Making a Masterpiece: Richie EsQuivel

Richie EsQuivel

Co-owner, Brewer, and Marketing at Meddlesome Brewing Company

Meddlesome Brewing Company is a Cordova-based brewery with a wide selection of distinctive beers on tap. As the co-owner of Meddlesome, Richie EsQuivel has been brewing professionally for eight years. As he discusses the art and science of brewing and Meddlesome’s commitment to giving back to its community, Richie exemplifies Meddlesome’s motto: “Never Settle. Always Meddle.” 

How long have you been in the hospitality industry, and what made you want to get started here?

I've been in some type of customer service or hospitality my entire adult life. I’ve worked in restaurants, back of the house, as well as in brewing. I was drawn to the drive and passion that you find in the brewing industry. Brewing is really unique; it’s kind of a mixture of art and science. And then there's a whole marketing side of it that I never knew I had a passion for. Once we started getting this thing off the ground, it opened my eyes to what you can do when you have a startup built on your own money and intellect and creativity. 

What does your day-to-day look like? 

My day-to-day can be anything from squeegeeing and mopping floors, to prepping food, to canning beer, to milling grain, to taking trash out. It’s a business that encompasses all of your senses and all of your abilities. Not many businesses can require you to use all the parts of your brain and body like that. 

Can you describe one of your brews and why you were inspired to create it?

We make a Scottish-style beer called Heavy Meddle. It’s a lot like the high-gravity beers, imported beers that you couldn’t find in North Mississippi where I used to live. The only way that I could get those kinds of beers was to brew them myself. Heavy Meddle is big and malty and caramelly, and we do a big metal music festival surrounding it, and pull in local bands to come and play. So it definitely has this community feel to it. And that community is really why I got into brewing. You've got your regulars in the tap room. You've got the people that live around you. You got the people that make up your bar, that become friends with your staff. And there's just something to it that I think is unique to the brewing industry in itself. 

What has stuck with you in your experience that has either changed your life for the better or changed your perspective?
I’m struck by how much even a small business like us is able to give back. Brewing is a lot like restaurants in that our margins are very small, so we’ve got to run it lean. The fact that we're able to do so many charity events throughout the year and give back to the community that gives us so much has really changed my entire perspective on giving back to the community that supports you. We built it into our business plan and see it come alive and grow every year with our events, especially our 0.5k, which is a lot of fun. It's kind of like a mock charity walk. But every year, we're able to raise anywhere from $3,000 for a local nonprofit, no strings attached. Just come and have fun, and let's see if we can raise some money for you. To have the power to be able to do that as a business has completely changed my life and my outlook. 

What are three places you’d recommend a guest to visit? 

Definitely Shelby Farms. When you're looking at a concrete jungle basically all day, there's nothing like a great walk in the park to help clear your mind. 

One of my favorite places to go is Second Line in Midtown. I'm a po-boy junkie, they make great food, and those crawfish cheese fries are to die for. 

My other recommendation is to visit local breweries in general. We have a great relationship with other local breweries. They're always doing cool events. Everybody's always got great beers. The Memphis beer scene is growing. People should get out and explore it. Memphis is 20 or so years behind the rest of the country when it comes to the brewing scene, but it is growing every day, thanks to people getting out there to support local breweries. So that would be the third thing: go check out a brewery, one you’ve been to, a new one, or the brewery you haven't been to in a year. Their tap wall will look completely different. I promise. 

Thank you, Richie, for your passion, drive, and dedication to your community!