By Jason Cercone
The podcast currently has 48 episodes available.
The Breaking Brews Podcast is gearing up for Season III and it's time to get excited! But, before we do, let's you and me sit down and catch up...in between seasons.
On this In Between Session, I drop some teasers on what you'll be hearing in Season III of the show. Also, I encourage you to pick up a new Breaking Brews hoodie or t-shirt, courtesy of our friends at Drunk Swag Source! And, I share with you the best ways to communicate with me via social media going forward.
Also part of this In Between Session are recent podcast appearances I've made.
First, I joined my friends at WordWrite Communications on the P100 Podcast to discuss the beer industry. You can check out the full episode, as well as the other episodes in their archives wherever you download your podcasts and by visiting p100podcast.com.
Next, check out the full episode of Behind The Hops with Ryan Galiotto. We talked about, you guessed it, the beer industry - podcasts, current trends (good and bad), the story behind Breaking Brews, and much more.
You can check out the Fueled by Hops Community on Facebook AND, last but certainly not least - check out the first-ever 412FueledFest on Saturday, March 14th! Info and tickets can be found by clicking here.
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SESSION SUMMARY: Education is something that's been instilled in us from the earliest of ages. From elementary school right up through high school and beyond, the importance of education in one's particular field, or fields, of interest is never something to take lightly. It's what gives us a more well-rounded perspective, helps us create and participate in meaningful conversations on various topics, and drives home the appreciate we have for the things we love.
When it comes to craft beer, education is critical to the growth and evolution of our culture. Why? You're about to find out on Session 38 of the Breaking Brews Podcast.
Host Jason Cercone is joined by Certified Cicerone David Nilsen to discuss beer education from top to bottom. David is a cicerone, beer writer, and presenter and brings a wealth of knowledge to the podcast. Jason and David dive into David's favorite beer presentation, why education often times gets labeled as snobbery, why it is up to industry professionals to continue driving education forward, and much more.
Also, Jason and David talk about one of his favorite published features. You can click here to check out that feature for yourself.
David is very active on social media and you are encouraged to follow him and join him in his beer-fueled plight. A link to his website where all his published works, as well as his social media platforms, can be found below:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: When it comes to the social media triumvirate (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), Twitter has fallen to #3 on most people's priority lists these days. That's not a blanket statement, of course, but many people and brands prefer Facebook and Instagram over Twitter. That's OK...build your brand the way you like. That said, there's still a lot of value in Twitter and today we are going to dive into how you can get the most from this platform.
In Session 40 of the Breaking Brews Podcast, host Jason Cercone goes one on one with you in an effort to bring Twitter back to prominence. While it may not be as popular as Facebook and Instagram or have as many users, there are still enough people on the network to make it valuable. Like all social media, the best returns come when you develop a strategy that helps you attack with excellence. This session of the podcast provides some tips and strategies to help you do just that.
Throughout this session, Jason covers:
You can connect with Breaking Brews on Twitter @breakingbrewsco and with Jason directly @jasoncercone.
PAID TWITTER RESOURCES
How to Use Twitter Ads: A Complete Guide For Marketers
Twitter Ads Campaigns: A Simple Setup Guide
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: Home delivery is all the rage. Thanks to Amazon, pretty much anything you can imagine can land on your doorstep in 1-2 days of pressing a button. Grocery stores and major convenience stores have also entered the home delivery realm, giving customers an opportunity to place their orders via the World Wide Web and get everything brought right to the house, no questions asked. Food services and subscription boxes like First Sip Brew Box bring everything to your front porch, too.
In other words, you don't even need to put on your bathrobe to get everything you need anymore. But...you know...we wish you would.
With seemingly everything now available via delivery, the question must be asked: What about beer? Can I get my favorite beers brought right to the house without having to visit my local bottle shop or distributor?
The answer is yes.
In Session 33 of the Breaking Brews Podcast, host Jason Cercone is joined by Michelle Arnoni, Founder of Beverages2U, a new service that delivers beer to your home for all residents of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Michelle is 4th generation in the beer business and has applied her years of experience to this new venture which is set up to be a groundbreaking platform in the world of home beverage delivery.
While beer delivery can only be utilized within the borders of Pennsylvania (for now), beer enthusiasts nationwide can get their hands on the new beer swag that Michelle is offering through Beverages2U. And, as a special bonus to the loyal listeners of the Breaking Brews Podcast, you can use the promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 5% on your order of beer and/or swag!
With home delivery solidifying itself as the most convenient way for consumers to shop, will delivery of beer be something that takes off nationwide? Michelle discusses this, as well as how delivering beer direct to consumers is bringing back a personal touch to the sales process that hasn't been seen for decades. All this and much more in Session 33 of the Breaking Brews Podcast!
You can catch up with Michelle online at Beverages2U AND her other business, Brewed2Burn Candles. All the links can be found below.
