Meet Carol Cochran of Horse & Dragon Brewing Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carol Cochran.

Carol, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Horse & Dragon Brewing Company is a labor of love for my husband, Tim, and me.  One of us grew up in Colorado, the other in Oregon (both great craft beer states!), and we fell in love with the taste of craft beer in 1988 as we were finishing college. We’ve dreamed of and planned for the

Horse & Dragon since our honeymoon, which we took in Napa Valley (the non-Colorado one) and during which we had every dinner in that beautiful wine country at a local brewpub. Since then we’ve spent many years traveling and sampling beers from around the world. We lived for 10 years in Asia, ten years in Milwaukee, and 2+ years in Bogotá, Colombia, sampling brews along the way. With roots and family in Fort Collins and a compelling urge to spend time in the Poudre Canyon, we returned to this beautiful town every year – always enjoying the local craft beer scene and reveling in its growth.

In January of 2013, we began planning for Horse & Dragon in earnest. In May of 2014, we opened to the public, with an emphasis on creating great-tasting beers that pair well with food and a commitment to supporting our community. Through great flavors and happy craft beer experiences, we hope to help bring more people together in the community of Fort Collins and in the larger community of craft beer. We are joined in this endeavor by 8 full-time employees and 13 part-time ones. Any of us would be happy to welcome folks to the tasting room to try what we’re creating at the moment and to talk craft beer!

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, there’ve been struggles! Even preparing yourself for the inevitable “you’ll be at it 24/7/365” it was a shock. I’ve never had a job I looked forward to getting to every day (even though I’ve had other jobs I’ve loved). However, it truly is an EVERY day job, morning, noon, & night. There’re the ups and downs of trying to find coworkers who believe in the bigger picture of what Horse & Dragon can do in the community, and there’s always the concern about viability.

We are still wondering if it’s possible to have a small, low-margin manufacturing business in a community where the cost of living is rising so sharply (i.e., how can we pay our coworkers enough to put a secure roof over their heads on these margins in this market?). The cost for necessary infrastructure, particularly in trying to produce responsibly and safely, is substantial and the financial returns are low and uncertain. But the community and the believers are awesome (and the product is, too).

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Horse & Dragon Brewing Company story. Tell us more about the business.
What I hope we’re known for is consistently great beer produced responsibly and a commitment to our local communities.

What I’m most proud of is the time, product, and money we’ve invested in our people and in local non-profit efforts from the time we opened our doors, though most business gurus say you should wait until you’re profitable to do most of this. Tim and I felt that we should begin operating the way we hoped to operate once we’re more securely established, and we didn’t feel we could wait ten years to provide health insurance, a retirement savings plan, and to start investing in things outside of the company.