Before we drop season 2 we have one more Friends of SBS segment. This one features Kary Shumway, the mastermind behind Craft Brewery Financial Training.

Chris and Kary talk brewery management software, when to take the plunge and start using it, and metrics that should be top of mind for all brewery owners.

Kary also shares his background, how he started financial training in the craft industry, and his thinking behind his course.

Season 2 next week.

Enjoy!

Links:

Craft Brewery Financial Training

Kary’s Financial Training

Ekos

We’ve got one more segment we’d like to share with you before we drop season 2. We’re calling it: Friends of SBS. The purpose of this segment is to showcase the expertise and knowledge of our peers and colleagues in the craft industry. 

In our first edition of FOSBS, we welcome someone who’s constantly spreading the word on why good beer matters, Jeremy Storton from Good Beer Matters. 

Chris and Jeremy dive into what it means to be a cicerone, the various achievements, and the process of becoming a master cicerone.

They also talk about favorite food and beer pairings, so just a heads up, you may want to grab a snack before listening.

Enjoy!

Links:

Good Beer Matters

BreweryDB

Cicerone Certification Program

Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher

The Brewmaster’s Table by Garrett Oliver

Beer Pairing by Gwen Conley and Julia Herz

Cheese Beer Wine Cider by Steve Jones and Adam Lindsley

Deschutes Brewery

Rogue

Jester King

Urban Roots Brewing

Ola Brew

Today, we have another killer edition of Office Hours for you. We brought out the brains behind the operation, our COO Tom Miller, to talk about the processes that keep the gears turning. 

Chris and Tom discuss methodology for establishing a vision and translating it into language that can be easily understood. They also explore tactical issues such as setting goals, tracking progress, and creating benchmarks.

This is a topic for all business owners, not just breweries. And this episode has some major takeaways that businesses can implement ASAP.

Links:

Car Dashboard Analogy

The Intelligent Action Series

We have something special for you while we put the finishing touches on Season 2... 

Introducing: Office Hours, a new segment featuring Chris and the Small Batch Standard team, giving you a peek under the hood at the internal conversations we have within the (remote) walls of our firm.

The purpose of Office Hours is to give you a peek under the hood of SBS, and to record some of the conversations we are having every single day. 

In the first edition, Chris talks with our Director of Accounting Operations, Phil Schwab. They walk us through how the SBS team conducts margin analyses for our clients’ beverage portfolios, discuss the importance of discipline when it comes to wholesale margins, and give us some perspective on what breweries should expect profit-wise in wholesale.  

If you’re a numbers geek, this one will be right up your alley.

One whole season down! We couldn’t be more thankful to our guests, listeners, and of course our co-host, Brandon Skall.

In the final episode of the first season of The True Craft Podcast, we take a casual look at some of the things we’ve learned over the past nine episodes.

We talk about Kings County Distillery pivoting to hand sanitizer, Hyperion’s inclusion marketing, leveraging technology with Liability Brewing Company, and much more.

Enjoy! And stay tuned for season two!

Links:

DC Brau

Four City Brewing Company

Kings County Distillery

Hyperion Brewing Company

Cypress & Grove Brewing Company

Reuben’s Sightglass

Reuben’s Brews

Sailfish Brewing Company

Liability Brewing Company

Karben4

Fernson Brewing Company

If there’s one thing constantly on every brewery owner's mind, it’s profit. Craft and community go hand-in-hand, but community can’t survive without cash. And in this episode of The True Craft Podcast, we discuss profit in the brewery.

Brandon and Chris start off by comparing profit margins in taproom and distribution models, navigating price increases, and Brandon’s philosophy on utilizing debt.

Then we bring in our guests for this episode, Blake Thompson and Derek Fernholz from Fernson Brewing Company in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

They give us insight on their sales split and profit in the early days of production, storage issues due to the increase in canning and distribution, and the status of Fernson’s recent expansion.

Enjoy!

Links:

Fernson Brewing Company

DC Brau

We’ve watched in amazement this past year as brewery after brewery have pivoted out of draft and into cans. But this transition is far from a “set it and forget it” situation.

An increase in packaged offerings has created an increase in aluminum demand, and in this episode of The True Craft Podcast, we discuss the potential aluminum shortage faced by craft breweries.

Brandon shares how DC Brau has navigated the aluminum crisis in the past, what they’ve done to counteract the recent shortage, along with predictions for what the future of draft looks like.

Then we bring in the guest for this episode, Zak Koga from Karben4 Brewing in Madison, Wisconsin. Zak is a great resource on this topic, especially since Karben4 has both an active canning line AND bottling line. He explains some of the advantages and disadvantages faced with offering both package types.

Enjoy!

Links:

Woodman’s Market

Karben4 Brewing

DC Brau

Humans have been brewing beer for thousands of years. Needless to say, the industry has seen it’s fair share of technological improvements, which seem to jump further and further ahead each year, all in an attempt to make life in the brewery a little bit easier.

That’s why this episode of The True Craft Podcast is all about technology.

Brandon gives us the perspective of an automated brewhouse, the journey it took to get to that point, and an overview of some of the back office software we recommend the most.

Then we bring in our guest, a wizard when it comes to technology, Terry Horner from Liability Brewing Company in Greenville, South Carolina.  

Terry is a software engineer who used his knowledge to optimize everything they do in the brewery, and he also gives some great insight on artificial intelligence in the industry.

Enjoy!

Links:

Vermont Information Processing

Ekos

Quickbooks

Bill.com

Biermi

Liability Brewing Company

DC Brau

When the big production volume talks start, most brewery owners’ eyes light up. But with great distribution volume comes great responsibility… and some key make-or-break decisions for the brewery’s future. 

And that’s exactly what we cover in this episode of The True Craft Podcast.

Chris and Brandon explore the pro’s and con’s of choosing either an independent distributor or a larger distributor, how to become a leading local brand, and how the scope of distribution changes as the brewery grows.

In the interview portion of the episode, we talk to Dave BuShea from Sailfish Brewing Company in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Dave talks about his distribution journey, the changes they made when they moved up to a bigger brew system, and the thinking behind Sailfish’s product portfolio.

Enjoy!

Links:

Premium Distributors of Washington, D.C.

Southern Eagle Distributing

DC Brau

Sailfish Brewing Company

Now with in-depth episodes on marketing and brewery operations under our belt, this week’s episode of The True Craft Podcast is all about steering that smooth-sailing ship in the right direction. In other words: leadership..

Chris and Brandon begin the episode with a discussion on leadership styles, empowering each individual to lead in their own way, and transitioning to a leadership role.

Then, in the interview portion of the episode, Chris talks with Anna Heineman from Cypress & Grove Brewing Company in Gainesville, Florida.

Chris and Anna talk about the shared leadership model at Cypress & Grove, leadership goals, and some ways they plan on achieving them.

Enjoy!

Links:

Full Transparency Black Cherry

Leaders Eat Last

DC Brau

Cypress & Grove Brewing Co.