Hops, Humility, and “Le Beer” — A Chat with Sean Dugan
If you’ve spent any time in Colorado’s craft beer scene, chances are you’ve crossed paths with Sean Dugan—or at least tasted something he’s had a hand in getting onto taps and shelves or poured you at a beer festival. Sean’s one of our sales reps here at Culture Beverage, but calling him just a “sales guy” doesn’t really cut it. He’s been everything from a homebrewer to a beer buyer, a brewery rep to a peach-cutter for sour beer. The guy lives and breathes craft.
We have know Sean now for over ten years and we so lucky to have him join the team in 2023. So pour yourself something hoppy and read on. We talked to Sean about how he got started in beer, what trends he’s loving right now, and his dream of becoming a French national hero thanks to a mythical IPA called “Le Beer.”
What’s your personal favorite beer style, and how did you first fall in love with it?
I am an IPA guy through and through, and I firmly believe it’s the style that says the most about a brewery in so many small ways. It all started for me and my friends with the Dogfish Head craze in the 2000’s, and since then IPA’s and hops in general have developed into this incredibly nuanced and scientific thing that I just love.
Colorado is known for its craft beer scene—what makes the local beer culture so unique compared to other states?
I’ve lived in Colorado for 22 years and I’ve always had this theory that the mountains play a part in keeping people relatively humble compared to other places. When you look out and see these giant mountains almost within arms reach, you realize the scale of the large and small things in life. Having a quality craft beer in your hand while relaxing and contemplating how lucky we are to be in such a beautiful state is a true Colorado experience.
Craft beer trends seem to change every year. What’s a beer trend you’re excited about right now, and why?
Being an IPA/hoppy beer guy, I like the Double/Triple Dry Hop trend. I love a beer with a financially irresponsible amount of hops, price be damned!
As someone who sells craft beer every day, what’s one beer myth you’d like to debunk for consumers?
This is a tough one, because I think the best answer is that the average consumer doesn’t think about the flexibility of beer expiration and/or born-on dates. There are general rules that stretch from 90-120 days for IPAs and I’ve had some that are great even after those limits. I’ve also had terrible beers after 30 days.
So many things can happen between production and sale but you really can’t ask the average consumer to care about that.
The only way to know is to open the beer and it’s a gamble, but you might be surprised. Then you can figure out the breweries that took the care to package properly.
How do you approach educating customers who are new to craft beer or are still exploring their tastes?
The absolute best place to learn about craft beer is at the breweries themselves, or a craft beer bar or restaurant with a good and fresh selection. Flights of samples are an awesome way to try a small taste of a wide range of things.
Also have beers with friends and talk about what you taste and what you like or don’t like about it. It’s fun! The wine people do it, why can’t we?
Colorado breweries often experiment with unusual ingredients or brewing techniques. Can you share any memorable beer creation or collaboration that stood out to you?
I worked for a brewery that would get a large box of Palisades peaches every year and about 10 of us would sit around and cut peaches all day and throw them in a big container for fermentation and eventual sour beer. Knowing you put some labor and love in the beer even if you weren’t necessarily brewing it is a cool experience. Plus free peaches.
In your experience, what is the most surprising beer pairings people can try, and why do they work so well together?
That’s another good question. I’ve always thought that any beer pairing can be described as either a compliment or contrast to food, and either can work if done well. A solid dry Saison or Gueuze with a salad and some cheese on a nice summer day is my idea of a good time.
What’s the most challenging part of selling craft beer, and how do you overcome it?
The most challenging part of selling craft beer right now is the grocery store laws which have taken away sales from established small businesses and forced them to the brink of shutting down. If that happens, Colorado craft breweries will be hurt immensely and I don’t think consumers/voters really understand this. Convenience has a price.
I try to overcome this by providing quality beers to these stores that are unique and will draw in new customers while we let the big money folks play in the supermarkets.
Colorado is home to many small, independent breweries. What do you think are the top three characteristics that set successful craft breweries apart from others?
There is nothing more important than the quality of the beer which starts at the recipe level and goes all the way through brewing, packaging, transport, storage, and sales. Don’t take shortcuts, take it seriously and you’ll be fine.
Be aware of can design. Simple and recognizable always wins. When you design a can label, take 3 steps back and see if you can still read it. That’s where the customer is standing when they’re buying! They only take a closer look when they get home so watch out for both.
Create a positive company culture and you will have positive employees and positive sales. Just good advice in general.
If you could create your dream beer—what would it taste like, what style would it be, and what would you name it?
My dream beer would be out of a pigtail in a brewery that I own in the wine caves of France, I would stop by after jetting over from London because I had to meet the King of Sweden for some reason. It would be a majestic IPA that used only the most potent and organic Madagascar quadruple hops.
It would taste like if you took all the best IPAs in the world and put them in a line of taps and combined them all into a super-soda-style amalgam of beer. The people of France would love me and I would become a national hero.
I would call it “Le Beer”.