GhostOfGaspar
Well-Known Member
Howdy, y’all!
I’m looking for a little help, or thoughts, or guidance with something I have been tasked with at work. This will be a longer post, so I appreciate in advance the effort and time you might take to read and reply.
I am not a brewer, but I am the “beer guy” on the corporate end of a company that owns a beer bar; they brew on site with a 2bbl system. We have a new brewer, after running through 3 previously. The first was garbage, who had garbage recipes and essentially should not have been hired in the first place, but the two most recent brewers were pretty good. They formulated some good recipes, and collectively created 6 “house beers” that are constantly available, as well as several one-offs, where they essentially have autonomy to be creative and do what they want. The problem was that both of them were hired off by larger, commercial breweries; which is a step up from a small brew pub.
The new brewer is talented, young, eager and also ambitious. He has produced some really nice beers recently, and the High Mucky-Mucks in the company are concerned about losing him to a brewery, similar to our last two.
The have charged me with figuring out how to keep him happy and to grow the brewery, presumably because I “speak the language” or have a long beard. I’m not really sure about what exactly is it I’m supposed to do, but I’m putting together an Action Plan, or presumed Wish List of things that I, and potentially our talented brewer, might see as improvements to the current system, and things that would keep him involved and willing to work with the brand for the foreseeable future.
Money aside, as I cannot control that, nor do I have the authority to discuss that with him, here is what I’ve come up with:
- Enable and encourage the brewer’s creativity, and supply him with the necessary materials to accomplish his goals. This may take form in specialty ingredients and materials, barrels for aging, etc.
- Make a further and more distinct separation between the bar and the brewery, in terms of branding. Allow the brewery to become, at LEAST from a marketing standpoint, its own entity.
- Involve the brewer in the brand and make him feel as though he is a vital part of its growth (as he may well be). We have 3 other locations with breweries, one of which is actually pretty successful apart from the brand; pay for him to travel to those locations in a learning/collaborative function.
- Encourage specialty package sales. This could be accomplished either through a crowler machine, or one of the local mobile canning operations that are available.
- Promote the brewery as its own entity at local festivals, of which there are plenty.
- Utilize the relationships with our other local breweries that we, as a bar brand, have fostered over the years to allow our brewer to make collaborations. The area in which we are located is rife with excellent breweries, and the “support local” sentiment is strong here.
What would you want, as a brewer at a small brew pub, to help encourage the longevity of your tenure?
Thanks in advance for any replies, and apologies if this post seems unclear or scattered. I’m still in the primary stages of presenting this to my myriad bosses and the brewer himself.
I’m looking for a little help, or thoughts, or guidance with something I have been tasked with at work. This will be a longer post, so I appreciate in advance the effort and time you might take to read and reply.
I am not a brewer, but I am the “beer guy” on the corporate end of a company that owns a beer bar; they brew on site with a 2bbl system. We have a new brewer, after running through 3 previously. The first was garbage, who had garbage recipes and essentially should not have been hired in the first place, but the two most recent brewers were pretty good. They formulated some good recipes, and collectively created 6 “house beers” that are constantly available, as well as several one-offs, where they essentially have autonomy to be creative and do what they want. The problem was that both of them were hired off by larger, commercial breweries; which is a step up from a small brew pub.
The new brewer is talented, young, eager and also ambitious. He has produced some really nice beers recently, and the High Mucky-Mucks in the company are concerned about losing him to a brewery, similar to our last two.
The have charged me with figuring out how to keep him happy and to grow the brewery, presumably because I “speak the language” or have a long beard. I’m not really sure about what exactly is it I’m supposed to do, but I’m putting together an Action Plan, or presumed Wish List of things that I, and potentially our talented brewer, might see as improvements to the current system, and things that would keep him involved and willing to work with the brand for the foreseeable future.
Money aside, as I cannot control that, nor do I have the authority to discuss that with him, here is what I’ve come up with:
- Enable and encourage the brewer’s creativity, and supply him with the necessary materials to accomplish his goals. This may take form in specialty ingredients and materials, barrels for aging, etc.
- Make a further and more distinct separation between the bar and the brewery, in terms of branding. Allow the brewery to become, at LEAST from a marketing standpoint, its own entity.
- Involve the brewer in the brand and make him feel as though he is a vital part of its growth (as he may well be). We have 3 other locations with breweries, one of which is actually pretty successful apart from the brand; pay for him to travel to those locations in a learning/collaborative function.
- Encourage specialty package sales. This could be accomplished either through a crowler machine, or one of the local mobile canning operations that are available.
- Promote the brewery as its own entity at local festivals, of which there are plenty.
- Utilize the relationships with our other local breweries that we, as a bar brand, have fostered over the years to allow our brewer to make collaborations. The area in which we are located is rife with excellent breweries, and the “support local” sentiment is strong here.
What would you want, as a brewer at a small brew pub, to help encourage the longevity of your tenure?
Thanks in advance for any replies, and apologies if this post seems unclear or scattered. I’m still in the primary stages of presenting this to my myriad bosses and the brewer himself.
