By hook or by ladder
Local brewery offers refreshment for your inner firefighter
by Allison Baker
Ten years ago, Rich Fleischer was serving his homemade beers to friends and family in his backyard. Today, his beers are on tap in over 130 bars and restaurants around the D.C. metropolitan area.
| Photo: Julie Wiatt |  | | Rich and Matt Fleischer toast their Silver Spring-based business. |
Hook and Ladder Brewing Company, the brand name behind Fleischer's brew, is dedicated to his years as a volunteer firefighter and represents the company's passion for delivering`` a quality product while giving back to the community. For every barrel sold, Hook and Ladder donates $4 to the local Firefighters Burn Foundation.
After graduating from the University of Rochester in 1994, Rich put his biology degree to good use working as a pharmaceutical researcher for Bayer while developing his own home-brewed beer recipes in his spare time. With the encouragement of his friends and an avid interest in the beer industry, Rich decided to take his beer commercial.
In 2000, Rich's younger brother, Matt, moved to San Francisco to help start-up Hook and Ladder. Soon Rich's beers started springing up in gourmet shops and the company flourished.
Rich, 35, and Matt, 31, returned to Bethesda, their hometown, to gain some business experience and extra capital in effort to manage their rapid success.
Rich went back to work in the biotech industry while Matt got his MBA from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. They re-launched Hook and Ladder in 2005, and two years later the company is worth $2.5 million.
A year ago Hook and Ladder had two employees; today, the company is 18 strong and there are plans to double that soon. Now based in Silver Spring, the company has seven contracted distributors and plans to expand into Delaware, Pennsylvania and Connecticut.
"We look at our distributorships as partnerships," Matt said. "We try to get everyone involved in giving back."
Last year the company donated $10,000 through their "Penny in Every Pint" program, and this year they expect to donate five times that. Throughout the year, Hook and Ladder writes quarterly checks in every market and hosts an event in celebration. Most recently, they donated $2,500 to the D.C. Firefighters Burn Foundation at the Crystal City Sports Pub where former Redskins players Gary Clark, George Stack and Tony Peters were on hand to celebrate.
In addition to the quarterly events, the Hook and Ladder hosts pub tours, happy hours and trivia nights at local bars and restaurants. They also sell a variety of products including their signature ax handle tap, a pint glass, T-shirts and baseball hats.
| Photo: Julie Wiatt |  |
The Hook and Ladder beers are award-winning. The Golden Ale was a Gold Medal winner at the 2001 Great American Beer Festival, American Style Wheat Category. But Rich is partial to the Backdraft Brown, which has a little more "oomph" to it, he said.
Matt's beer taste buds vary depending on his mood, he said, but the Golden Ale is great for a hot summer day because it's light and refreshing. Whenever he's feeling particularly indecisive, he opts for the "Ember Amber," a black and tan mix of the two.
Hook and Ladder beers are always on special at The Barking Dog in Bethesda, which is one of the brothers' favorite bars. Owner John McManus, who is also a volunteer firefighter, likes the fact that the Fleischer's beer is brewed and distributed locally. He says he'd rather sell all local brews but there aren't enough.
Hook and Ladder beers are very popular at The Barking Dog—especially the Golden Ale because it appeals to the masses. The unique flavor of the Backdraft Brown—much like Guinness—usually demands an acquired taste, McManus said.
"The Hook and Ladder's signature ax handle tap makes it that much more appealing," McManus said.
Within the next year, Rich hopes to distribute Hook and Ladder bottled beer in local markets. The company's long term ambitions are to expand nationally and even internationally.
The Fleischers are hopeful that the philanthropic aspect of the company will them break out of the local niche and bring them national name recognition.
"The Hook and Ladder brand translates across the country," Matt said. "There are fire stations in Manhattan, New York and Manhattan, Kansas."
McManus has no trouble seeing that happening.
"Look at Samuel Adams," McManus said. "They were a small, micro-brewing company 15 years ago, and they've gone through tremendous growth - a lot of it in their first five years."
"So you never know, but it all helps that the Hook and Ladder beers are a good product and the Fleischers are nice guys."
Story Update (April 2007)
Since then, the partners have announced an exciting new development for their business and for South Silver Spring: the planned opening of a restaurant and brew pub in the old Silver Spring firehouse located on Georgia Avenue. Jeremy Gruber, a retired firefighter and an investor in Hook and Ladder, has a contract to purchase the building from the Silver Spring Fire Department that will close in May.
The Fleischers will be Gruber's tenants, bringing a new, independent restaurant and bar to a section of Silver Spring that has had considerably less development then the area a few blocks to the north. Having crafted a microbrew with a firehouse theme, their move into the historic building seems a perfect fit.
Gruber and the Fleischers plan to minimize change to the building's historic features. This may be the rare development event in which economic interests and preservationists are on the same side.
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