Craft Brewery Financial Training Podcast

In this episode, I talk with Chris Overlay from Get Hoptimized about how breweries can build a repeatable system for generating more private-event leads. 

Chris walks us through what your website needs before you start advertising, how to showcase your space and amenities, and how to use Meta ads and dedicated landing pages to reach potential customers. 

We also dig into common mistakes, the importance of fast follow-up, and the numbers you should track to determine whether your marketing is actually paying off.

Key Takeaways

• Get your foundation right first. Before spending money on ads, make sure you have great photos, a dedicated private-events page, a simple inquiry form, and the proper tracking in place.
• Sell the experience, not the discount. Showcase your space, amenities, and the types of events you can accommodate. Focus on helping the customer create a great event rather than competing primarily on price.
• Use the right advertising strategy. Chris recommends lead-focused Meta campaigns rather than simply boosting posts, with multiple creative approaches directing prospects to a dedicated landing page.
• Respond quickly to every lead. Generating inquiries doesn't matter if you're slow to follow up or don't have a clear process for converting those inquiries into bookings.
• Know your numbers. Track cost per lead, average value of a lead, bookings generated, and return on ad spend so you can understand what works and invest accordingly.

Resources

Connect with Chris and learn more about marketing services offered by Get Hoptimized

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and strategies to grow cash flow and profit

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

In this episode, I’m introducing my new book, Brewery Finance Basics, a practical financial handbook designed to help brewery owners and managers build a more profitable, sustainable business. 

The book brings together 12 essential areas of brewery finance, from understanding your numbers and managing margins to cash flow, budgeting, benchmarks, and financial operating systems.

I’ll also share lessons from the first chapter: Brewery Financial Standard Operating Procedures. Just as you wouldn’t brew beer without a recipe and a process, you shouldn’t run the financial side of your brewery without one. Financial SOPs create the consistency, accuracy, and accountability you need to produce reliable numbers, and use those numbers to make better decisions.

Key Takeaways

• Why financial systems matter. Great financial management is about creating repeatable processes that produce reliable information and better decisions.
• The 8 essential financial SOPs every brewery should consider: month-end close, monthly financial review, budgeting and forecasting, cash management, revenue and receivables, purchases and payables, inventory management, and tax reporting.
• How to build a financial SOP from scratch. Establish the goal, determine how success will be measured, assign one person to own the process, identify the tools involved, and document the specific steps to follow.
• Turn recurring financial tasks into simple checklists. Define what needs to be done, when it needs to happen, who is responsible, and how completion is documented - especially for critical processes like the month-end close.
• Start small and build your financial playbook over time. Pick one process—cash management, inventory, or month-end close—and document it. Then move on to the next. Each SOP brings you closer to the consistent, accurate financial information you need to improve profitability and cash flow.

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and strategies to improve cash flow in your business.

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

Most breweries spend hours every week pulling reports from accounting software, brewery management systems, payroll platforms, and spreadsheets, only to end up with outdated or incorrect data. 

In this Brewery Financial Round Table, we revisit the four-part Financial Operating System and welcome Jeremy Carney from Central Coast Analytics to demonstrate how breweries can automate their most important KPIs into a single, live dashboard. 

Learn how real-time financial visibility improves accountability and helps your team make better decisions every week.

Key Takeaways

• Understand the four components of the Brewery Financial Operating System and how they work together to improve financial performance.
• See how brewery software, accounting systems, payroll platforms, and spreadsheets can be connected into one automated dashboard.
• Discover how live, real-time dashboards eliminate manual reporting while giving every department visibility into the metrics they own.
• Walk away with a practical roadmap for building a financial reporting system that saves time, improves accountability, and helps your brewery make faster, better decisions.

Resources

Connect with Jeremy Carney from Central Coast Analytics and learn how he can help you build an automated financial dashboard - [email protected]

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and best practices to build a financially sustainable brewery business. 

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

Most breweries have a financial operating system problem. What I mean by this is that financial statements arrive too late, budgets get ignored, department managers don't know what numbers matter, and owners end up carrying the financial burden alone. 

