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A Conversation of Tipping in Breweries

posted by Craft Beer Professionals

Over the past several years, many breweries have reconsidered their service models – searching for the delicate balance that best maximizes the experience for both guests and staff. In doing so, this has also generated more conversations about best practices regarding tipping. In this panel, we will discuss different tipping models, their benefits, their challenges, and how conversations on tipping can result in greater success for your taproom.
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How E-Commerce Can Take Your Brand To The Next Level with Jason Sherman of TapRm

posted by Craft Beer Professionals

Alcohol e-commerce isn’t just a trend, it’s here to stay — but how can beer and hard seltzer brands fully utilize this sales channel and grow their businesses? Join Jason Sherman, CEO and Founder of TapRm, as he discusses the value of having your own customized e-commerce channel and the many ways it can help your beer brand scale.
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Craft Beer Marketing Awards Announce 2022 Medal Winners

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The 2022 Craft Beer Marketing Awards (CBMAs) “Crushie” winners have been announced. Part one was announced in a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday, May 28th and the final winners were announced on May 4th Live at the Craft Brewers Conference in Minneapolis, MN.

The Craft Beer Marketing Awards was established in 2019 to give recognition to the best companies in the marketing realm of the brewing industry.

Some notable winners were Starr Hill Brewery who won a gold medal in the Best Packaging Design for Bottles category for their Northern Lights IPA and Florida Beer Podcast which was awarded a gold medal in the Best Beer Podcast category.

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Begin With The End In Mind: Strategies For Selling Your Brewery

posted by Craft Beer Professionals

We will focus on how to create something you can sell, which will involve clean records, and a solid business platform. 2nd, How to appraise your business based on profit and loss statements. 3rd, how you find a buyer and my preferred method. 4th, you may find after making the changes to your business (having something to sell, you decide not to sell) you may decide not to sell your business, but rather keep it without having to work it everyday anymore. Example – There is no owner working in Starbucks.

Tom Hennessy has opened seven breweries of his own and helped over 100 more with his Colorado Boy Brewery Immersion Course. His video Frankenbrew, from 1995 has become a cult classic in the brewing world. His three brewing books include The Brewery Operations Manual, Colorado Boy SOP, and his latest The Affordable Brewery. Tom lives, brews, and writes in his mountain town of Ridgway, Colorado.

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Considering Employee Ownership: Questions to Ask Before Undertaking the Initiative

posted by

For many, the idea of owning a business is part of the American dream and there are thousands of examples of that in the country’s small breweries. There are times when founders and owners want to add new people to the mix and considering bringing on existing employees as owners can have a lot of benefits.

Separate from establishing an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) where multiple employees have a stake in the company, finding a single employee who wants to take on an ownership role that can benefit the overall company can be a smart move, says Erik C. Coleman, a beer industry consultant and the director of the Trocaire College Brewing Distillation and Fermentation Program.
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An Exit Strategy: Questions to Consider Before Closing Up Shop

posted by

The small business survival rate can be terrifying to people contemplating opening their own shop. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 20 percent of small businesses in this country fail within their first year of operation. By the end of year five, half have closed. And these stats were before the pandemic took its toll on already strained businesses.

In the early days of the pandemic, we heard that hundreds or thousands of breweries might close in the United States. Thankfully, that prediction has not come to pass but many beer related businesses have closed while many others contemplate the possibility. For businesses that close, they may have suffered from a sudden downturn in consumer demand for their products or been crushed by substantial cash flow problems. Whatever the reason, breweries that are considering closing can’t just shut the doors and walk away. Closing up a business can take months of work and there needs to be a plan for winding down the business.

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How to Recruit and Retain Exceptional Employees – An Interview with Pontoon Brewing CEO Sean O’Keef

posted by

As the brewing industry grows and becomes more competitive, brewing companies need to make sure they are offering competitive salaries and benefits to recruit and keep top talent. Sean O’Keefe, the CEO and co-owner of Pontoon Brewing in Sandy Springs, Georgia spoke with Beer Edge editor John Holl about his brewery’s approach to employee compensation.

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Insurance Checkup: Tips for Reevaluating your Insurance Coverage From Peter Whelan

posted by

Let’s be honest, absolutely no one enjoys dealing with insurance issues. In the best of times, insurance can seem like a pricey extravagance, a hedge against some hypothetical crisis that will likely never appear. And every year when it comes time to renew your coverage, the irritating process starts all over again.

There’s at least one person who loves talking about insurance, especially when it comes to brewery insurance. Peter Whelan of Whalen Insurance in Northampton, Massachusetts, didn’t invent brewery insurance but he has been in the business about as long as anyone. Brewery insurance used to be “damn near impossible back in the late ‘80s,” he notes. But as Whelan was getting ready to enter the insurance trade, he knew he needed to specialize in specific market segments. So when Janet and Peter Egelston opened the Northampton Brewery in 1987, Whelan helped insure their operation. From there, Whelan helped the then titled Association of Brewers develop its insurance program for the industry. Now he has advice for brewers looking to insure their operations or just review their policies.