BEVERAGES2U: Website | Facebook | Instagram
BREWED 2 BURN CANDLES: Website | Facebook | Instagram
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: Beer and cheese. On their own, they're both awesome. Paired together? They're even more awesome. Cheese has gained worldwide acceptance as one of the best items to pair with adult beverages. Beer, wine, whiskey...it all works and it's all spectacular.
And because of that fact, it made perfect sense to keep the beer and food pairing sessions of the Breaking Brews Podcast rolling with a deep dive into the world of beer and cheese pairings!
If you listened to Season I, you most likely stumbled across Session 9 where Jason Cercone and Master Cicerone Brian Reed provided a broad commentary on food and beer pairings. Brian shared some exceptional insight on how beer enhances certain flavor profiles (and vice versa), why contrasts in flavor between the beer and food items makes for a better experience than having two flavor profiles that matchup, and much more. You can jump back in the archives and take in Session 9 at your leisure.
In Session 39, Jason and Brian are joined by Anais Saint-Andre Loughran, Co-Founder of Chantal's Cheese Shop in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood. Anais is a cheese monger extraordinaire and knows cheese front to back, top to bottom, inside and out. She and Brian put their heads together to pair seven beer styles with seven cheese styles and all were consumed and discussed in great detail on this wildly informative, incredibly fun podcast that originated from Chantal's.
For all of our Pittsburgh listeners, Chantal's gets a 16/10, 102% on Rotten Tomatoes, would highly recommend score from the Breaking Brews Podcast. If your occasion calls for specialty cheeses, check out Chantal's. And, pro tip: DO NOT leave without some of the Saint Angel cheese. It's covered on the show. You can thank me later.
Here is how you can connect with Brian and Anais on the World Wide Web:
BRIAN: Instagram | Twitter
CHANTAL'S CHEESE SHOP: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: No matter how the size of your taproom, managing it effectively can make or break you when it comes to delivering a quality customer experience designed to bring people back for repeat visits. There are several factors to consider - cleanliness, ambiance, ancillary offerings such as board games or TVs, food, friendly staff - plus a lot more that many owners and managers overlook.
In Session 36 of the Breaking Brews Podcast, host Jason Cercone is joined by Jackie Carlson, co-founder of Natural 20 Brewing in Spokane Valley, Washington via Skype to discuss how Jackie has maximized her taproom space to ensure customers are walking away feeling like part of the family. Jackie and her husband are going through a rebrand at their brewery coupled with construction. But through all of the craziness and unpredictability a rebrand can bring, they've pressed on and still focus on delivering a quality experience each and every visit.
A major theme at Natural 20 is gaming and guests are invited to partake in a large variety of board games while they enjoy their favorite beers. This is not uncommon at breweries across the country, but Natural 20 takes things to another level and you'll hear all about it on this podcast. Plus, Jackie shares some insight on Natural 20's rebrand, how they manage to get beer in select outside accounts to increase the visibility of their product, why it's important for breweries to distribute to beer destinations that take care of their lines so product remains consistent and well-represented, and much more.
If you'd like to catch up with Natural 20 online and see what they're all about, the links are below. PLUS, rumor has it Natural 20 has a killer beer cheese and Jackie is willing to share the recipe with you! Stay tuned til the end to hear how you can connect.
Website | Facebook | Instagram
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: Cask ale or cask-conditioned beer is unfiltered and unpasteurized beer which is conditioned and served from a cask without additional nitrogen or carbon dioxide pressure. In the United States, it is most commonly seen sitting on a bar top in a gravity rack with brewers adding additional ingredients to a base beer to give it some extra flavor. Some bars and breweries have hand pump engines that pour cask ale the way it was meant to be served, just like they do in the English-style pubs you'd encounter on the other side of the pond.
Sadly, cask ale (also known as real ale) is labeled as "warm" and "flat" by many beer consumers. However, it's important to understand that a beer's true flavors and aromas can stand out even more prevalent fashion in a well-done cask beer. In this session, we are going to put to rest many of the misconceptions surrounding cask ales in today's beer world.
In Session 42 of the Breaking Brews Podcast, host Jason Cercone is joined by Josh and Stephanie Lepke, Founders of The Leaning Cask Brewing Company in Springdale, PA - about 15 minutes outside of the city of Pittsburgh. Josh and Stephanie bring all of the nuances of an English pub to their destination and brew beer with plenty of old world inspiration. Josh has also dialed in his skill set for modern brews, delivering strong in the American IPA category and beyond.
Their taproom features a hand pump engine that allows customers to experience cask ale the way God intended. At the same time, Josh, Stephanie, and their staff provide as much information and education as they can to help consumers understand why cask ales deliver a different drinking experience and help enthusiasts gain a new appreciation for the liquid in their glass.
