By SETH TUPPERAssociated Press
Saturday, October 17, 2009
When Carolyn Ferrell's husband said he wanted to give up his career in cardiovascular research to start a brewery, she took it surprisingly well.
She knew how much passion he would bring to the new venture.
"Jeff is very serious about his beer," Ferrell said.
Turns out her faith was well-founded. Two years after opening Crow Peak Brewing Co. in Spearfish, Jeff Drumm has taken on new partners, is building a bigger facility and plans to begin distribution in a few months. His plan, if successful, would make him the first South Dakota brewer to engage in distribution since 1942, according to a State Archives researcher.
For Drumm, the early success has been as satisfying as the first sip of a cold brew.
"Talking to people, hearing the appreciation they have for the beer — it's really very gratifying, knowing that I'm doing something that people enjoy," he said.
Drumm's story may offer some of the best evidence yet that America's craft-beer craze is reaching its zenith. If he can sell his ales and porters in South Dakota — where national trends are slow to catch on and Miller Lite, Bud Light and the like have dominated the beer market for decades — it could be a sign that craft brewing's popularity has completely swept the country.
