EP-285 Lucious Wilson, Wedge Brewing Company

I'm not making a radical statement here, as we enter the final weeks of 2020, when I say it's been hard. Both for individuals and as a collective society. January always offers hopeful promises of new experiences and excitement, but by February of this year, things had already gone downhill thanks to COVID-19's ill-fated arrival. That was before Americans had also rightfully turned their attention toward issues of social injustice this summer. Time and time again, these themes and topics are addressed by telling the stories of the impacted people and businesses. That's true in publications like Good Beer Hunting, all the way up to the mainest of mainstream media outlets, like CNN and USA Today. But the reason these stories continue to get told—and why they still carry such meaning—are the humans behind the anecdotes. In this conversation, we're going to hear about these topics and more in an oral history from Lucious Wilson. He first reflects on adjusting business plans during a pandemic, and then trying to process a season of protest after the killing of George Floyd. Wilson is general manager for Wedge Brewing Company in Asheville, North Carolina, and he's also a self-proclaimed "rebel" who likes to disc golf and skateboard. He's spent a career in food and beverage that began well before Asheville was known as "Beer City, USA," and he's also a man inspired by the women in his life, like his wife and sister. Even when his employees and peers didn't know what to do, or how to process all that 2020 changed in regards to doing business and interacting with the world, you'll hear him talk about the importance of being a leader, and what it means to him to be able to inhabit a role like that. As a brewery making about 1,000 barrels of beer a year, and primarily focused on its home market, Wedge Brewing is not a household name across the country. But my hope is that by joining me for this conversation with Lucious, you'll have reason to celebrate one more person and business that's worked hard to be their best in a shitty year. And maybe the stories you're about to hear will offer you another human to root for, too. This is Lucious Wilson of Wedge Brewing. Listen in.