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Today – March 14th is Last Day to Enter for the 2022 Craft Beer Marketing Awards

posted by

Today, March 14th is the last chance to enter the Craft Beer Marketing Awards.

The CBMA was developed to recognize and award the best marketing in the brewing industry across the world. Breweries, their agencies, artists, and marketing partners are invited to enter their work. The 2022 CBMAS include categories that recognize all aspects of beer–related marketing and are open to beer, cider, seltzer, mead and brewery-made RDT cocktails. There are more than 40 marketing and design categories in total.

For more information on the awards and to enter, go here.

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Employee Perks and Benefits with Erik C. Coleman of Beer By Coleman

posted by

A goal of brewery owners should be to focus not only on making great beer, but providing a workplace environment that values employees, fosters careers, and seeks to keep the calm and peace. That can be easier said than done in a high-pressure environment that touches on many different skillsets but there are ways to achieve a positive workplace beyond just paying a fair salary.

“I always impress upon people who want to get into the industry that you do this for love, not money,” says Erik C. Coleman, the owner of Beer By Coleman, a consultancy company. “You’ll never get rich unless you’re an owner but there is camaraderie, it’s a brotherhood and a sisterhood and it can be really rewarding to be involved with.”
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Selling Your Brewery – Three Paths to Consider with Jason Sleeman of Craft Beverage Lending

posted by

When the time to retire arrives and the conditions are right, a brewery owner must decide what to do with the company. In some cases they can simply decide to close the doors, sell the equipment and walk away, living happily in consumers’ minds as a memory. In other instances a decision is made to sell the business.

There are options but the plan to an eventual sale should be a long process in an owner’s mind, thinking about what they would like to see the business become and who will be at the reins. Three possible paths for finding a suitable new owner are a generational sale, creating an employee stock ownership plan, or selling to an outside company or individual.

Jason Sleeman, the Vice President for Craft Beverage Lending at United Community Bank in Woodstock, Georgia spoke with Beer Edge editor John Holl about the three options.
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DEI: Closing the Gender Gap in Beer – an Interview with Deborah Brenner of Women of the Vine & Spirits

posted by

There are a lot of conversations that focus on closing the gender gap in the beer industry and actionable steps have been made in recent years, but more work needs to be done. It is not as simple as simply offering jobs to women. There are rooted problems in the beer industry that need to be addressed to make companies responsible employers and to set a culture that fosters inclusivity.

Beer Edge editor John Holl spoke with Deborah Brenner, founder & CEO of Women of the Vine & Spirits about initiatives and actions companies in the beverage alcohol industry can take to be more inclusive and responsible.
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The ABC’s of Trademark Law With Attorney Mark Traphage

posted by

With nearly 10,000 breweries operating in the United States, and countless beer brands available, trying to come up with an original beer name has never been more challenging. Knowing some basics about trademark law and how to protect your brands is no longer the province solely of larger breweries but all craft brewers.

Attorney Mark Traphagen agrees and sees an inevitable increase coming in the number of such disputes. “I think it’s becoming a crowded field and when a field is crowded, it’s always more likely that there’s going to be some sort of conflict between brand names, product names, and other trademarks,” he notes. Traphagen previously worked as an attorney at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the federal agency tasked with handling trademark registration for products and intellectual property identifications. Attorney Traphagen walks us through some basics of trademark law.
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Tips on Upping Your POS Program

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Nick Bartelme, Marketing Manager at CANarchy, sat down with CODO Design, a food and beverage branding firm, to lay out some important insight on how brewers can raise the quality and effectiveness of their POS program.

From where to start a POS program (four pieces of POS every brewery should start with) to emergent non-beer verticals breweries should be paying attention to right now, Bartelme also describes how CANarchy roles out their POS program and differentiates between sales and marketing.

See the full story here at Craft Brewing Business.

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Deadline Nears for Restaurant Revitalization Fund Applications

posted by

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced this week that eligible businesses have until Monday, May 24, 8:00 pm (eastern) to submit applications to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF).

According to the Brewers Association, there are still some funds available to the small hospitality businesses such as breweries. When the legislation was drafted, Congress set aside $5 billion for applicants with gross receipts of not more than $500,000. To ensure an equitable distribution of funds, the SBA created additional funding allocations of $500 million for applicants with 2019 gross receipts not more than $50,000, and $4 billion for applicants with 2019 gross receipts between $500,000 and $1,500,000.

More details and how to apply here.

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SBA Grant Applications for Restaurant Revitalization Fund Accepted Beginning May 3

posted by

The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced that online application for the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund will be accepted beginning on Monday, May 3, at 12:00pm (EDT). The online application will remain open until funds are exhausted.

Businesses that may qualify for the economic relief money include any licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products. This would apply to brewpubs and breweries with a tasting room or taproom as long as onsite sales to the public comprises at least 33% of gross receipts.

You must be registered with the SBA to submit an application. You can set up an account in advance here starting on Friday, April 30th at 9:00am (EDT).

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