Tag: NAGBW

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NAGBW – Distribution

A week or more back, the NAGBW broached the three-tiered topic of distribution. The speakers were Kimberly Clements of Pints LLC and Lester Jones of the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Here are my nuggets of wisdom from the Q&A…

  • California is a whole market on its own
  • lots of merger and acquisitions, but the consolidation game isn’t over and despite barriers to entry, smaller, boutique outfits are not to be written off
  • the role of the distributor is essentially the same though the world around is different
  • where beer is being distributed has grown
  • coverage of distributors seems more negative, though most days it works just fine in the background
  • you have to take what the market gives you, if cans get too expensive, then draft may grow
  • on premise and off premise lines are blurring when you can drink a beer at a grocery store
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NAGBW – A Women’s Place is in the Brewhouse

Thankfully, I just finished the beer history book by Tara Nurin (A Woman’s Place is in the Brewhouse) that this talk revolved around. Lets see what this latest session hosted by the North American Guild of Beer Writers brought to my attention.

  • the term archival silence will probably start being used more
  • research during Covid was both harder and easier in different respects
  • who “hasn’t” been talked to for a story? usually a minority
  • you just have to turn your head slightly to see someone who was just as instrumental in a brewery’s success
  • the same silencing of women happens over and over as men take over, over and over
  • Tiah Edmunson-Morton is writing a book on the women married to Oregon brewers
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NAGBW – Opening a Brewery During a Pandemic

This month the Guild has two back to back weeks of info. Here are my takeaways from Opening a Brewery During a Pandemic with guests Mario Cortes and Dave Riddille of the excellently named Here Today which is still yet to open in Seattle.

  • How do you create a beer list that attracts beer nerds, beer newbies and then how do you split that between local and tourists
  • You don’t know what will be important day-to-day nor predict what may be important in the long term
  • You need to be able to have honest discussions about which distribution route you want to take. Is selling focused on your location the best?
  • Can you still produce quality beer but with less state of the art equipment?
  • And a question from me for other new breweries, do you have to design a space that can be transformable in case of future pandemic restrictions as yet unknown?
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Beer Podcast – Good Beer Matters

Now I have to admit upfront that I have yet to listen to an episode of this podcast, Good Beer Matters. I have downloaded a couple episodes though and plan on listening.

That said, there are three reasons why I am pre-listen posting.

  1. Level of Guests – Charlie Papazian and Jeff Alworth are recent guests. That is strong.
  2. The Host is Certified Cicerone®, a BJCP judge, an IBD Certified Brewer, a homebrewer, a beer educator, and a beer writer.
  3. A member of NAGBW, the North American Guild of Beer Writers.
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NAGBW – Cerveceros

Next up in “News from the NAGBW” are my takeaways from a night talking about the SoCal Cerveceros.

First you should read the article that prompted the J-School discussion, HERE.

The most interesting point was brought up by Ricky Ray Rivera, founding member of the home brew club, now at Norwalk Brew House. Press and attention is good but too focused on the Latino aspect and not enough on the hone brewing can seem patronizing.

The six year old (around there) club started with seven members and is now over 250 with many having started breweries.

The networking is now important it seems. People have joined whose interests lie in food or other businesses.

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NAGBW – Reckoning

Next up in “News from the NAGBW” are my notes from last nights talk on whether or not a reckoning can become a revolution as the industry confronts sexism.

Here are some takeaways from the discussion with host Jessica Infante and panelists Beth Demmon, Jess Bautista and Paige Latham Didora.

  • hard to rehash these atrocious stories
  • workers are at a disadvantage bur female workers are often more so
  • career development is stunted
  • toxic gratitude where you have to be happy despite the bad environment
  • even job descriptions raise red flags
  • maybe reporting incidents to the local brewers guild could help
  • change the imperative from moral to either financial or legal
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NAGBW – Guilds

Next up in “News from the NAGBW” are my notes from last nights talk on the Inner Workings of Brewing Guilds on Diversity with Danielle D’Alessandra.

  • Will we revert back to pre-pandemic ways and forget about issues that have been brought to our attention?
  • DEI has to to start from the top and it needs to be driven by hiring more women and more people of color.
  • craft beer is new to the political process
  • How do we help diverse breweries to succeed and get past the barriers imposed on them such as ability to get loans?
  • What is the best way to bring beer to minorities in a way that educates them?

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NAGBW – Beer Media

Next up in “News from the NAGBW” are my notes from last nights talk on the State of Beer Media with one of my favorite beer writers, Jeff Alworth alongside Canadian beer writer Crystal Luxmore.

Below are my takeaways from the discussion…

We have to remember that craft beer has been written about for 10+ years. It is not the IT beverage

Not to focus as much on the brewmaster. Write about the founder, the marketing person or someone else with an interesting story.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is making more money off beer twitter than beer writers

Sponsorship can be made creative. Go deeper and pitch something less like a traditional ad,

Writing opportunities for money are indeed scarce but it is also a world where you can write without gatekeepers

Look to signal boost the good work being done.

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NAGBW – Marcus Baskerville from Weathered Souls Brewing

The NAGBW hosted another illuminating beer discussion this time with Marcus Baskerville from Weathered Souls Brewing the brewer and brewery behind the Black is Beautiful cause.

As with past recaps, here are notes that I found of interest….

  • Very hard to get donation data back from breweries. Baskerville has received a skosh over 400 survey replies out of 1,200 participants
  • Wal-Mart has entered into selling the beer and that has worked out well so far
  • Black is Beautiful has gone into hoodies, chocolate and bourbon
  • some days Baskerville has been interviewed from 8am to 8pm
  • Baskerville has tasted 45-50 of the BiB beers with Fremont and the Alchemist being noteworthy
  • was happy to second heritage breweries like Stone and Russian River join in
  • Weathered Souls has the #1 IPA in San Antonio
  • the brewery was heavily impacted by the snow storms in Texas and followed other brewery lead said in providing drinking water
  • Baskerville was wearing a Laker shirt in SAN ANTONIO!
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Malt via NAGBW

Already in 2021, I have improved on past performance by listening to another North American Guild of Beer Writers Zoom. This time about malt. Here are some two row bites of info….

  • Instead of thinking solely of a supply chain, think about the Value Chain
  • barley farming has a steep learning curve
  • only around 120 craft maltsters in the US
  • terroir of malt has not really been studied yet
  • malt has not been bred for flavor to hit attributes that a brewer has designed
  • brewers used to be their own malt suppliers
  • look out for different killing methods such as wind dried