Hidden Gems: Meet Josiah Trandahl of Big Trouble Brewing Company

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josiah Trandahl.

Hi Josiah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I had been homebrewing for over ten years and really enjoyed both the artistic and scientific aspects of brewing. In the back of my mind, opening a brewery was something I wanted to do later in life–after I retired. I joined the United States Marine Corps in 2011 and was deployed in Afghanistan in 2018-19.

During that deployment, I lost three friends to an improvised explosive device. This was a horrible event and it left so much loss and sorrow in its wake, however, their deaths made me realize how short life can be. I decided to open that dream brewery as soon as possible, and signed the lease about four months after returning to Tennessee.

Several months (and headaches) later, we are a fully functional 7 BBL brewery and taproom with 12 delicious beers on tap in Gallatin!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
It has definitely been a journey. I’ve heard all sorts of quotes like, “anything worth doing is hard,” and “if it was easy then everyone would do it,” and now I am beginning to understand them. I think the essence of entrepreneurship is multi-domain problem-solving in a time-compressed environment.

I could wax forever about our hiccups in any number of areas from permitting and codes, rehabbing the 70-year-old flower shop where the brewery is located, piecing together and installing the brewing equipment, developing and implementing a food menu, merch, branding, maintenance, and repairs, payroll, ordering raw materials, COVID-19 delays, etc. I think struggles are inherent in any task; they are just part of the gig.

One of my biggest headaches in the whole opening process was the speed (or lack thereof) at which the buildout got rolling. Obtaining a building permit from a locality is essentially step one in rehabbing or building a commercial structure. During the research and planning phase, I spoke with my city officials who informed me that there was a helpful exception which stated that smaller commercial buildouts (like mine) did not require a commercial general contractor to pull a building permit.

This was great news, as I was planning to do almost all of the buildout myself and did not want to pay a general contractor for work I could either do myself or coordinate with subcontractors. A couple of months later, when I went to pull the permit from the city, they informed me that the rule had changed and that I had to hire a general contractor. After kicking and screaming to no avail, this set me off on a wild goose chase to find a reasonably priced contractor who would pull the permit, but allow me to do all the work.

Most contractors did not want that liability, and it took months to find one who would work with me.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Big Trouble Brewing Company?
Big Trouble Brewing Company is a fiercely independent local watering hole for the growing Gallatin community and tourists alike. The quality of the beer is matched only by the good vibes and friendly staff. We are a 7 BBL brewery and taproom located in Gallatin, TN. We make all of our own beer on-site and sell both at the brewery and to local restaurants and bars.

We strive to have something for everyone and offer a wide variety of styles including blonde ales, an Irish Red, hazy IPAs, imperial stouts, and more. At our scale, we can really experiment with new beers and styles without having massive distribution contracts to fulfill, this provides a good deal of flexibility and creativity–the fun stuff. Our customers love the beer… but don’t take their word for it, come try a pint!

Our taproom seats 72 and has a distinctive retro theme that pays homage to the greatest decade of cinema and music–the 1980s. The bar top is made of see-through epoxy resin and is embedded with all sorts of memorabilia–albums, tapes, pins, VHS jackets, and coins from the 80s. The bar has been the subject of many important debates, such as the supremacy of either Schwarzenegger or Stallone in regards to 80s action films.

We offer bingo on Wednesdays and trivia on Thursdays and are always on the hunt for fun one-off events like comedy and poetry nights.

So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
The best way to support is to come to try a beer! We think you’ll be back. We are always looking for ways to collaborate with the community. Local ingredients such as barley, fruit, yeast, coffee, etc. for beer collaborations can lead to amazing results.

We also enjoy hosting performing artists for events on the weekends like poetry nights, comedy nights and live music.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: bigtroublebrewing.company
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigtroublebrewing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigTroubleBrewingCompany/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG-jF0TANgePFkT0uLnENdg

Image Credits
BTBC