Craft Beer Professionals

In a rapidly shifting market, breweries face the challenge of adapting to survive. This talk explores how thoughtful, strategic branding and package design can be a lifeline, helping breweries make the right moves to reach their target audience. We’ll discuss the value of brand audits to leverage existing equity, identify smart improvement areas, and make informed decisions on hiring the right designer. Discover how investing in design—even when budgets are tight—can strengthen brand presence, foster connections, and ultimately help breweries thrive in the new economy. Key Takeaways: Harness Brand Equity Through Audits: Learn how a brand audit can uncover hidden value, helping you make strategic, equity-driven decisions for cost-effective growth. Identify Smart Improvement Areas: Discover ways to prioritize brand elements that deliver the most impact, ensuring every design choice maximizes value in a tight market. Select the Right Design Partner: Gain insight into what to look for when hiring a designer, ensuring they understand your brand’s goals and can create targeted, audience-focused designs. Design as an Investment, Not an Expense: Understand how thoughtful, strategic design can become a powerful tool for connection and longevity, positioning your brand to thrive through market transitions. Elbongurk Design is a boutique branding and package design agency focused on the food and beverage space. Elbongurk is dedicated to helping brands make a lasting impression through standout, compliant, and market-ready packaging. Elbongurk's founder, Jillian, brings a unique blend of real-world and academic expertise. Before launching Elbongürk, she spent nine years as a tenured professor at a NASAD-accredited university, where she taught brand and package design, product systems, and brand identity. With a background in designing for well-known retail brands like Pottery Barn, Target, and West Elm, she understands the demands of bringing a vision to life in the competitive retail environment. Jillian has also shared her insights at the Craft Brewers Association conference and on industry podcasts, covering topics from beer branding to impactful packaging design. Stay up to date with CBP: ⁠http://update.craftbeerprofessionals.org/⁠ Join us in-person for CBP Connects Half workshop, half networking Charlotte, NC | June 9-11, 2025 Register now: ⁠https://tickets.beertrail.com/e/cbp-connects-charlotte⁠

As more Gen Z consumers reach drinking age each year, breweries face the question: how can they attract this new audience to craft beverages? To effectively appeal to Gen Z, it’s essential to understand their values, drinking habits, and experiences they prioritize—and how these differ from those of previous generations, like millennials. This panel will explore Gen Z’s top priorities in a brand, such as transparency, eco-conscious practices, and community involvement, and how these values can guide marketing strategies. Panelists will discuss the various methods they use to attract more Gen Z consumers who are new to the craft beer space. This includes appealing to their wellness-oriented drinking habits and offering beverage options beyond traditional beer. Key areas of focus will also include Gen Z's use of social media for finding authentic recommendations, along with their preference for budget-friendly options and experiences that go beyond just drinking. This conversation features: Anaïs Quintela (Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.) Evan Blum (BrewedAt) Michael Crosson (Bitchin' Kitten Brewery) Moderated by: Aaron Sperber (Craft Beer Professionals) Join us in-person for CBP Connects Half workshop, half networking San Diego, CA | December 10-12, 2024 Grab your spot now at cbpconnects.com Stay up to date with CBP: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/kgRIXUf/cbp

In our "What's Going on in..." series we partner with State Guilds to spotlight their current successes, challenges, and trends. There is so much we can learn from one another and we hope these conversations can provide you with valuable insights applicable to your state. Next up: Ohio This conversation features: Carmone Macfarlane (The Phoenix Brewing Co.) John Haggerty (Warped Wing Brewing Co.) Justin Hemminger (Ohio Craft Brewers Association) Mary MacDonald (Ohio Craft Brewers Association) Stay up to date with CBP: http://update.craftbeerprofessionals.org/

