"...And then we all went Mad."
In fiction, creating a place to enjoy a beer or two with your friends is easy. Fortunately for Fort Wayne, reality has been just as generous. At the corner of Taylor and Broadway stands an open door, a waiting stool, and a ready tap. The Mad Anthony Brewery beckons lovers of lager.

"It's sort of a Cheers feel," says Jeff Neels, general manager, referring to the popular TV show. "We know everybody by name. We kid around, we always call it 'My Place' because it's like being at your own place. Where you can just kick back and the customers can come in and feel like they're just hangin' out with a bunch of friends." So can the owners. Especially since they're friends, too.

In The Beginning...
It's an interesting story, this then, 30-something trio. The Mad Anthony Brewery was started by Blaine Stuckey and Todd Grantham. Stuckey had restaurant/ bar experience having worked at Chili's and Columbia Street West. Grantham had been a home beer brewer since 1992. They launched the Mad Anthony in 1995 and recently bought the original Munchie Emporium to complete the picture. Then Grantham called Neels, a buddy from his old college restaurant days, to help run it. It seemed to make perfect sense. A non-conformist establishment flaunting the old adage about going into business with friends.

"I have a little different view on it," Neels says. "I can't think of anything better than being with a bunch of friends and having a business together. For me it makes it more comfortable."

"That is real important as in any relationship, business or otherwise," Stuckey says. "Make sure you know the person before you get involved in such a big project. We handle situations a little bit differently, but it's a great mix."

It shows. The business is flourishing. From concept to concrete, the Mad Anthony evolved from circumstances. At first it was to stand alone. "Initially," Stuckey says, "the first brewery in town was going to be that type of element that brought people in. Something real different to Fort Wayne, but with the opportunity at the original Munchie, it was the perfect combination."

"Starting a brewery was always in the forefront of my mind," Grantham says. "We ran into this situation where the Munchie has space available which I heard used to be the Meyer Drug ice cream area. They used to make ice cream back there. So we looked at the overhead at starting up a brewery at a very well-known restaurant and it just fit. A microbrewery with the food, it was a perfect fit."

"I think the brewery is definitely the focal point," Neels says. "Along with the menu diversity we've got something for everybody."

Especially if you've got an appreciation for the unusual. Mad Anthony's beers, and any microbrew for that matter, bear little resemblance to their mass-produced brethren. These are specialty potions whipped up for special palates.

"I don't think it's a fad," Grantham says. "There are two ways you can do it. A guy that's out there just running a microbrewery has a little more challenge than a guy running a brew pub. As a brew pub, the majority of your sales are restaurant oriented so if you're running a good restaurant, the beer can do nothing but help. It's a different set of circumstances and challenges to make sure you stay afloat."

Award Winning...
In October 2000, Mad Anthony's Auburn Lager won the silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver. That was against nearly 2,000 entries from 500 breweries in 49 states. The Mad Anthony team followed up with first and third place honors at the Indiana State Fair Professional Brewers Competition. Award winning, hand-crafted beer with plenty of substance. However, to be a truly memorable microbrew, it's got to have an equal amount of style. Even a cursory glance at the menu will tell you the Mad brews are up to that challenge.

What curiosity fancy wouldn't be tickled by a mug of Harry Baals Irish Stout or Black Squirrel, or Happy Weasel or Old Crippled Bastard? Personality sells itself.

"It's just like cooking," Grantham says. "You can look at recipes and you can look at guidelines, but you just have to work it to your tastes. If it doesn't quite suit me this time, I can always adjust it a little next time. Very few beers are ever exactly the same."

It's in our best interest to always keep things fresh and come up with new ideas," Stuckey says. "The fact that Todd is coming up with new beers and making the beers better is just as important as the restaurant end of things."

It's also turning out to be just as popular. In the past few weeks, The Mad Anthony Brewing Company has doubled its brewing capacity. Which means more production and more fine turning. Leading to more beer than ever passing over Grantham's discerning taste buds.

"I can pretty much enjoy any beer," Grantham says, "but it almost comes to the point where I don't drink beer for enjoyment anymore. I drink it to find something from it, but I do enjoy it sometimes, too."

They really love us...
Even more impressive than the production upgrades and the awards has been the citywide response to the quality hometown brew. Mad Anthony ales and lagers are no longer confined to the environs of the brew pub. Distribution has taken off and taken Mad Anthony beer mainstream. By the bottle, case and keg it's rolling into a restaurant, bar, or liquor store near you. The variety of outlets runs about as wide a gamut as the beer itself. Mad Anthony draft can be enjoyed from Joe's Crabshack to Northwood Cinema Grill to Legends. Mad Anthony bottles can be cracked open from Catablu to O'Sullivan's and brought home from Belmont Beverage and Cap 'N Cork. Upscale restaurants like Park Place, Bill's Bistro and the Summit Club, which often present an extensive wine list, now complement it with equally ample beer offerings. Even when you're on the lakes, Mad Anthony brew is close enough to see it sweat at Docksiders in Angola. It makes one wonder about the possibility of outgrowing its roots. Taking off this quickly could have the pitfalls of excess not too far behind.

"I think it's a winning combination right now," Stuckey says. "Obviously there's something great working at the Munchie and obviously the Mad Anthony beer is winning awards and distributing throughout 40 different locations here in town. So you really don't want to mess with too much when it's working that well."

In a nutshell, that's the Munchie/Mad Anthony ideology. "The philosophy is just make everyone feel like they're welcome," Neels says. "The competition out there is so stiff that you have to put your best foot forward every day. We try to present a business that when people come in, it's like coming into their own home."

It might be the beer. It might also be the ambience. Beer always tastes better in the company of good food and good friends. Whatever it is, The Mad Anthony Brewing Company tries to deliver it. Anyone who's ever worked in a restaurant knows running one is hard work. Long hours are frequently rewarded with headaches. Owning a restaurant magnifies both. So doing it right and doing it well requires passion. Ups and downs will happen, but maximizing the good stuff means maximizing the gratification.

"The biggest up is owning this business," Stuckey says. "I never realized I would be in this career three or four years ago when I met Todd. Seeing the labels around town, 'cause I grew up here, having one of our own beers available at the Coliseum and the airport and everywhere in town is neat. It's really cool!"

"There's really nobody in this area that compares to what we have to offer," Neels adds.

Whether it's the ambitious Munchie or the award-winning Mad Anthony lineup, triumph for Blaine Stuckey, Todd Grantham, Jeff Neels and Manager Andy Eckelbarger parallels the formula for their bubbly product. "It's balance," says Grantham. "The whole good beer thing is how well everything is balanced together."

Balanced. Together. Be it the brewmaster or philosopher, Grantham's two simple words speak volumes, or in his case, gallons, as to what will keep this thriving business a place where you'll want everybody to know your name.