Lucky Number 13 – A Birthday Year to Remember

By Kellan Bartosch, Co-Founder, WISEACRE Brewing Co.

In many cultures, 13 is considered the age at which you become an adult. As WISEACRE reaches its 13th birthday, will we finally grow up? Probably not. Also, depending on your worldview, 13 can be lucky or unlucky. Which will we be?

The answer to the first question is complicated, but I think we would identify with Wendy in “Peter Pan.” Bliss is one of our core values, and we see part of our purpose as creating more of it.

Beer is not for everyone, and that is totally fine with us.

But at its best, beer brings people together. At a time when people are socializing less, we think that matters. And it may matter more so in Memphis than elsewhere. This city has so much to offer, but much like Wendy jumping out of her window to follow Peter Pan to Neverland after a sprinkle of pixie dust, sometimes we have to leave the comforts of home to experience it.

People sometimes talk about supporting local businesses as if it’s charity. It’s not. It’s an investment in the kind of city you want to live in. Every time you choose a local restaurant, retailer, artist, coffee shop or brewery, you’re helping create jobs, support families and keep ideas and investment right here in Memphis. And, after 13 years, we’re happy to remind you: there are some pretty amazing things happening here.

But Wendy was also the one who kept her brothers on a safe path and guided them toward excellence. Excellence just happens to be another one of our core values – and one we take very seriously. My brother and our production team have won five medals at the Great American Beer Festival and World Beer Cup for lagers that we’ve made. These are among the most prestigious and competitive beer competitions in our country and the world, respectively. We’re especially proud that our 99-calorie light lager Sky Dog won a Gold Medal in 2024 going up against the big dogs. Giving it a try instead of your usual domestic, import or other light lager brings us to our next core value: Education. If you’ve read this far, now it’s your responsibility to pass it on and educate someone else.

But we never wanted to simply make beer.

We wanted to help build the kind of city we’d be excited to call home which is why we chose to build in Downtown Memphis.

When my brother Davin and I returned to Memphis in 2012 after years away, we saw incredible potential. We don’t think beer on its own has some higher purpose, and we’ve already acknowledged that it’s definitely not for everyone, for all kinds of reasons. But we do think of ourselves as part of the culture of our city. As citizens, we want great things for Memphis. We want great restaurants (got ‘em!), we want great parks and venues (check, check), and we want the Grizzlies to win a championship in three years! And for those who like our industry, hopefully we have been a part of making Memphis a great beer city. All these things help build community which brings us to another one of our core values: Folks.

Thirteen years later, we still believe that to be true. Our taprooms have been the setting for first dates and the place where more than a few people have met their future spouses. We’ve welcomed tourists to Memphis and found ourselves telling them about all the other places they need to experience while they’re here. Beyond our doors, we’ve had the opportunity to support and work alongside countless charities and nonprofit organizations throughout our community.

That’s the Memphis we’ve always wanted to be part of. And if we want to see an even better version of Memphis realized, we must ask not only what Memphis can do for us, but what we can do for Memphis.

That brings us to our final core value: Yourself — as in, be the best version of yourself. That may sound like empty idealism, but don’t we have to believe in ourselves and in our city if we want either one to get better?

Every time we Choose (901) a local restaurant, retailer, artist, coffee shop or brewery, we’re investing in the kind of Memphis we want to live in. That matters in a city like ours, where the choices we make can have a meaningful impact on the people and businesses around us.

We’ve been fortunate to watch Memphis continue to evolve over the past 13 years, but we’ve certainly had our share of challenges along the way. The brewing and beverage industry has changed dramatically since 2013. The market and consumer tastes continue to evolve. Costs have increased. New competitive categories have emerged.

But we’ve never lost sight of why we started.

Our goal has always been to make the best beer in the world while becoming part of the fabric of our hometown. If we’ve done that well, it’s because Memphis has embraced us every step of the way.

As we celebrate our 13th birthday, we’re grateful — not just for everyone who has enjoyed a Tiny Bomb or included WISEACRE in gatherings with friends, but for everyone who has chosen to believe in Memphis.

Real progress only happens when thousands of people decide to invest their time, talent and energy into this place they call home.

That’s what Choose901 has been encouraging people to do for years, and it’s something we’re proud to stand behind. That positivity matters and circling back to that second question posed at the start, we are going to answer it preemptively by choosing positivity for ourselves and Memphis.

So, will year 13 have a positive or negative connotation for us? We’re choosing positive — for ourselves, for WISEACRE and for Memphis.

Here’s to the next chapter — for WISEACRE, for local businesses and for a city that continues to surprise those who underestimate it. Consider this your pixie dust!