Though separated by over 2,500 miles, Coastal Fermentory and Loose Screw Beer Co. share similar experiences as they work toward the October 2024 openings of their second taprooms. In the first half of our conversation, we’ll explore the challenges, processes, successes, and surprises they encountered before serving a pint. In the second half, we’ll examine how their expectations have matched up to the reality of expansion. Whether you're considering adding a new taproom, currently in the process, or looking to learn from two brewery owners with valuable stories to share, join us for a session on expanding during challenging times. This conversation features: Seth Caddell (Coastal Fermentory) Mike Garcia (Loose Screw Beer Co.) Loose Screw Beer Co. is a taproom-centered brewery in Meridian, Idaho, devoted to serving quality craft beer in an inviting atmosphere to all. We're passionate about exceptional customer service and proudly support our local community through various philanthropic efforts, honoring the people who make our city thrive. Coastal Fermentory has been open just shy of 4 years and is located in Newport News, VA. They specialize in Hazy IPAs and consistently giving back to their community through one of their 70 non-profit partners. A brewery opened by 4 friends who love beer, they are always looking for new opportunities to create memorable events and release new beers. Stay up to date with CBP: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/kgRIXUf/cbp

PART 2 Beer is local. In our quest for success, the most impactful efforts often start in your brewery’s own backyard. As our industry evolves, there is immense value in having a local guild to advocate for, support, and provide resources to your area’s breweries. This session will explore the fundamentals of starting a local guild from the ground up and strategies for actively engaging its members. Our guests—experienced guild leaders—will share how they’ve united their beer communities, discuss effective fundraising efforts, and provide valuable lessons learned. Whether you’re looking to start a guild or strengthen your existing network, this session will offer practical takeaways to help you harness the power of local collaboration. This conversation features: Erik Fowler (San Diego Brewers Guild) Karis Roberts (Asheville Brewers Alliance) Matt Rowsell (Long Island Brewers Guild) Moderator: Andrew Coplon (Craft Beer Professionals/Secret Hopper) Support the NC Craft Beer Community of WNC: https://drinkncbeer.org/nc-beer-helene-relief Huge thanks to CDR BeerLab + ABS Commercial for all your support on our Fall Virtual Conference.

In today's dynamic craft beer industry, diversifying revenue streams is more important than ever. As the Director of Business Development for promotional product company, Shore Up Supply, Emily Neville has seen firsthand how the right merch presented and marketed in the right way can be a consistent profit stream for breweries who choose to invest in it. Still, with thousands of items to choose from and exponentially more color and design decisions, it may seem daunting to broach the topic at all. Throw in online inventory management and taproom displays, and is it even worth it? In this session, you'll be handed a strategy for supplier management, ordering timelines, taproom merchandising, and marketing tactics to turn your hoodies and hats into a profit stream. We'll discuss the latest trend and set you up for success to give your patrons mech they can't walk away from! Emily Neville is a graduate of the 4-year merit-based Park Scholarship at NC State University. While in school, Emily started Beer to Bags to transform the thousands of spent malt bags entering landfills into profitable brewery merch. Emily grew the brand to resell in over 200 taprooms, converting 10k+ malt bags since its infancy. Beer to Bags was recently acquired by Hoptown Handles and its sustainable merch arm, Shore Up Supply, in April 2024. Emily is remaining with the brand in a new role as Shore Up’s Director of Business Development. Emily lives with her husband Tyler and dog Oliver in Raleigh, NC. Join us in-person for CBP Connects Half workshop, half networking San Diego, CA | December 10-12, 2024 Grab your spot now at https://cbpconnects.com/ Stay up to date with CBP: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/kgRIXUf/cbp

Join us to learn how to make the most of your specialty grains to reduce costs and improve brewhouse efficiency. The industry is more cognizant of finances, and in this session, you will learn how to use brewing ingredients both more sustainably and innovatively. We will focus closely on alternative techniques as well as sustainable practices. Walk away with actionable insights to enhance your brewing process and bottom line. Country Malt Group is your one stop shop for your everyday brewing and distilling needs. Abi Conner, Product Manager at CMG is in charge of Portfolio Management, Innovation, and New Product Development. Abi will be joined by Patrick Sylvester, Heather Jerred and Tim Roberts, Territory Sales Managers at CMG, as well as Sydney Starkman, Field Sales Manager at CMG. Join us in-person for CBP Connects Half workshop, half networking San Diego, CA | December 10-12, 2024 Grab your spot now at https://cbpconnects.com/