In this episode, I walk through a practical four-step framework for installing a Brewery Financial Operating System to solve this problem. 

You'll learn how to build financial confidence across your leadership team, create a meaningful annual financial plan, establish department KPIs, and implement weekly financial huddles that turn numbers into action. 

If you want your brewery to become more profitable, improve cash flow, and make faster, better decisions, this episode will show you where to start.

Key Takeaways

• The four pillars of a Financial Operating System. Learn how financial literacy, annual planning, department KPIs, and weekly financial huddles work together to create accountability and improve performance.
• How to create financially confident leaders. Understand why every department manager - not just the owner or accountant - should know how their daily decisions impact profitability and cash flow.
• How to connect strategy to execution. See how one primary financial goal cascades into department-level KPIs that teams can measure and improve every week.
• Why weekly financial huddles change everything. Learn a simple meeting cadence that keeps everyone focused on results, identifies problems early, and creates a culture of continuous improvement.

Resources

Learn more about the 90 Day Brewery Financial Reboot Program

Get the Brewery Profit Brief. Weekly tips, tactics and best practices to build a financially resilient brewery.

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

Beer loss is often accepted as the cost of doing business, but it could be one of your biggest taproom profit opportunities. 

After tracking beer loss in spreadsheets, Brent Reynard discovered his brewery was losing nearly 21% of draft beer revenue every month through foam, temperature issues, over-pouring, and operational blind spots. 

Rather than accept it as the cost of doing business, he built Draft Control - software designed to track beer loss, uncover root causes, and help breweries make better financial decisions. 

In this episode we explore how better data can reduce waste, improve margins, and replace gut feel with measurable profitability.

Key Takeaways

1. Why draft beer loss may be far larger and more expensive than most owners realize
2. How Brent reduced draft loss from roughly 20% to single digits using visibility, accountability, and operational changes
3. The “profit per day” metric and how to evaluate draft lines based on both sales velocity and profitability
4. Why the highest-priced beer isn’t always the most profitable beer
5. How data-driven decisions around pours, pricing, and inventory can create a stronger, more profitable taproom

Resources

• Connect with Brent, [email protected]
• Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and strategies to run a more profitable beer business

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

Events can be one of the most effective ways for breweries to drive traffic, increase customer visits, and create stronger community connections. 

In this episode, SkylerLewis from Evently joins our Taproom Success monthly expert to discuss how breweries can build event programs that create predictable recurring revenue. 

Key Takeaways:

• Private events have become a critical growth lever for breweries in today’s market - learn how to streamline the planning process to turn inquiries into solid bookings
• The event formats and programming strategies that are generating the strongest results right now.
• How successful breweries think about event ROI beyond ticket sales, including guest spend and repeat visits.
• Common event mistakes breweries make and practical ways to improve execution and attendance.

Resources

• Connect with Skyler from Evently, [email protected]
• Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and strategies to build a more profitable brewery business

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

Many brewery owners start the same way: brewing at home, sharing beer with friends, and hearing those words: “You should open a brewery.”

But making great beer and running a successful brewery require different skill sets.

In this session, I'll share what brewery owners wish they knew before opening, how to capture startup costs, measure margins, project cash flow, and truly understand those financial statements.  I'll go over common mistakes brewery owners make, how to avoid them, and practical steps you can take now to position your future brewery for long-term success.

Whether you’re seriously considering opening someday or simply curious about what goes on behind the scenes, this episode will help you understand the business side of beer.

Key Takeaways

• Opening a brewery means running multiple businesses at once - manufacturing, hospitality, retail, distribution, and food service.
• Cash flow - not beer quality - is what determines survival.
• Understanding margins, startup costs, and financial statements early creates better decisions later.
• You don’t need to become an accountant, but financial literacy can become a major competitive advantage.

Resources

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics, best practices and strategies to run a financially successful brewery

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

What separates taprooms with loyal regulars and predictable revenue from those constantly chasing new customers? 

