CBP Connects Portland, Maine
June 10-12, 2024
CBP Connects presented by Arryved POS
Monday, June 10, 2024
Welcome Reception at Rising Tide Brewing thanks to ABS Commercial
TUESDAY, June 11, 2024
Gather + Coffee + Trade Show
Welcome/Get to Know Your Fellow Craft Beer Professionals
Andrew Coplon (Founder, Craft Beer Professionals/Secret Hopper)
Jeff Pillet-Shore (Allagash Brewing Company)
What, fundamentally, is appealing to people about “craft beer”? There’s no perfect, single answer to this question — but clearly, for so many folks, it has been the direct connection with producer. As the industry evolves and pressures grow, the community, up-and-down-the-block presence of small and independent breweries can be one of our greatest advantages. But what’s the best way to leverage this presence into something relevant for the consumer? This session will explore how to work to bring what makes your brewery special into every aspect of the customer experience. By leveraging the insight that “letting people see behind the scenes” is fundamental to brewery success, we will unpack “authenticity” and “culture” to help you identify who you truly are.
Learning Objectives:
- What is “authenticity?” Every brand seems to crave this concept – but what does it mean for your brewery. We’ll explore how to get a genuine look at your company culture, and go through a process for taking stock of, and understanding, your “inside” culture.
- Audit time! How does your current marketing presence reflect what you really hold as your values?
- Tools/processes for being able to share these stories (regardless of budget) – and we don’t mean your brewers acting out memes.
Born and raised in Southern California, Jeff Pillet-Shore is Marketing Director at Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine. He has been a part of Allagash since 2014, and previously held marketing leadership positions at Nestlé and Stonyfield Organic. Jeff has served two terms on the board of directors of Maine Brewers Guild, sits on the Brewers Association Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) MarCom subcommittee, and was a member of the board at Seacoast Eat Local. Jeff leads the marketing team at Allagash, handling the brewery’s packaging design, advertising, social media, sales support and more. In 2023, he was recognized by AdAge as a “Breakout Brand Leader” for his team’s work at Allagash Brewing. When Jeff is not working, he enjoys watching movies with his family, chasing his dog through the woods, gravel cycling, and searching for high quality baked goods.
Moderator: Kary Shumway (Craft Brewery Financial Training.com)
Panelists: Erol Moe (Stoneface Brewing Co.), Nicole Carrier (Throwback Brewery)
Learning Objectives:
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Understand how to choose the right key metrics for your business.
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Learn how to assemble your most important brewery numbers into a usable, actionable dashboard.
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Be ready to implement a system to communicate and educate staff on how key metrics work, and how everyone can make a difference in helping the brewery achieve it’s goals.
Erol Moe co-founded Stoneface Brewing Co. in Newington, NH, alongside his friend and long-time homebrewing partner, Peter Beauregard. Together, they have fostered a supportive community around the brand. Since Stoneface’s establishment in 2014, Erol’s dedication to the industry is evident, including service on the Board of Directors of the New Hampshire Brewing Association. The company maintains an intensely personal culture with equal emphasis on quality, consistency, and experimentation. With Stoneface reaching its 10-year mark, Erol remains dedicated to supporting its evolution and the growth of the broader craft beer industry.
Kary Shumway is the founder of Craft Brewery Financial Training.com which offers online resources for beer industry professionals. He has worked in the beer industry for more than 20 years as a certified public accountant and a chief financial officer for a beer distributor. He currently serves as CFO for Wormtown Brewery in Worcester, Massachusetts. Craft Brewery Financial Training publishes a free weekly beer industry finance newsletter, offers online training courses on topics such as cash flow planning, financial forecasting, and brewery metrics. For more information visit www.CraftBreweryFinancialTraining.com.
Nicole Carrier is the Co-Founder and President of Throwback Brewery – a sustainably-minded brewery, farm, and restaurant dedicated to crafting farm-fresh beer and food from local ingredients. At Throwback, Nicole is responsible for marketing, business strategy, finance, and fun . Prior to Throwback, Nicole spent almost two decades in IT and software, culminating as a Product Management executive at IBM. Nicole has a B.A. from Dartmouth College in Economics and Math, and an M.B.A. from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
Trade Show + Lunch
Fast Times at Hophead High: A Status Update on the Current Market
Christopher Holden (Director of Sales and Marketing, The Hop Guild)
Fast Times at Hophead High is a fun and constructive overview of the current hop industry. The issues that growers and merchants are facing and touching on how the current situation happened. We will discuss how the current global markets are affecting the surplus compared to past surpluses. Lastly, you will gain tools to navigate through these issues without creating a shortage and substantially effecting their beer.
