Four Firkins' 'beer geeks' bring craft beer craze to Oakdale

A fifth-generation entrepreneur, Jason Alvey inherited his family's affinity for small business, but not its love of fish and fishing.

For that, Twin Cities craft beer fans can be grateful.

Instead of joining Alvey Fishing Reels, the 95-year-old family business in his native Australia, Alvey cast his lot with the Four Firkins, the craft beer specialty store he opened last year in Oakdale.

"They're all big fishermen, everybody in my family, except for me," Alvey said. "I don't even like the taste of fish, so I'm kind of the black sheep. So I decided to come to the other side of the planet to sell beer."

Alvey's journey from Down Under to the leading edge of the Twin Cities' craft beer craze wasn't quite that direct, however. And it's taken him to unexpected places, including the State Capitol, where he is lobbying to change what he calls antiquated liquor laws, including Minnesota's ban on Sunday alcohol sales.

"I remember thinking that this industry here was going to explode, and that's certainly the proper word for it," Alvey said.

Alvey opened his first Four Firkins in St. Louis Park seven years ago. Now, as the beer competition intensifies, he hopes to expand even more to keep his business robust and meet what he sees as the public's seemingly unquenchable thirst for craft beer.

Alvey discovered his passion for craft beer in 2001, after moving from Australia to Minnesota to be with his wife, Heather, in her home state. While working at Erik's Bike Shop, he began drinking craft beer after long rides with friends who favored microbrews.

Eventually, he and a cycling buddy produced a series of video podcasts exploring the world of craft beer. In the final podcast episode, Alvey declared his intention to launch what would be Minnesota's first craft beer store.

After 18 months of planning, he opened a pint-size Four Firkins in May 2008 in St. Louis Park. In 2011, the store, which takes its name from an old English term for a quarter-barrel of ale, moved to a larger location in the same western Twin Cities suburb.

The Four Firkins expanded to Oakdale in September, opening after an online crowdfunding campaign raised more than $41,000 for the down payment. Alvey hired three full-time and two part-time employees at the new store, bringing the combined workforce at the two locations to 16.

The store wasn't the only beneficiary of the campaign, said Bryan Buser, the company's general manager and author of the Four Firkins weekly e-mail newsletter, which has more than 19,000 subscribers.

Opening the Oakdale store, Alvey said, is one step in his long-term business plan to offset competition from the big liquor store chains entering the state.

"In this new environment, we have to be able to run this business more efficiently," he said. "We also wanted to keep good people and pay them what they're worth. And we also wanted to be able to give back to the community in a bigger way."

Alvey eventually hopes to have five Four Firkins stores.

The Oakdale store, in a busy retail area near Interstate 94 and Radio Drive, "works as a destination store," Alvey said, because it's close to the freeway, making it easily accessible to customers from St. Paul and Woodbury and those who might otherwise drive to Hudson, Wis.

Wisconsin, unlike Minnesota, offers Sunday beer sales. In March, Alvey joined other retailers, lawmakers and activists in a Sunday beer run to Hudson liquor stores to show support for legalizing Sunday alcohol sales in Minnesota.

"We are in our hearts craft beer enthusiasts, just like our customers," Alvey said. "If I ever leave this industry, I want it to be a better place than it was when I joined."