Dark Beer Archives - MicroBrewr

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Beer festivals are an important part of a startup brewery’s marketing plan. Stephanie Carson and SuperFly Fabulous Events in Asheville, North Carolina put on 11 beer festivals every year.

I asked her, how much do beer festivals play a part in a startup brewery’s existing marketing plan?

“I think it’s everything,” says Stephanie. “A startup brewery is not going to have the marketing budget, they’re not going to have the advertising budget, they might not even have a contact at a good distributor.”

“So I think attending a festival is really important.”

When you’re getting ready to attend a festival as a brewery, you’ll need to make sure you have several items. Some events will provide these, so always check beforehand to make sure you know what you’ll need to bring.

Stephanie says to make sure you have these items:

Creative looking tap handles
Carbon dioxide (CO2) canisters
Ice
Jockey box
Tent/awning
Items to sell
Something to entice the customers back to your brewery

The beer festival is a key part of getting your product out to the public. People attending the beer festival are your core customers: They love craft beer, and they seek out new beers.

There are some things that you can do to best leverage your presence at the festival. Make a good impression, initiate contacts, and turn those into long-term customers.

This is what Stephanie recommends to get the most out of a beer festival:

Help promote the event.
Be organized and on time.
Give a creative take-home item, so the attendees will remember you.
Bring a unique beer that is not available elsewhere.

“With so many craft breweries opening up, you can’t just have your old standards.” [Tweet This]

Listener question:

From Conrad B.: Why do you do what you do?

Book recommendation:

Brewing Up a Business: Adventures in Beer from the Founder of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery by Sam Calagione.

Check out the entire list of recommended books, click here.

An upcoming beer style:

Dark beers

Other resources:

Tri-Cities Craft Beer Week, Tennessee & Virginia.
Beer Festivals: A brewer’s view, Gregg Smith, Realbeer.com.
Beer Mixology, where the science of brewing meets the art of the cocktail.

You can reach Stephanie Carson and SuperFly Fabulous Events at:

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Myles Stone was in his second year of medical school when he and Michael Mallozzi started Borderlands Brewing Co. in Tucson, Arizona with just $2,000. They both have full-time jobs besides the brewery, but they make it work. “Our secret,” says Myles, “Is to have wonderful people around us.”

Water is scarce in the deserts around Tucson. Conservation is central to Borderlands Brewing Co. operations. They save water in the following ways.

Cut water use one-third by running hot water in the heat exchanger, through cool water in a rainwater harvesting system.
Save rinse-water by adjusting pH to use it again, before putting it down the drain.

I wasn’t expecting a discussion about mobile canning companies. Yet Myles offers great insight on using mobile canning systems for his craft brewery.

Three years since opening, Borderlands Brewing Co. is already canning beer. Rather than buy their own canning line, Borderlands Brewing Co. hires mobile canning companies to package their product into beer cans.

Mobile canning is becoming very popular for small craft breweries. After investing in all the normal brewing equipment, there is no capital left for luxuries like a beer canning system.

There are now several mobile canning companies in the US. Usually their truck will travel wide, often spanning several states. Reservations must be made well in advance. A large truck will come with fully operational, mobile canning equipment, and package your product on-site.

Check out the resources below and find out whether mobile beer canning is right for your craft beer.