Brewery Throw-down!

One of the many fun things I have gotten to do in my role at Rockford Brewing Co. has been to plan and host various events such as bottle tastings and Tapslams! One of my earliest events was to have RBC participate in The Brewery Throw-down! at Ashley's Bar and Grill in Westland Michigan.  It may sound kinda silly and it was but it was also a riot. Ashley's brought about a dozen micro-breweries from across the state together for a little over 3 months to compete in their pub with about 6 taps each and see who would move the most beer in an evening.  The Breweries were bracketed off and battled for top spot over a series of 3 participating Tapslams to see who took top-spot.  Below is an interview I did to discuss our placement in the throw-down and to further discuss our flagship brand at the time, our West-coast style American IPA Hoplust and its place in the market.

Working in BeerCity USA!

From the time I was old enough to start drinking legally, I have enjoyed craft beer.  Before working at my first brewery, I had spent most of my time busing tables trying to make fancy cocktails at a fine dinning restaurant.  Then about 3 months after I turned 21, something truly exciting happened in my little town of Rockford Michigan, a craft brewery opened up! Rockford Brewing Company opened its doors right across the parking lot from where I sorted endless bottles of domestic beers for recycling every night.

As someone new to the world alcohol I was beyond excited to go and drink beer in a real pub.  I was certain there would be big bearded men cheering mugs of ale and attractive bar maids a plenty.  The atmosphere of Rockford Brewing Co is quite pleasant, with its custom wooden trim, including a Michigan pine and Curly Maple bar but my initial idea of what a Brewery would include was a little off the mark.  My first beer was poured for me by a slim, fine-featured bartender named Pat, with a pony tail and turtle-patterned glasses. The Pub itself was a hodgepodge of hippies, People in suits, local teachers and sweaty cyclist.  Nevertheless, from that first sip of Scotch ale, I was completely blown away!  I had no idea that beer could be so bold with such aroma and depth.  Between the joy I got from drinking the beer and seeing the jovial yet casual atmosphere of the Pub, I new immediately that this was someplace I wanted to work.

After a few more visits to RBC, to conduct further research of course, I asked for an application for employment.  I then interviewed, twice actually, and within 3 weeks was serving tables and learning to pour beer.  Since my first days working the floor, almost 5 years ago, the learning curve has been huge but I have loved every minute of it.  From serving and bar-tending, I worked my way to becoming Manager of the Pub and began taking on other roles, some I created through observing new needs that surfaced for our growing brewery.  The first of which was to become the first Sales Rep at Rockford Brewing Co. My job was a simple one, SELL!  In a time when the Craft Beer market was going through a historic period of growth this was no small feat.  Through cold calls the networking I accumulated a list of repeat accounts to carry our beer and in my first year I was able to increase our total beer distributed by over 30 percent.

Today I carry the title of Sales Manager at Rockford Brewing Company and have expanded my work to many areas of Brand Management and promotion.  I have taken on the role of working with our Chef to promote a farm-to-table menu by partnering with my family farm, Trapp's Farm and several others based locally for seasonal produce.  I have worked to educate myself on all areas of craft beer knowledge through the Cicerone program and the Master Brewers Association of the Americas but still crave knowledge!  I feel great growth within myself and much progressive momentum in the industry itself.  I still think Craft Beer's best days are ahead of it and an hugely excited about it's future, especially in the mitten.  Join me as I work to learn more and further educate myself and those around me on Craft beer, its partnership with local agriculture, and its role in a healthy society.  Cheers!

Who is The Grand Brewer?

If liking beer was all it took for me to start this blog, I would have done so years ago.  People don’t excel at something because they find they “like” it, they do so because they have found passion for it.  We all love a good drink, whether it’s a light spring Kolsh or slightly Smokey Scotch ale, everybody can find something to suit their palate.  There may be equally as many flavors and styles that don’t appeal to many people.  But even if you find the bitterness of hops offensive or many malt porters to be too rich, if we choose to study beer for what it is, we may discover our true passions and foster an appreciation for brewing as a practice.

Growing up on a small farm in western Michigan gave me a deep appreciation for local agriculture.  Beer is perhaps the greatest historically significant agricultural product.  If you have come to view beer as a drink reserved for phrat boys I would challenge you to join me in cultivating an understanding of the unique processes involved in producing beer.  As we learn, you may find you will gain a vocabulary greater than even the most sophisticated wine drinkers.  I have had my hands in almost every facet of the craft beer industry, from working on a hop farm, to germinating grain for malt, to shadowing master brewers, and I can tell you that there is no process so attuned to the given course of nature as brewing.

            The Craft beer industry is full of wonderful people who do incredible work.  They are extremely collaborative and want to share their work with those who are interested.  I admire the passions of the craft brewing community and want to thank them for helping me to find mine.  I hope that this blog will serve as a window for some of Michigan’s great minds in brewing, distilling, agriculture and art to share their experience and passion with the rest of us.

Cheers,  The Grand Brewer