We were lucky to catch up with Jesse Van Note recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jesse, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

In the Beer World hard to source or rare beers are called “Whales”. These can be anything from beers unavailable in your state, small batches, expensive, time to make, & any combo of these things.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have been drinking craft beer and eventually in the craft beer industry for more than 20 years. Ive stepped away for a couple short stints but always end up back in it. It’s what I know. It’s what I love. It’s what I’m passionate about. To apply these things on a daily basis at The Whale is a dream come true.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Andrew Ross and I were both employees at Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville, NC. We didn’t know much of each other until we were selected to be on the opening team for The Funkatorium (all barrel aged sour tasting room from Wicked Weed). I worked security and eventually started the tour program. Ross worked in the kitchen then became a bartender. We were sitting around sharing a bottle discussing our travels and came to the conclusion that while Asheville had a killer beer scene it had no Beer Bars. Based on that discussion we hit the ground running and our first location opened in 2017.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

We are fortunate to have a non profit called Mountain Bizworks in Asheville who exists to coach start up businesses and help them through the complicated steps of applying for and procuring an SBA loan. They are an amazing resource that we are fortunate to have access to.

Contact Info:

• Website: thewhalecollective.com
• Instagram: @TheWhaleAVL @TheWhaleGVL @TheWhaleCHS @TheWhaleOutpost