Today we’d like to introduce you to Colin Vanatta.
Hi Colin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
Home State was an idea I had after returning from going to college at Georgia Tech and working my first job in avionics near Atlanta. There was a brewery scene really opening up in that time frame, and I thought we needed more of that here in my hometown. I started doing math, like the nerd I am, to determine how we could possibly make this happen. My wife Lexi got on board and really spurred me to go after it. I reached out to a fraternity brother of mine who had experience starting a company while we were in college together, and AJ helped me start to formulate a plan to move forward. It’s still what we do today for HSB. We spent a long-time securing financing, in the middle of the pandemic, and met Marco through industry connections. We hit it off immediately and I could immediately tell his mind worked similarly to mine. The four of us really couldn’t ask for better people to own a business with. Coupled with the support and work our families, spouses, and friends put in, we really feel the support a community can have for a true small business.
It’s important to me that we did this here, in western Orange County. I was born here and grew up here. My mom was born here, and my dad was brought here at 2 weeks old because my grandfather got a job at the Martin plant. Dad and I both grew up in the Pine Hills area and my mom from south Orange Blossom Trail. One grandmother was a traveling nurse throughout the west orange area when highway 50 was really the only paved road. My other grandmother ran the St. Vincent dePaul food pantry. My family is all here, and we’ve always worked hard for ourselves and to give back to the community around us. Even when I was at Lockheed Martin working as an engineer, the plant provides so many opportunities and events for staff to volunteer their time and go rebuild a school, fix up a nursing home, beautify a park, you name it. It’s always been important to my family to leave a place better than you find it.
We are building Home State Brewing Co. to continue on that legacy and be a force for our local community and the central Florida culture.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
We really can’t complain. We have 4 owners that care so much about each other and our community that we don’t see any obstacle as impossible. Our families putting forth their time to help us has been fantastic as well.
We’ve also worked with friends in other industries who have come and taken care of construction projects, networking, cranes and hoists, thermodynamics, you name it.
There are always difficult times, of varying magnitude, but working with people you really, honestly consider family makes even the difficult days manageable. We’ve got each other’s backs and we have a fantastic community around us. That’s what drives us.
We’ve been impressed with Home State Brewing Co., but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a locally owned craft brewery, with taproom and Biergarten radiating the feeling of Gemutlichkeit, a German word evoking comfort and welcoming atmosphere. We specialize in lagers and have some pretty awesome equipment dedicated to our passion for flavorful and crisp lager-style beers. We also brew two of the best IPAs I’ve ever had, and we experiment a lot with dry hopping and balancing many complex flavors in individual beers. We take great pride in truly crafting everything we do. From our light lager and gold-medal-winning Pilsener to our west coast and hazy IPAs, to our stout, and finally to our brand-new releases of bourbon barrel-aged doppelbock and Cabernet barrel-aged saison, we craft exceptional beer in new and traditional styles. We also crafted our kitchen to provide unique and delicious foods for our guests, like our Spicy Pimiento Grilled Cheese and our incredible Cubano.
All of this is set in our welcoming taproom, patio, and Biergarten. Perfect for summer days, rain or shine, or colder days when those come around. The patio has weather curtains to ensure our guests truly feel Gemutlichkeit.
Of note, we are also the truest form of small business. The ownership that people meet in the taproom is as high as the ladder goes. We created this with our families of locals, and it means so much to us that we get to provide this and serve our community face-to-face.
Being from here we wanted to create something that locals would enjoy. We tied our artistic and architectural designs back to the natural springs of Florida, and everything down to the materials we used is tied to the local railroad – the reason Winter Garden first got on the maps – and Florida roots.
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
This is a great question. I’ve had many mentors in my technical roles, as well as in lead roles as part of a team. The most important two things in finding a mentor are:
1) Have a topic you want to discuss and be prepared to get all kinds of opinions on it from possible mentors. This can be something outside your field that you’re interested in, or it can be something supremely technical that will help you in your day-to-day work. Either way, ask your potential mentors about it. Take note of how they describe the information. Do they encourage you to participate? Do they nimbly avoid roadblocks in learning? Do they explain it to you as a peer rather than as a subordinate? To me, it is essential that someone first learns about another person, especially on either side of the mentor/mentee relationship. Ensure that your potential mentor first seeks to guide, not immediately to direct. Only through understanding can we truly know how to be a partner.
2) Tell them your goals. Notionally, what do you want out of the relationship? Out of your job or position? What is your vision for the role.
If they can get on board, even with caveats, even if they propose smaller steps to achieve the goal, then you’ve got someone who believes in you, practically.
If they get on board too early or don’t seem to analyze the true situation before diving in, you might have yourself a yes-man. This will likely not make for a good mentor-mentee relationship.
Only you can decide what is compatible with the way you want to operate. These two steps are structures for assessment. Tweak to suit your needs and the situation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.homestatebrew.com/
- Instagram: @homestatebrewingco
- Facebook: Home State Brewing Co.
- Other: Private event inquiries: https://www.homestatebrew.com/contact-us
Image Credits
Shannon M. Ball