Join a conversation about what Smart Buying is, why it's important, and how you can start implementing it at your brewery this month. It's not something that happens overnight, but we walk through a few real-world examples of changes breweries have made to start Smart Buying and how it saved them money. We'll also focus on a few ways you can start to implement your program and train your staff to do the same. Questions are welcome about things you might be facing when it comes to brewery buying. My name is Dan Klasen and I’m the Founder and President of the Beverage Federation. The Beverage Federation is a Group Purchasing Organization that provides buying services to its craft members. We have a growing membership base of craft brewers looking to find easier ways to operate their brewery without sacrificing quality. Starting the Federation in 2022 has combined my passion for meeting new small business owners, negotiation, and cost-saving programs. I enjoy finding scaled-down solutions that can help not just one of our brewery members but can be applied to our network of members. Join us in-person for CBP Connects Half workshop, half networking San Diego, CA | December 10-12, 2024 Grab your spot now at https://cbpconnects.com/

Revenue is the most important part of your business! When revenue comes in consistently and automatically every month you have achieved taproom nirvana! In this session we will do a deep dive into 3 highly successful modern taproom membership programs that add cash to the bottom line every month! Learn what works best to get people signed up. What brings guests back most often. And what is most profitable! You will leave this session with everything you need to refresh your existing program or start a kickass new one for your taproom today. This ain’t your grandpa’s mug club! From Ross: I accidentally graduated from UCSD while studying lacrosse and frequenting O’Brien’s Pub. After a brief attempt to justify the cost of my engineering degree by designing pool cleaners (true story) I quit and started programming instead, first websites and then mobile applications. Since then, I have started a few small businesses with friends to bring best-in-class mobile tech to small businesses in other industries. After growing up in San Diego during the craft boom, I jumped at the chance to start TapWyse and serve this incredible industry. I now live in Carlsbad with my wife Laurel and two boys; Roscoe 9 and Mason 7. When not working you will find me shuttling them between basketball, golf, music, and skateboarding. Cheers! Huge thanks to CDR BeerLab + ABS Commercial for all your support on our Fall Virtual Conference. Join us in-person for CBP Connects San Diego Half workshop, half networking San Diego, CA | December 10-12, 2024 Grab your spot now at http://cbpconnects.com/

Buying for your brewery can either be time consuming, costly, frustrating or all of the above. We’ll go over 3 ways to buy smarter and see measurable savings. We’ll also review how to save time in the process, which can be just as valuable to team running a brewery today. The outcome is techniques you can apply in the coming months at your brewery. We’ll also cover a few examples of some recent success from different sized breweries applying these same buying practices. My name is Dan Klasen and I’m the Founder and President of the Beverage Federation. The Beverage Federation is a Group Purchasing Organization that makes purchasing simpler for brewery/winery/distillery owners and suppliers. We help you overcome purchasing hurdles so that you stay profitable. Several years ago, before starting the Beverage Federation, I learned the hard lesson with my own business that lots of little expenses and mistakes will catch up. My company had millions in revenue, employees, IT, legal… We had all the things that you’re supposed to have as a business, but, regardless of how many extra hours I put in, we still struggled with profit margins. Eventually, we had to close our doors, which was the single hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my professional career. Had I known then what I know now about the power of purchasing, things would have been a lot different. The Group Purchasing Organization (GPO) model has tremendous potential for the beverage industry. I see hundreds of great small/medium breweries, wineries, and distilleries suffering from the same problems that I had years ago. They are all doing their purchasing, spending too much money and time when buying, and not maintaining relationships with high-quality suppliers. Huge thanks to CDR BeerLab + ABS Commercial for all your support on our Fall Virtual Conference. Join us in-person for CBP Connects San Diego Half workshop, half networking San Diego, CA | December 10-12, 2024 Grab your spot now at http://cbpconnects.com/