This session features some great conversation about what inspired Josh and Stephanie to take the direction they have with their brand, how they've grown The Leaning Cask throughout the Pittsburgh market, some ins and outs of cask ale and cask conditioning you may not be aware of, where they see cask ales going as the beer world continues to evolve, and much more.
You can catch up with The Leaning Cask Brewing Company on your favorite World Wide Web destination of choice:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: On many sessions of the Breaking Brews Podcast, we've discussed creating the ultimate customer experience - something that's going to make someone's visit memorable, noteworthy, and have them leaving wanting to shout from the rooftops how much they can't wait to come back and bring 10 friends with them.
This is where the power lays these days. Great beer and food are simply table stakes because people have so many options to choose from. In order to captivate consumers, you need to build a destination. A locale that offers so much, people will travel great distances to experience what you're offering without thinking twice.
In Session 41, host Jason Cercone is joined by Jim Stutzman, Co-Founder of Lazy Horse Brewery and Winery in Ohiowa, Nebraska. Lazy Horse is a destination that is 45 minutes removed from the nearest restaurant...and neighboring town, for that matter. People travel 2-3 hours to experience Lazy Horse because they've built themselves into the type of place that not only serve quality beer, great wine, and wood-fired oven pizzas, but also has friendly, knowledgeable staff, an ambiance that makes customers feel welcome, and an overall positive vibe throughout the entire venue, inside and out.
Your brewery, restaurant, bar, etc. doesn't need to sit by itself 45 minutes away from your nearest competitor to be a destination. Chances are, there's about 100 yards between you and a consumers' alternative choice. What are you going to do to ensure they choose you first? Your mindset needs to be thinking customer experience and treating your venue like a true destination at all times.
This session covers how you can make your staff feel valued so they continue to produce the best experiences possible, how everyone on your team can learn from their own experiences, simple ways to market your brand throughout you region that will help you stand out, and much more.
Here are the best ways to connect with Lazy Horse Brewing:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: We live in a world where the beer supply is seemingly endless. Over 8,000 breweries in the United States alone are producing good beer for us to enjoy...with plenty more in planning who will be joining the fray soon. This abundance of beer selection has made many people ask if beer has reached a saturation point. Is the bubble going to burst? Is there too much beer out there?
The answer is no. And on this session, we are going to discuss why.
On Session 44 of the Breaking Brews Podcast, host Jason Cercone is joined by David Sheets, partner at Sixty Four West Brewery Consultants. David has years of experience in the beer industry and has built AND sold five different successful operations. Through Sixty Four West, he and his partners help breweries plan smarter, execute their plans, and operate a more efficient, profitable business.
David's expertise regarding the beer bubble goes well beneath the surface of what many feel is too much liquid in the market. There is a lot to consider: How tightly are you running your operation? Are you producing quality product? What sort of experience are you delivering consumers? Is education a major part of your operations? How do you market your product? Have you exhausted your outside sales efforts?
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout this session, David will be dropping a series of knowledge bombs that all brewery personnel, from ownership to servers to brewers to sales staff, need to hear.
If you'd like to learn more about how David and his company can help your brand, you can connect with him here:
Website | Facebook | Email
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
SESSION SUMMARY: When is the right time to grow your brand? Can ego get in the way of smart decision-making when it comes to expanding your operations? When is the right time to take your brand "on a world tour?"
All this and MUCH more unfold in the Season II finale of the Breaking Brews Podcast.
Session 45 features some very candid conversation between host Jason Cercone and Erik Budrakey, a beer industry veteran whose years of experience have helped him establish True Brew Magazine, a publication with readership across the globe. Erik has helped many brands increase their distribution footprint by wisely focusing on all aspects that will impact their plans. He has also helped breweries project adequate sales forecasts and execute those plans to precision.
True Brew Magazine is a beer lifestyle publication that covers a wide variety of topics in the beer universe. You can click here to check it out for yourself!
Erik's passion for the beer industry spills into the conversation that unfolds in this podcast. His years of experience will help you get a better grasp on what you need to focus on within your business: growing your distribution footprint methodically and not overextending yourself, emphasizing quality product at every juncture, accurately planning and forecasting sales and not settling for "almost" getting there, the importance of self-awareness and getting help when needed, and much more.
As we wind down Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast, THANK YOU for listening to the show! Please let me know what you think of the podcast by dropping a rating and review on your podcast platform of choice. I'll see you for some smaller episodes in the upcoming weeks and stay tuned for news and updates about Season III of the Breaking Brews Podcast coming soon.
MUSIC CREDIT: Theme music and music clips for the Breaking Brews Podcast - Hellfire by Adam Drake and Tom Jenkins, licensed via www.audionetwork.com
SEASON II SPONSOR: Season II of the Breaking Brews Podcast is brought to you by Drunk Swag Source. You can get all your merch needs covered by visiting www.drunkswagsource.com. Use promo code BREAKINGBREWS at checkout and save 10% on any order of $200 or more!
The podcast currently has 48 episodes available.