Just about anyone who has ever enjoyed a good craft beer has wondered if somehow they could make a living being involved in the craft beer business,whether it be producing it, selling it, or writing about it. Most of us don't have the experience or finances to brew a profitable amount,and so the vision of actually running a store where we could sell craft beer exclusively, talk intelligently about it with knowledgable clientele, always being in the loop of knowing whats on the horizon, always being the first to taste the new beers, has enticed and tempted many of us for years. Shawn Vollmer actually answered this sirens alluring beckoning and opened his own craft beer store. I had a chance to sit down with Shawn and do a 20+ questions with him and get a little insight as to what its like to live out this dream. With a Rogue Yellow Snow in my glass,and a Ballistic IPA in Shawns, and tornado warnings blaring all around us( a huge concern for a person with 800 bottles of inventory and no basement),we got started

1. Why did you get into this aspect of beer retailing,with the emphasis on craft beer?

It came from a combination of circumstances; one being that I'm a total beer geek,and two ,I had had retailing experience from years of working at Target. I deceided that I didn't want to work 40-80 hours a week at a job I had little interest in, so I got together with my father in law, who had an avid interest and knowledge of wine and opened up the store on 27th street. We then later moved here on 76th and Rawson. This store was always the ultimate vision,it is what we had in mind from day one. We would never had been able to have this setup on 27th street.

2.Are you and Jim the only employees on the payroll here?

Basically , Norma, Jims wife, helps out whenever we have winetastings and theres Jim Braun, a certified beer judge, who heads our beer education classes.

3. What other services do you offer here?

We have beer education courses, a monthly brewers night, free Saturday beer and wine samplings, 2 craft brews always on tap, you are able to select any of over 500 bottled beers ,and with my special chilling devise, you can enjoy it right here, no where else do you have a selection of beer you can consume on premises like that, we have a beer and wine club,special nights when you don't have to pay tax,or corking fees, and we now offer Wi-Fi.

4. I imagine you must have people coming in here looking for 12 packs of Miller Lite. What do you do,just tell them to go to Pick and Save or what?

Yes,that of course happens. When asked if I carry 6 packs of Bud,I generally answer No, but I do carry craft beers that are of a similar style and much more flavorful. Otherwise ,I send them to Pick and Save. I do have over 500 people in my 3 Cellars beer club,and I would say about one third of them were converted to craft beer and coming here to purchase a macro .

5. Has offering on-site consumption of bottled beer and taps helped your business and might you ever expand your tappers?

. It most defintely has been a boon to the business,primarily because its something so unique in Milwaukee,and for that matter ,Wisconsin. I have talked to people who have said this is somewhat common on the West Coast,in San Diego for instance. I do hope to expand to 4 tap beers in the not to distant future,and beyond that,well you can never tell.

6. You don't have unlimited space here,what is your criteria for deceiding what beer to put on your shelves?

There are a number of things I consider
What do I think will sell?
  What has sold in the past?
   Have I had requests for it?
  I will also research it, and look on some beer websites for already existing feedback. Then and only then do I make the decision. I will certainly not lower my standards because of what a sales rep tells me. I will not stock an item simply because a rep tells me it is a great seller elsewhere,ot that its backed by a powerful ad campaign or especially because the price is cheap. I have also refused beers that are now selling well at places like Woodmans simply because I personally did not think that the taste measured up.
As an example ,using all this criteria ,Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA got a quick entusiastic approval from me . It was also because of these standards that I became the first retail store in the Milwaukee area to stock,Futhermore, Central Waters,Oso, and Lake Louie.

7. Are you satisfied with your setup here,are there any plans for more cooler or beer space?

  There will probaly be no expansion of cooler or beer space in the near future. I'm pretty satisfied with my setup as is. Things are running well,and thats because I'm very meticulous about the whole operation and setup . For instance,the temperature and lighting in the store are strictly monitored and regulated so as to not affect the quality of the beer. You'll notice there is no light in the cooler,again to insure quality.

8. Are you pressured by disrtibutors to push certain products?

  Not anymore! I was at the beginning and you can expect that if you are first starting out. However,if you let it known that you are interested in quality,not so much quanity, the subtle arm twisting subsides.

9. Is there a certain unwritten agreement to stock certain products if you want to stay on an "A" list?

There really is nothing like that. To be on an "A" list, you have to show you can move the product. That only rarely comes into play. The last time that was pertinent was when Black Albert came through.

