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"You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline - it helps if you have some kind of football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer." Frank Zappa

Enjoying a fine crafted beer has become a treat beyond refreshment for adults today. Like a fine wine, a beer has a life of its own in a spectrum consisting of porters, pilsners, stouts, lagers, ales, and alts, to name a few. With the advent of homebrewing kits, beer enthusiasts are turning their favorite tastes into original brewing creations. Home brewing serves as a hobby and passion for the silent majority. In the case of Bill Cherry, it has become a resounding career opportunity.

Upon entering a brewery, you might expect to see a scene from the opening credits of Laverne and Shirley with an assembly line of brewers, bottlers, and mixers. At Switchback Brewery in Burlington, Vermont, the big picture is quite the opposite. Within the large 6,300 square foot room are rows of stainless steel vats, a walk in refrigerator and stack upon stack of kegs. Unlike most breweries, one employee runs this entire production seven days a week: President and Brewmaster Bill Cherry. A down to earth and soft-spoken middle aged gentlemen, Cherry has a traditional approach to his start up business; "I work off the heritage of great brews past and always think with the future." Spoken like a true beer aficionado.

"He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato

Taking the push and elbow of confidence to start his own brewery from Switchback business partner Jeff Neidblum, Cherry is now building upon his longtime dream of opening his own brewery. All his blood, sweat and tears are going into building Switchback Brewery from the ground up to a viable business. How did Cherry go about making this dream a reality? He quickly responded, "By plugging along and getting work experience and getting to the point where you can get a bank loan and say these are my credentials. The dot com era of breweries was around 1996 and everyone who wanted money for them was getting it. Now you got to prove yourself."

Cherry certainly has the right background to become a success story. He earned a master's degree in food science at the University of California-Davis, well respected in its beer and wine making programs. Later he ran the brewery at Boulevard Brewing Co. in Kansas City in the early ‘90s growing the company from 7,000 barrels to 38,000 barrels a single year. After coming to Vermont and working for a specialty food company that would later fold in 2000, there was only one obvious hop to make.

"I will kill everyone in this room for a drop of sweet beer." Homer Simpson

While I was drinking a sample of Switchback, Cherry watched for my reaction and spoke with the enthusiasm of somebody drinking beer next to him the first time. It certainly was an extremely smooth taste, but it has this great flavor that I just could not quite describe. Cherry helped place the words on my tongue. "There's a balance of hop taste out front and when you swallow, you get a malt sweetness that cleanses your palette."

It was Cherry's personal quest to shape something very full flavored but at the same time not be overly bitter, sweet or alcoholic. This is a distinct flavor that is hard to be describe without using the adjective "smooth." Because after drinking Switchback, that is the first word that comes to your mouth before, "I'll have another." Cherry ads, "There's six different malts floating around in there so by no means is it a Bud clone. It's a search for something that all the early craft brewers were trying to prove - this is what hops really are. Can we still have this really full flavor, while not punching you in the jaw with this or that. This beer is so smooth that I am attracting people turned off by the rich ales, and they end up saying, 'Hey I can drink this!'"

Local beer drinker Andrew Moshovitis of Burlington mentioned, "It has that smooth taste that most dark beers fail to capture." This is exactly the reaction Cherry was striving for.

"Why is American beer served cold? So you can tell it from urine." David Moulton

When mentioning the word "microbrew" to Cherry, he quickly corrects me and explains with a snicker, "I call it craftbrew, microbrew is so limited. As a Craftbrewer, it means I have to like the product I make, as it is the craftman's work. I am making something that I will make to enjoy and the other people will agree. You can tell when someone is playing down to its audience and their beer is uninspired. You have to go with your inspiration and hope it works."

Currently Switchback is being sold mainly in Chittenden County Vermont, but surprisingly to only bars and restaurants. Cherry's business strategy is to start small and take things one day at a time. So far restaurants have been his best account. "Because servers are commonly asked what beers do you have, they can always mention Switchback. Instead at a bar you got a noisy room where you have to shout the order out; it's usually a beer that people are already familiar with," said Cherry.

The local bars have been supportive of the new beer in town and Cherry is appreciative for their support. He follows a very traditional and honest way of doing things by walking into the local restaurants and bars and thanking the owners for carrying Switchback. You certainly won't see the owner of Anheuser Busch greeting bartenders at local taverns in St. Louis, Missouri. Switchback currently has one type of brew available, an Ale. With the limited variety, Cherry developed the philosophy that with all the crowded taps in the local bars and restaurants, all he needs is just one tap at each location to showcase his beer. So far that philosophy has proven successful.

But why start a beer business in Vermont? An area already over populated with trendy breweries like Magic Hat, Long Trail, and Otter Creek. Cherry is well aware of this overpopulation of the craft brews by admitting," I will never be as cool as Magic Hat, and don't want to be. With Magic Hat you are drinking that image. I would look stupid if I jumped into different flavors and tried to do too much too soon."

"If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer, I bet it makes beer shoot out your nose." Deep Thoughts Jack Handy

I couldn't help but ask Cherry if he drinks on the job. Of course here is a guy working alone seven days a week with the sole company of barrels of fresh brewed beer.

Eyes wide open he says, "It's a rule actually! You'd be surprised that brewery work is so hard that there is a policy that you never can become drunk, but the tap is there. I don't do anything in the beer making process without tasting it. As I get employees, I will teach them the same thing. It doesn't go forward until you think it's o.k."

With a statement like that, Cherry should have no problem finding help once he decides to expand his workforce. That should provide him with a little balance in his life and also provide him the opportunity to get outside and partake in some cross country skiing. He's been working non-stop seven days a week since last March.

As Switchback continues to grow, Cherry is interested in becoming a part of the beer drinking culture and someday would like to see the Switcback logo displayed on mountain bike jerseys as a sponsor. More than anything, Bill Cherry would look to become a regular in beer tents of all distinctive cultural happenings. Another beer brewer once told Bill that, "you don't get rich in this industry, but it's the fight you want to fight."

Cherry realizes that it's impossible to hide the fact alcohol doesn't have the same benefits of a V8 or Sobe. Cherry explains, "Make no mistake about it, you are selling the entertainment aspect. Don't be concerned about nutritional value.

Recent US health reports have indicated that routine beer drinkin' is about as beneficial as regular exercise in preventing heart attacks. The drinking public is always looking for an excuse to throw back a couple guilt free beers. In that case, I will have another Switchback please.

For more information on Switchback Brewery call Bill Cherry at 802-651-4114 or write to him at 160 Flynn Avenue, Burlington, VT 05410