Changing The World One Beer At A Time

Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow want to change the world one beer at a time.

And they want to do it in Belmont.

The couple are trailblazers, women in the forefront of the US craft beer movement who speak with a passion of those visionary brewers who see beer making as an artisan skill to be celebrated.

The partners in life and business know it will take time to change the public's prevailing perception of beer as swilled about at sporting events and frat parties.

But Baker and Schalow are determined to bring their love of craft beers to Belmont with their proposed shop, the Craft Beer Cellar, at 51 Leonard St. in Belmont Center.

(The pair will be before the town in August for a license application with an anticipated opening on Oct. 1.)

"We are entering a new age," said Schalow, who speaks about beer with the fervor of an evangelist proclaiming the coming of a new age of full-flavored ales, pilsners, stouts and lagers to the wilderness laid waste by corn-based brews manufactured by multinationals.

"We're going to sell great beers that will make your head spin," she said.

The pair bring an enthusiasm coupled with a passion for a beverage they have spent nearly a decade to learn and appreciate. And they hope to convert beer drinkers to this new vision of their favorite drink.

They're "hop heads" and proud of it.

In five years, Baker and Schalow view this empire including a brewery and beer garden located on south Pleasant Street (they have the location already in mind near the original location of Belmont Spring) bringing beer enthusiasts from across the country and around the world – brew tourists - to enjoy beer they'll make in Belmont.

But Belmont? The center of a beer empire? Really?

"Why not?" they proclaim. The pair live on Ash Street, work a few miles down the road in Cambridge at Cambridge Common restaurant and the Lizard Lounge.

"We've done our work here," Schalow said of finding and securing the location of their future establishment in a business center that has seen a slew of retail stores close in the past 18 months.

Baker and Schalow also live in, shop and hang out in Belmont. They have extensive experience in the trade and are in love with their product.

"We want to make our contribution here in our town," said Schalow.

They understand change will be hard, especially in a town that did not have an alcohol outlet for 148 years until the fall of 2007 when two wine stores were awarded licenses.

When they went on a meet-and-greet with neighbors and the public, one of the first questions they had to answer was why would Belmont need a liquor store.

"And we understand that people may think that when we tell them we're selling beer," said Baker. But what will be sold in the Cellar is not the product advertised on television during sporting events or sold in 48-can cases.

"We'll be selling artisanal beers, not the dominant beers that have everything to do with marketing than the actual beer making process," said Baker.

"We are mindful of our product and it's going to be classy," said Schalow.

At a time when nearly everything that the public eats and drinks has made a transformation towards the authentic and away from the processed, beer has joined this movement in a big way.

Much like the wine explosion of the 1970s, beer is undergoing an appreciation of the work by brewers committed to a return to the way the drink was produced in the past in small town and villages in Europe and the Americas.

Created by small and moderate-sized breweries, craft beers are know for their flavorful, high quality product that relies on beer's four main ingredients: water, hops, malt and yeast. The enthusiasts are producing brews that meld the traditional with the flair of the individual: summer collections with fruit flavoring or dark strong stouts for the winter months.

And the industry is growing, by 12 percent over the past year as other beverages took a hit in the economic downturn.

The popularity has translated into a ground swell of new breweries. There are more than three-dozen in Massachusetts alone including several in Cambridge, one in Waltham (Watch City) and one planned for Watertown.

And traditional outlets are caught onto the trend. Shaw's Supermarket in Cambridge promotes its collection of special craft beers while restaurants are creating adventurous "beer lists" with some hiring cicerones, the brew equivalent of the wine sommelier.

There are an ever-expanding list of beer schools and beer dinners in the area. Cambridge Common started with six dinners pairing beer with food and now holds 30 annually, selling out each time. Some who are turned away are willing to pay scalpers prices for the experience, said Baker.

Baker and Schalow can readily list off brewers and beers that are leading the movement; Sierra Nevada Brewing, the Allagash Barrel Room in Portland, Maine whose brewer is a woman, Clown Shoes, Ithica Brewery and Flower Power Ipa.

"We are in love with craft beers. It's why we get up in the morning," said Schalow.

It has been an adventure for the partners to their present position as beer sellers.

Schalow spent time everywhere doing everything: student, UPS worker, religious studies and traveler including drinking from the massive steins during Oktoberfest before working at Cambridge Common and meeting Baker in 2002.

When they say they want to change the world, it's a beer world.

"We treat it with respect. We would never just sell anything," Baker said.

The store will not have its windows filled from floor to ceiling with cases of some mass-produced beverage.

The store will highlight products "that we believe in, that we are passionate for. And our customers will know that," said Schalow.

Customers will not come to the Craft Beer Cellar to buy a case of beer. They'll find beers in 22 oz. and 25.4 oz. – or 750 mm – bottles of products with names such as Dogfish Head.

The store will also sell single 12 oz. bottles so customers can sample the beer before buying.

The most prominent piece of furniture in the store will be a German drinking table where samples of beer will be tasted – similar to a wine tasting – in a communal setting.

"It's awesome to taste and share," said Schalow.

The store will be seasonally driven so "we'll be able to advise customers what stout would be good to pair with their Thanksgiving dinner or what to serve on the Fourth of July picnic," said Schalow.

And it will nearly exclusively stocked with American craft beers. There will Belgium brews and some German but "American brewers are some of the most innovative and best creators of craft beers worldwide," said Baker.

Baker and Schalow understand they cannot push their way into a community, even their own. They said they are going to educate their neighbors, the business community and residents wherever and whenever they can.

"We're all in this together," said Schalow.