On The Line: Dennis Midden Of BrewBakers, Part Two

We tried to catch Dennis on our day off to thank him for our interview. But alas, he just left for the day on his bicycle. . . because he could. We leave you with a few fun facts about the dude who produces beer, bread, even wine. That's almost as cool as his love of Top Gun and The Sound of Music.

Read our interview with Dennis Midden of BrewBakers, Part One.
And now, on to Part Two . . .

Favorite meal growing up:
I'm one of 10 kids, so there were a lot of big pot meals. The favorite that comes to mind is a meatball and rice stew. I think I'll try and make one now.

Tell us about Purple Feet.
I've always wanted to do wine, but there is actually a Federal law that says you can't make beer and wine at the same location, and we didn't have enough room to separate. So when the place next door came available, we were lucky enough to get in. In fact, my daughter Abi wanted to call it The Wine Side, because this is how we all referred to it. Purple Feet is a natural addition to BrewBakers, and as I like to say, “It brings the chicks!” I guess the next unit should be a distillery . . .

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Where did you grow up?
I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. I still enjoy getting back there every chance I can.

What would you be doing if you weren't in this business?
I have always had a desire to live in Germany. My Dad is from Germany, and my Mom is from Austria. I have been to Europe about four times in the last 40 years, but I really want to live there for at least two years to take in the culture and traditions. I am on a three-year plan, now. Two years to sell and one year to get things in order, so I can do my two years in Germany. Wish me luck!

When you're not brewing beer, what are you doing?
My favorite past time is flying a small plane and enjoying the beach, my family and my three great girls. I enjoy cars, my favorite being the Porsche 356 bathtub.

Last thing you researched online:
I'm not too much into computers, but I think the last thing I looked up was aviation apps and genealogy programs. I like tracking the family; and in ours, that's a challenge.

Favorite childhood memory:
Family get-togethers and visiting my older brother's and sister's families on weekends. I'm the seventh son, and number nine in our family of 10. My Mom actually had 12, my younger sister is five years younger and there were two in-between that didn't make it. My Mom says she didn't quit, she just ran out. Good Catholic family.

Do you have any skills that are non-food related?
I sold real estate for four years, and I think I have great people skills. Not so much towards employees, but customers and clients.

Hardest lesson you've learned.
Integrity and moral character are the keys to life in the long run. My wild side runs a little rampant, sometimes.

Last book read or movie watched; how was it?
I'm really into regression hypnotism where people are hypnotized into past and in-between lives. I'm reading Michael Newton's last book, Life Between Lives (LBL). I grew up Catholic– Catholic grade school and high school, so I've always had a spiritual side. What Michael Newton is writing about seems more real to me.

The last movie I saw was The Lone Ranger. It was just OK. Top Gun and The Sound of Music are two of my favorite movies. Looking forward to seeing Planes!

Is there anything you'd like readers to know that we haven't already asked?
I have been fortunate to take action on things I really wanted to do, and introduce people to some very fun activities. My choices have not always been the best financially, but I have no regrets for not going after what I thought was right.

My three girls love me, and I love them very much. I'm part of a very love-filled family, and I feel lucky to be towards the end, where I learned a lot by observing my brothers and sisters.

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