Article for Beer Connoisseur Magazine - IPA or AIPA? Two Local Brewers Clash on Their Views of AI Usage in Beer and Business

Small businesses are increasingly wetting their beaks with artificial intelligence and it’s stirring up new results and emotions in Bellingham, Washington.

A Tale of Two Brewers

Jason Harper, founder and president of Stemma Brewing Co., said his company has been using AI for a year and is trying to expand its implementation. So far, he’s found time-saving value in it for small tasks like email, social media, and building formal documents.

“I want to stay ahead of the AI trend and I feel right now, I haven’t figured out how I can use it a ton,” said Harper. “But I would love to learn more.”

Not everyone is convinced they would benefit though.

Right down the road from Stemma is Otherlands Beer, where a different feeling is brewing. Ben Howe, a brewer and cofounder of the company, says he doesn’t use AI for business.

“We don’t have a problem that we need to solve, I guess,” he said.

Temp Check: A Range of Emotions

Howe has another reason for avoiding artificial intelligence. He is worried that AI is a culturally damaging “solution.”

“I don’t want anything to do with it,” he said. “I look at how other people use AI in their businesses and in their personal life to some extent, and I don’t know if they really actually have a problem they need to solve.”

Harper has a very different attitude.

“Anything to automate the future,” he said. “I think we can’t even fathom how it’s going to rock our world.”

Between recent protests in the entertainment industry and upcoming expos in Silicon Valley, there is a heavy contrast of opinions on AI.

Howe and Harper may rest at opposite ends of the spectrum, but it’s not a barroom brawl waiting to happen. The two have shared a beer on multiple occasions.

Is AI Watering Down Inspiration?

Howe is concerned that AI is eliminating the creative process.

“I’m worried, in 10 years, we’re going to wake up and we’re going to realize that everyone’s been using AI, and everything looks the same, and everyone’s copy looks the same and everyone’s stupid posts look the same,” he said. “And we’re going to be miserable, and we’re not going to know what to do about it.”

Harper acknowledged the concern, but said AI could also help more people create their own art or content.

“On more complicated stuff, I find that it at least gets my brain going and gives me some ideas,” he said. “For some emails, it’s helpful to have it write me a rough draft or even give me feedback — ‘Hey, how do you think I should respond to this email?’”

Howe remains skeptical.

“Maybe it’ll unlock some vast new reserve of human imagination,” he said. “But I doubt it." e

Innovation With a Side of Caution

Howe says he’s not anti-technology or against the use of AI for everything. He’s looking for more practical applications. One example he gave was empowering medical technology to analyze data more efficiently and help find cures for medical conditions.

“That seems like a very reasonable thing to be doing, sure. It’s solving a problem that humans can’t yet.”

Harper said he would like to see a robot that can move the kegs from the production cooler into the tavern cooler and stack them. He also sees potential in using an autonomous forklift to pick orders as the technology becomes more affordable.

He suggested AI could also reduce the need for a 40-hour work week.

“I think if we can use AI to do the same amount of work in 30 hours instead of 40 and make the same amount of money,” he said, “then maybe we work toward a world where 30 is the new 40?”

Harper thinks AI is currently where the internet was in the 1990s and we are only just beginning to see the innovations.

“I bet in the next 10 years, you’ll see humanoid robotics in near every workplace,” he said.

When Howe was asked for his predictions, he quoted the punk band, Dead Kennedys: “Give me convenience or give me death.”

“I think that’s the way that so many people in our society view things,” he said. “‘If it’s more convenient, I want it. I don’t care about the consequences until later.’”

“They’re takin’ our jobs!”

Howe thinks AI developments will ultimately hurt jobs.

“What I see people doing in work with it is, using it to be lazy,” said Howe. “I don’t mean that necessarily a pejorative way, but I mean using it to eliminate creative labor.”

He questioned the common argument that AI savings could lead to hiring in other areas.

“The counterargument would be, ‘Well, then you’re saving money as a business and can hire people for other things.’ What are they going to hire ’em for?” Howe said. “We’ve eliminated labor as much as we can.”

Harper disagrees.

“I think it changes jobs. I don’t think it takes away jobs,” he explained. “We still need all the same workers. We’re just going to be producing more output.”

He sees AI as a tool for eliminating undesirable or hazardous tasks.

“Where I could see it being really useful in our workplace is all the jobs that people don’t want to do and or the jobs where people get hurt,” he said and pointed out that he has a Roomba clean the floors every night. “We’ll just automate those sorts of boring tasks that no one wants to do.”

Harper acknowledges that it may reduce some jobs, but he also believes that “everyone has the opportunity to jump in and be just as efficient as the other person.”

However, there is at least one job he would not replace with AI: the bartender. A big part of bartending, he said, is the human connection aspect.

“Something feels icky about sitting down and having a conversation with a robot at the bar.”

Ben Howe

An AI Consultant Walks into a Bar…

Bellingham-based AI consultant Joshua Hale said many “AI-curious” users are still fumbling through the basics, often relying on generic prompts that yield generic responses. Many business owners dismiss AI’s potential simply because they haven’t explored it enough.

When asked about Howe’s lack of “need” for AI, Hale said, “I don’t think he’s played around with it enough to realize its potential.”

He believes those who utilize AI effectively will ultimately outcompete those who resist it — especially when using it for research, marketing and operations. To Howe’s credit, Otherlands Beer was ranked in USA Today’s 10 Best Brewpubs in the U.S. in March 2025.

To Hale, AI is a tool small business can use to level the playing field against larger corporations. AI gives access to high-level market research and strategy that was once only available to Fortune 500 companies.

“Otherwise, these mega corporations are just going to come in and clean house,” he said.

Regarding creativity, he believes AI is a collaborative tool that enhances both creativity and efficiency when used for idea generation and execution. Individuals can drastically improve productivity, fill skill gaps and accelerate their creative process.

When presented with Howe’s nightmare scenario — waking up and no one knows how to do anything anymore — he mused, “It’ll be next year.”

And those robots?

“The robots aren’t coming,” he said. “There are robots on the market right now.”

When asked if robots are stealing human jobs, he remarked, “AI isn’t here to take your jobs, but somebody using AI is.”

Automation poses a real threat to some labor jobs, Hale said.

He believes the cost savings and efficiency of AI will drive widespread adoption, leading to major industry changes. As AI-driven automation becomes more affordable, business owners may face tough decisions between hiring employees or adopting AI solutions.

Those who learn to utilize these tools will have a significant advantage in an era of rapid technological disruption.

“It’s up to you to know how to use these tools, so they don’t use you,” Hale said.

What Else is Brewing?

Sen. Maria Cantwell introduced a bill “to help small business leverage AI tools” in June 2024. It remains on the Senate Legislative Calendar.

Washington’s AI regulation task force released a report in December 2024.

On January 23, President Trump signed an executive order headlined “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration updated its ‘AI for Small Business’ webpage February 14.

Meta’s AI serves more than 700 million customers, and the company aims to expand to ‘hundreds of millions’ of businesses, according to Clara Shih, Meta’s head of business AI. She shared the goal in a March 6 interview with CNBC.

“Last Call!”

Washington small businesses, like the global market, seem poised for AI action this year. Whether the results are sweet, bitter, or balanced, only time will tell.