Today we dig into the legal side of contract brewing with attorney Derek Allen from Allen Stahl + Kilbourne.

Derek shares best practices on how to create the brewery service agreement (the document that will govern your contract brewing arrangement) and where to turn for help on navigating the state regulations around contract brewing.

Key Topics

• Contract brewing vs alternating proprietorships
• Reasons to contract brew (that you might not have thought about)
• What you need to get right in your brewing contract
• Pitfalls to avoid in brewery service agreements

Resources

• Learn more about Derek Allen and contract brewing services his firm provides  
• Watch Derek's presentation on contract brewing 
• Get the financial training newsletter for the craft beer industry

Brewers Association supply chain subcommittee chair Mitch Steele joins us to share tips and best practices on how brewers can navigate today's challenges.
 
In the podcast Mitch shares his outlook for the next 6-12 months, and strategies to navigate ongoing supply chain issues.

Key Topics

• Mitigation strategies for supply chain challenges
• Best practices for purchase contracts: cans, malt, COs, etc.
• How to build relationships with your key suppliers

Resources

• Learn more about Mitch Steele and New Realm Brewing Company
• Brewers Association supply chain resources
• Get the craft brewery financial training newsletter

In today's podcast we'll review best practices to improve cash flow in your brewery. 

You'll learn the cash flow reports to run, metrics to track, and how to focus your time and energy to create a solid cash management plan for your brewery business.

Key Topics

• The main drivers of brewery cash flow (and how to manage them)
• How to build cash flow metrics for each manager in your brewery
• Best practices for your brewery financing plan

Resources

• Get the financial training newsletter for craft breweries
• Learn more about the craft brewery financial training membership

Today we talk with Tim Near from Agrowgate, a group procurement organization, that helps breweries manage their supply chain and buy better.

Pound for pound, supply chain purchases represent the largest outlay of cash for a brewery.  In today's podcast, you'll learn tips and tactics from a supply chain expert to improve purchasing in your beer business.

Key Topics 

• The 5 Rights of Purchasing...and why they are important to your brewery
• How to implement a 9 Step Sourcing Model
• Sourcing strategy example using Porters' Five Forces
• Common purchasing pitfalls...and how to avoid them

Resources

• Learn more about Agrowgate
• Get the finance newsletter for brewery professionals

In this podcast we'll talk about best practices for recruiting and hiring for your brewery. Finding the right employees is harder than ever these days, but a few simple tips can make the task easier.

Key Topics

• Use a template for your job descriptions and job postings - get it in writing, and get it in the hands of the job candidate
• Be crystal clear about the priority or goal for the position - how do you define success?
• Set proper expectations for the position 
• People exist to make a difference: Use the job description, tell the job candidate how they will make a difference in the brewery

Resources

• Subscribe to the free finance newsletter for craft  breweries
• Check out the Brewery Job Descriptions Guide, it's included with your Craft Brewery Financial Training Subscription

If you sell beer through a wholesaler, you have inventory management challenges. In today's podcast we talk with Bud Dunn from GP Analytics and hear about a solution to these challenges called the Craft Portal.

The Craft Portal is a tool that allows you to easily track inventory and orders without losing time, money or your mind. Wholesalers and breweries can quickly track what was sent, what is inbound and what is needed in the future.

The rapid expansion of brands and SKUs in the beer wholesaler's portfolio has made inventory forecasting very complex. The Craft Portal helps simplify the forecasting process so that you can reduce out of stocks, over stocks, and increase sales of your beer brands.

Key Topics

• Inventory forecasting best practices
• How to identify (and quantify) lost sales due to out of stocks
• The high cost of over stock inventory 
• Understanding wholesaler incentives related to inventory levels

Resources

• Get the Craft Portal One Pager
• Subscribe to the Finance Newsletter for Craft Breweries

In today's podcast we dive into the wonderful world of beer distribution with Laura Lodge from Customized Craft Beer Programs. Laura has a tremendous amount of experience with beer distribution and in our conversation she shares her knowledge freely.

Key Topics

• Benefits of working with a wholesaler
• Pitfalls to avoid in the brewery-wholesaler relationship
• Distribution contracts: What you need to know
• Key elements to a good brewery-wholesaler partnership

Resources

• Laura's book: Distribution Insight for the Craft Brewer
• Listen to our first podcast: StartABrewery.com with Laura Lodge
• The Finance Newsletter for Craft Breweries

In today's podcast we hear from Bart Watson, chief economist for the Brewers' Association. 

Bart is a self-described "stats geek, beer lover, and Certified Cicerone®." And he holds a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.  So, the Beer Data Doctor is in the house. 

In our conversation we dig into the 2021 beer data and get Bart's key takeaways, trends, and outlook for the coming year. We also talk about "craft's leaky bucket" and how brewers can use this concept to maintain or grow market share. 

Key Topics 

• 2021 beer trends and outlook for 2022
• Bart's key takeaways from the 2021 data
• The state of big seltzer (and craft seltzer)
• On-premise outlook 

Resources

• Bart's articles on benchmarking data, survey results, and packaging trends
• The Finance Newsletter for Craft Breweries

In today's podcast we talk contract brewing with Brewmaster Mitch Steele from New Realm Brewing.  Mitch shares what the contract brewing process looks like, the contract terms you need to know, and how to structure pricing.

Key Topics

• Contract brewing tracking data 
• How to structure contract brewing pricing 
• The key steps in the contract brewing process 
• Lessons learned, mistakes to avoid, in contract brewing

Resources

• Learn more about New Realm Brewing Company
• Contact Mitch for info on their contract brewing services: [email protected]
• Subscribe to the Finance Newsletters for Craft Breweries

In today's podcast you'll hear the audio version of the Taproom Success monthly Q&A.

In this session, Andrew Coplon and I discuss a wide range of topics, including best practices and lessons learned from taproom owners and managers.

Key Topics Covered

• 2022 beer industry look ahead: packaging trends, seltzer outlook, on-premise business, and overall beer consumption rates. 
• Focus on taproom key metrics: 2022 Most important measurements.
• Financing update: Market trends to share for taproom owners looking to expand or purchase equipment. 
• Taproom staffing issues? Tips to help, and best practices from Lady Justice Brewing about looking outside the box for candidates

Resources

• Learn more about the Taproom Success Membership
• Sign up for the free Craft Brewery Financial Newsletter