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It started with a bet

Alex Petersen (Butler University, 2014) was having a beer with friends over Thanksgiving Break. They were talking about what they wanted to do with their lives when someone asked him what he was going to do. He paused, looked down at his beer, and said, “You know what, I’ll be a brewer.” His friends didn’t believe him, so they made a bet.

“I got back from break, and I was like, ‘All right. I’m going to do this,’” Petersen said. “I started calling everybody. I talked to Scott Wise (owner of Scotty’s Brewhouse) who was a Ball State Delt. He saw on my resume that I was a Beta Zeta Delt at Butler and he was like, ‘Well, you can’t be too bad of a guy.’”

From there, Petersen met with the head brewer at Scotty’s and started volunteering. He ended up volunteering the whole summer and he realized brewing was something he definitely wanted to do. Petersen quickly began to work his way up from brewing part-time at Thr3e Wise Men Brewing Company, an affiliate of Scotty’s Brewhouse, to working full-time—all while still in school.

Petersen, focusing on biomedical engineering, looked to change his major so he could focus on being a brewer. He started asking friends what kind of degree he should get. It wasn’t until after talking with Butler professors and Beta Zeta’s Faculty Advisor and Associate Dean of the School of Business Craig Caldwell (Butler University, 2010) that he decided to change his major to business.

Blind Owl Brewery

Rick Lux and Steve Berg, two Indianapolis restaurateurs, invited Petersen to serve as head brewer for a brewery they were starting called Blind Owl Brewery located in Indianapolis. After thinking about it and talking with some other brewers, he decided to go for it. In April 2015, Petersen became one of the youngest head brewers in the country at the age of 22.

“It was a lot of pressure. However, I knew I was capable of doing whatever I wanted to do. I wasn’t intimidated as much as I was concerned about doing the best I could,” Petersen said.

Joining Blind Owl reaffirmed Petersen’s entrepreneurial spirit. Neither of the owners had started a brewery before so he took it upon himself to be more than head brewer.

When the general manager left after four months, Petersen started working in the operations side of Blind Owl, ensuring food was out on time and shift managers and staff were set up for success. Petersen knew he needed to set the tone to put Blind Owl on the right path.

“I always had this chip on my shoulder about wanting to prove people wrong. Not that I think anyone ever doubted me, but I wanted to show that I could do something, that I could build something. Being able to come to Blind Owl and build a brand that is directly associated with me as a brewer was validation,” Petersen said.

Brewing Beer

On the first day as head brewer, Petersen walked into the empty brewery, locked the doors and went into the back with a mix of anxiety and adrenaline—all set to brew his first beer. Twenty hours later, Petersen had his first batch.

“Taking 20 hours…I was obviously pretty nervous. Normally it takes me about six hours. I was so concerned about getting everything right and knowing everything was going to be dead on, correct and ready to rock,” Petersen said. “It was like the culmination of everything I’ve ever done in my life, doing carpentry work with my dad as a kid, physically putting things together. So, I spent some time marinating a little bit, too, just enjoying the moment.”

Petersen started writing and developing his own recipes before starting at Blind Owl. He pulls inspiration for recipes from people and events in his life. He created Grandma’s Finest Pecan Pie Porter for his grandma and based the Black Forest Märzen after the second beer he ever had while studying abroad in Germany.

His favorite, the Black Forest Märzen, is as traditional as it gets. Petersen imports the yeast, malt and hops from Germany. He even thought about having the water imported, but it was a little too expensive.

“My mom’s maiden name is Truckenbrod, which means ‘dry bread’ in German, so we’re a very German family. My family immigrated and lived near the Black Forest, and where I went on exchange was near the Black Forest in Bavaria. All those things being said, it is the German lager, the Black Forest Märzen, that reflects who I am as a brewer.” Petersen said

Although the Märzen is his favorite at Blind Owl, Petersen received international praise for their VII Kings Belgian Dark Strong at The 2018 World Beer Cup. Often referred to as “the Olympics of beer competitions,” The World Beer Cup is the most prestigious brewing competition in the world.

“It’s cool to say I won a world medal for a beer I brewed, something I made. It’s kind of that pinnacle of achievement for me,” Petersen said.

Although winning awards for his beer is great for him professionally, Petersen brews beer for the sense of community.

“Nothing is more rewarding than watching two people drink your beer and just have a really good time. I’ve seen first dates. I’ve seen business meetings. We had an engagement here. It’s all around the culture that I was able to help create; that is what’s really rewarding to me. Brewing beer is a vehicle to do that,” Petersen said. Δ