Help Averie save Keeping Together

To our beloved Craft Beer compatriots across this great land,

One of our own is in need. As you may have heard by now, our dear friend Averie Swanson of Keeping Together has been presented with a devastating hurdle on her path to opening a brick and mortar in Santa Fe, NM. Her brewhouse supplier went belly up after she paid 90% of the total equipment contract. Though she was able to recover some small portion of the raw materials, it is looking extremely unlikely that she will be reimbursed for the large investment she paid in. This loss amounts to nearly a half a million dollars for her and her partner Pat. 

Though, unfortunately, we know this is not a scenario that is entirely unheard of (for any of you out there that may have experienced it, please know that our hearts are with you as well), it feels like an especially heart wrenching case given the unique fact that this is a critical piece of a long awaited start-up from a deeply admired veteran of our industry.

Anyone that has followed her career through the years and witnessed the level of intentionality and personal touch that she has infused in everything that she does knows very well that the world we live in will be brighter and more beautiful with Keeping Together in it. Beyond that, I think we would all agree that the most important part of doing what we do is focused on building and fostering community. We believe that this moment, as difficult as it is, can be flipped on its head and act to galvanize our collective bond.

The realistic repercussion of this scenario, knowing full well that Averie and Pat won’t simply give up, is that they restart their financing journey and attempt to find additional investors. Our view is that we, the craft beer community, can essentially act as their investors, to the best of our ability, and do so with the expectation of nothing in return beyond the camaraderie that comes with supporting our own.

Believe us, we know full well the challenges that we all face in these modern times. We don’t believe anyone in our industry is exempt from the financial burdens of the moment. Because of that, this is no easy ask. Allow us to do our best to thwart any peer pressure here. Give what you can, if you can. If money is not feasible, I’m sure words or other actions will be just as meaningful. Averie and Pat need our support, in any way that we can give it.

Cheers and thank you,

The Burial Team

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Words from Averie herself:

The last few weeks have been some of the most challenging and emotional I can remember. I’ve felt discouraged, directionless, isolated—like the rug has been pulled out from under me.⁣⁣

Building a space for Keeping Together has been hard; we’ve had delays, budget overruns, issues at almost every turn. I knew it would be a long and difficult process, but the challenges are part of the dream. Last month, however, Pat and I experienced something that makes all the other hard stuff pale in comparison.⁣⁣⁣

Our brewhouse equipment supplier notified us that they were closing—we won’t be receiving any finished equipment and won’t likely be able to recover our money. We were 90% paid on our contract, over $472,000. Timing is never great for things like this, but now is especially bad for KT as we’ve been in the final push of raising a bit more money to supplement our loan in order to finally start construction. This event has put us in an extremely precarious position.⁣⁣⁣

I don’t want this to be a sob story—far worse things have happened to far better people. I am staying positive and solution-oriented, but I’d be lying if I said I haven’t had moments of despair. Though at times it feels insurmountable, I’m fiercely committed to finding a path forward.⁣⁣⁣

I want to share this because Keeping Together wouldn’t exist if not for the support and encouragement from folks in this community, through thick and thin. As hard as it is to share, this event will now forever be a part of the Keeping Together story, and from the beginning I have wanted that story to be raw and vulnerable and human. (I didn’t think this chapter would start with a crisis of this magnitude, but here we are.)⁣⁣⁣

Keeping Together’s story is also about resilience—we are stronger together than we are alone. Knowing this community is here to cheer us on has strengthened my resolve to get through this, no matter what it takes.⁣⁣⁣

To all the friends/colleagues that have offered me guidance throughout this process, thank you from the bottom of my heart. And to everyone reading this, thank you for being here and giving me a reason to keep going. We won’t let Keeping Together’s story end here.