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

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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, we hear from Devon Hamilton, Director of Operations at Paradox Brewery, to break down the evolving world of contract brewing and why more breweries are using strategic production partnerships to grow without overextending themselves. 

Devon shares practical insights on scaling operations, maintaining beer quality, evaluating expansion decisions, and avoiding common mistakes breweries make when entering contract brewing relationships. 

The conversation also explores how contract brewing can support growth opportunities, improve operational flexibility, and help breweries navigate tighter margins in today’s craft beer environment.

Key Takeaways

• Contract brewing can help breweries grow sales and distribution without taking on major capital investments or expansion risk.
• Successful partnerships depend on strong onboarding, communication, forecasting, and clear operational expectations.
• Quality control and recipe consistency become critical when scaling production across facilities.
• Breweries should carefully evaluate the “build vs outsource” decision based on cash flow, utilization, staffing, and long-term strategy.
• The future of contract brewing may include growing opportunities in private label products, non-alcoholic beverages, RTDs, and regional production partnerships.

Resources

Learn more about Paradox Brewery's contract brew services

Get the Brewery Profit Brief - weekly tips and tactics to improve cash flow and profitability

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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. 

Benchmarking is one of the most powerful—and underused—tools in a brewery. 

In this episode, we break down how brewery owners and managers can turn complex financial statements into simple, actionable scorecards that drive better decisions.

You'll learn how top breweries use key metrics, industry benchmarks, and weekly financial meetings to identify profit leaks early, improve margins, and strengthen cash flow. 

Instead of waiting for month-end financial reports, breweries can install a simple financial operating system that provides real-time visibility into the numbers that truly matter.

Key Takeaways

• Why financial statements alone aren’t enough
  Monthly reports are often backward-looking and complex. A simple benchmark scorecard provides real-time visibility and early warning signals.
• The small set of metrics that truly drive brewery profitability
  Numbers like EBITDA, debt service coverage, gross margin, and key cash-flow drivers help determine whether the business model is sustainable.
• How to build a simple weekly financial scorecard
  Focus on just 3–5 key metrics per department to track performance, identify gaps, and drive accountability across the team.
• The Financial Operating System breweries should install
  The cycle is simple: set targets → measure performance → identify gaps → take action → report results weekly.
• How leading breweries use benchmarking to stay ahead
  Top breweries track margins, cash, sales velocity, and marketing ROI to make faster decisions and protect profitability.

Resources

Sign up for the Brewery Profit Brief -  Clear Numbers, Cash Flow Clarity, and One Practical Action to Improve Your Brewery's Profit 

Get the free mini-course Brewery Key Performance Indicators - scorecards, templates and best practices to improve your most important numbers

Take the Brewery Financial Health Check -  A quick self-assessment that shows where your brewery stands on the key drivers of profitability

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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, Sam Calagione shares the journey of building Dogfish Head Craft Brewery from the smallest commercial brewery in America to a nationally recognized brand. 

Sam shares how he started the business with $220,000 in personal loans, navigated decades of growth, and balanced creativity with financial discipline. 

He discusses key decisions around capital, distribution, and profitability, along with lessons learned from missed opportunities and strategic bets. 

The conversation also dives into the merger with Boston Beer Company, the importance of cultural alignment, and Sam’s perspective on the evolving craft beer landscape and what lies ahead.

🍺 Key Takeaways

• Start Small, but Think Long-Term Financially
  Dogfish Head began with limited capital, but growth was supported through a mix of bank financing, investors, and disciplined reinvestment over time.
• Growth + Profitability Can Coexist
  The company achieved 15 consecutive years of top-line growth while improving EBITDA - proving that scaling doesn’t have to come at the expense of profitability.
• Taproom & Direct Sales Should Come First
  For today’s breweries, maximizing on-site sales and margins is critical before expanding into wider distribution.
• Strategic Decisions (and Mistakes) Matter
  Missed investments—like delaying a canning line—highlight how timing and capital allocation can significantly impact long-term results.
• The Right Partnership Is About More Than Money
  The Boston Beer merger worked because of strong cultural alignment, shared values, and continued founder involvement - not just financial upside.

Resources

Get the FREE Brewery Profit Brief - tips, tactics and strategies to build a more profitable beer business

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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 today's podcast, you’ll learn how to turn your numbers into a real-time management system. 

We’ll show you how to identify the few key metrics that matter, assign clear ownership across your team, and install a simple weekly rhythm that turns financial data into action so you can improve performance before the month is over, not after it’s too late.

Key Takeaways:

• How to build a focused weekly scorecard (3–5 key metrics)
  A clear, simplified set of numbers your team can influence in real time
• Tactics to create clear ownership across your organization
  Learn how to assign “one name on each number,” so every key metric has accountability
• How to install a repeatable financial huddle system
  A simple weekly meeting structure that turns numbers into conversations, conversations into decisions, and decisions into results
• Tips to create stronger alignment between operations and financial outcomes
  Connect daily actions (sales, ops, inventory, collections) directly to financial results so your team understands how their work drives profit

Resources

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

This episode is brought to you by Secret Hopper. One of the hardest things in the beer business is seeing your business through your customer’s eyes. Secret Hopper helps breweries uncover what guests actually experience from first impressions and service to cleanliness, atmosphere, and whether guests are likely to come back. Their mystery shopping and customer feedback tools give you practical insights and action steps to improve the guest experience and drive repeat visits. To l

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.