Daglow.

We also are would not be here without our Board who helped us get going and continues to provide incredible support.

Our industry is also worth mentioning. We are able to contact other brewery owners, ask hard questions, and get support even when we were just getting going and knew nothing. Owners and managers would take time out of their day to sit down, have a beer and help make sure we were setting ourselves up for success. I can’t think of many other industries where your “competitors” are the first to reach out with support, and that is one of the best things about the brewing industry. We also have the support of our state Brewers Guild and national Brewers Association.

Without a supportive industry, and community members, we definitely would not be the company we are today.

Website: sedonabeerco.com

Instagram: @sedonabeer

Facebook: facebook.com/sedonabeercompany

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/sedona-beer-company-sedona

Image Credits
Earth Below Creatives – Images emailed to Jon due to not being able to upload.