In this episode, we break down how breweries can use loyalty programs to increase visit frequency, boost average check size, smooth out midweek traffic, and create stronger customer relationships. 

Featuring real-world examples and practical strategies from the Taproom Growth Playbook workshop, this conversation explores how modern loyalty systems can become a true profit driver - not just another "mug club" or “points program.”

Key Takeaways:

• Loyalty programs work best when they are tied to specific customer behaviors you want more of - like weekday visits, customer referrals, or visiting to try new beer releases.
• Digital mug clubs and app-based rewards can create recurring revenue while strengthening long-term customer engagement.
• The best loyalty programs start with one clear goal: increasing traffic, boosting spend, improving retention, or generating referrals — then building rewards around that objective.

Resources

Learn more about Tapwyse

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - weekly tips, tactics and strategies to 10x taproom profits

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

In this episode, I talk with Jeremy Carney from Central Coast Analytics about how breweries can use better data, dashboards, and financial analytics to make smarter business decisions. 

We explore the biggest reporting blind spots breweries face, how to combine information from multiple software systems into one clear picture, and which KPIs brewery owners should actually pay attention to each week. 

Jeremy also shares real-world examples of how breweries are uncovering hidden profit opportunities through better reporting and visualization tools.

Key Takeaways:

• Most breweries already have valuable data, but the challenge is organizing it into actionable insights that managers can actually use.
• Weekly KPI tracking can help breweries spot problems and opportunities long before month-end financial statements arrive.
• Dashboards and visual reporting tools simplify complex brewery data and improve team accountability and decision-making.
• Clean, accurate, and timely data is essential for meaningful financial analysis and forecasting.
• Better analytics can uncover hidden opportunities in pricing, product mix, labor efficiency, inventory management, and taproom performance.

Resources

Connect with Jeremy, [email protected] 

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and strategies to grow brewery cash flow

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies. 

In this episode, Jake Lohse and I break down “The Financial Playbook for Profitable Breweries” - a practical framework for brewery owners who want to move beyond survival mode and build a more profitable, financially disciplined business. 

The conversation explores the financial realities of running a brewery, the key metrics that matter at each stage of growth, and the systems, dashboards, and routines that successful breweries use to make smarter decisions. 

From cash flow forecasting and break-even analysis to budgeting, segmented financials, and weekly KPI scorecards, the episode delivers a step-by-step roadmap for installing a brewery financial operating system that drives clarity, accountability, and profitability.

Key Takeaways

• Most brewery struggles are due to lack of financial systems
  Great beer and branding are not enough. Many breweries fail because they lack financial visibility, clear metrics, and a disciplined operating cadence.
• Different growth stages require different financial priorities
  Startup breweries should focus on survival and cash flow, stabilization-stage breweries need systems and process discipline, and scaling breweries must prioritize profitable growth and consistent net operating income.
• Weekly financial rhythms outperform monthly financial surprises
  Successful breweries track key numbers daily and weekly through dashboards, scorecards, and financial huddles instead of waiting for month-end financial statements.
• Cash flow management is a core survival skill
  The presentation emphasizes weekly cash flow forecasting, budgeting discipline, and understanding cash flow drivers as critical tools for staying financially healthy.
• Profitability must become intentional
  The session encourages brewery owners to “begin with the end in mind” by setting clear financial goals, building KPI scorecards, segmenting retail vs. wholesale performance, and using data to guide decisions instead of instinct alone.

Resources

Connect with Jake Lohse at [email protected] 

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and strategies to run a more profitable brewery

Today’s episode is brought to you by BevCap. At Beer Business Finance, we talk a lot about installing systems that improve profitability and health insurance should be no exception. BevCap helps beverage companies apply the same discipline they use across the rest of the P&L to employee benefits, helping create smarter plans, more visibility into costs, and significant savings over time. To learn more visit BevCapManagement.com. 

Ready to transform financial results in your beer business? Learn more about the Beer Business Finance Association, a network of owners and managers working together to build more profitable companies.