10. Your brewery nights seem to be very successful. Any breweries you are working on for the near future?

Well, we will be having Left Hand and Summit in shortly. I'm hoping to secure sometime in the future,Stone, Oskar Blues,Sierra Nevada and New Belgium. Despite having mentioned these,my emphasis and priority is always on Wisconsin Beers.
I have 2 rules that must be followed in order to have your brewery come in here
A. Somebody from the actual brewery must be here,and
B. A very special beer must come with them

11. In a downward economy,liquor sales often aren't affected as badly as other commodities. Based on your business,would you agree with that? Are people perhaps shying away from high priced bombers and 12 dollar 4 packs more then they used to?

There has been a definite decrease in high end beer purchases,people who used to purchase cases are now buying six packs. It is very noticable however, that people are not lowering their standards. They may lower their qunaity,but not their quality. Its pretty hard to go back to your old beer preferences once you've experienced the richness and full flavor of craft beer.

12. Do you plan on expanding your advertising any time soon or are you content at where its at?

  You're never totally satisfied, right now we are in the NOW section of the Thursday Milwaukee Journal, in Frankiln, Oak Creek, and Muskego-New Berlin. Word of mouth is our main strength,thats a 100% gold. Our web site has also been working well for us.

13. Any beers or breweries not currently available at 3 Cellars that might show up in the next year,or are there some you would really like to see become available?

There has been little snipets that Surly might be ready to expand, I would really love to see Alaskan Brewing become available and perhaps Russian River.

14. What festivals do you enjoy taking part in? Are there any you haven't gone to ,but would like to?

For me , the Great Lakes Festival is by far the best. I was so impressed by it,that I put sponsorship into it. They absolutely do everything right.
Of course,the Great Taste in Madison is fantastic.
I would like to someday make it to the Chilton Festival and maybe the Great American Festival in Denver,and hopefully sometime go to Oktoberfest in Munich.

15. Have you ever dabbled in homebrewing?

I have actually done both beer and wine. I brewed up a couple of great beers,but then was not so lucky with some wines. That was about three years ago and I've just been to busy since.

16. If you had friends from out of town coming in,and they wanted to try some Wisconsin Made beer,what would you be serving them?

I would give them Sprecher Black Bavarian,some Great Dane Double IPA,if I could get it, a Lake Louie Arena Premium,a personal favorite of mine, an Oso Night Train Porter, and probaly some Futhermore brews.

17. Besides the Wisconsin brews ,what does a person who has access to over 500 beers have sitting in his refridgerator on a given weekend?

You would usually find a Rochefort 10, a Kwak, something by Lagunitas,Summit,Left Hand,Stones and Dogfishhead and perhaps a Franziskaner.

18. What have been your best selling beers this year?

Having been told that you would ask me this,I was able to do some checking,and this is what I found out
For 6 packs its been
Bells Hopslam
Summit Horizon Red
Sprecher Special Amber

For individual bottles
Surprisingly number one has been Buffalo Water Bison Blonde
Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA
Bells Hopslam

19. What are some of your memorable beer tasting experiences?

Probaly the most memorable was when we opened our bottle of Utopia at the 27th street store. I also recall a place called Cellars in Eagen MN,having my first craft draft,a Tabernash Golden Pilsner,a wonderful easy craft beer, from a brewery that used to be teamed with Left Hand. These were my two AHA or WOW moments.

20. Any interests outside of craft beer?

With the business now,its pretty much all work. I consider an afternoon with the kids an enjoyable way to spend my infrequent off time. How about sleep? Can't you consider sleep a hobby? Isn't a hobby something you enjoy doing when you are not working?I would then consider sleep as one of my hobbies.

21. Our website is also about Buffalo Wings. Any favorite spot for you?

  I really don't have a favorite place. My kids enjoy BW3's ,so we do go there, it just depends what I'm in the mood for,there are no real favorite sauces.

22.Finally, if we were to write Surley,or Lost Abbey,or Alesmith or Russian River and ask them to have a beer tasting in Wisconsin,what reason would we give that they should chose 3 Cellars as the place to have it?

  We are the most unique beer and wine experience in Wisconsin
  We have a facility with a more upscale feel.
  We have the established clientele,the passionate craft beer drinker and consumer
  No other place in Wisconsin can say that.

Check out 3 Cellars at www.threecellars.com