Supplier Friction: Strategies for Smooth Vendor Relationships
Bryan Richards (Sales Manager, G4 Kegs)
Do your supplier relationships ever feel like a never-ending game of tug-of-war? It often seems like the “rising tide” mantra that the craft beer industry touts towards friendly competition doesn’t quite translate into as friendly B2B relationships. The reality is, most vendors share the same passion for communal success that you do. They exist to help—not hinder—you. This fast and casual talk, teased with cringeworthy anecdotes, will support the perspective that healthy supplier relationships are only good for business.
Mash Mastery: Harnessing Nature’s Influence for Brewing Brilliance
Galen Smith (Southeast Craft Sales Manager, Malteurop Malting Company)
When mother nature throws us a curveball, as it has in the past few years, it is crucial to understand the effects nature has on barley growth, and in turn, the impact it has on the brewing process and final product. Learning how maltsters use this knowledge to improve barley malt quality through the use of naturally present enzymes, and exogenous enzymes to deliver consistency. This has a direct relationship with how brewers use malt in their process, and how they can also benefit from the use of exogenous enzymes to improve brewhouse performance to deliver quality and consistency of their beers. In addition to process adjustments in malting and brewing, it is equally important that communication between the brewer and the maltster is open and frequent. By maintaining open dialog, the maltster can provide vital information that can help the brewer use malt efficiently. Conversely, the brewer can provide feedback on how the material is performing in the brewhouse, so that the maltster can make necessary changes to meet the requirements of the brewer. illuminating the similar obstacles that maltsters and brewers share, we can have a better understanding of how we can adapt to environmental changes to further the quality of beer and sustainability and longevity of our industry.
Dan Hornbrook and Josh Lindsay (MarketMyBrewery)
This interactive workshop is designed to equip craft brewery owners and managers with the tools and techniques necessary to train their staff in enhancing sales and creating memorable customer experiences. Participants will engage in a hands-on activity to understand the art of staff training, effective communication for optimal staff learning, and effective sales strategies tailored to the modern day craft beer industry to elevate customer experience.
Learning Objectives:
- To understand the importance of staff education in optimizing sales, and to learn strategies for training staff efficiently without over complication.
- To identify key selling points unique to craft beer that staff can communicate to customers and to practice and develop storytelling techniques that create engaging customer experiences.
- To develop a basic, accessible beer education program for staff members.
Dan Hornbrook has been in the adult beverage industry for over 14 years, emphasizing the craft beer side for the past 9 years. Having spent time on the supplier side with a national craft brewery, and the former years on the distribution side. With a passion for craft beer, only matched by that for the fellowship of the people in the collaborative space of craft beer, Dan is eager to maximize the impact a platform like MarketMyBrewery™ can have to provide resources and tools to independent brewers directly.
Josh Lindsay is an Advanced Cicerone® and the Product Activation Consultant for BrewLogix, where he specializes in driving on-premise profitability through their technology platforms. His primary focus is on helping brewers effortlessly promote their products and taproom taproom experiences to help attract and retain ideal customers.
Trade Show + Beers
Denise Ford Sawadogo (Montclair Brewery)
Delve into the art of marketing a brewery on a tight budget with the “Thriving on a Shoestring: Marketing your brewery on a budget” workshop led by Denise Ford Sawadogo, co-founder of New Jersey-based Montclair Brewery and boasting over 35 years of marketing expertise within the corporate sector for prominent global brands, this hour-long session promises invaluable insights.
Denise’s extensive background uniquely positions her to provide actionable strategies for breweries seeking to amplify their brand presence without breaking the bank. Through a blend of practical tips and real-world examples, attendees will learn how to leverage creativity, resourcefulness, and grassroots tactics to maximize marketing impact within limited financial constraints.
From harnessing the power of social media platforms and building authentic connections with local communities to guerrilla marketing techniques and cost-effective event sponsorships, Denise will explore a range of innovative approaches tailored specifically to the craft beer industry.
By the end of the workshop, participants will walk away equipped with a toolkit of budget-friendly marketing strategies tailored to their brewery’s unique identity and goals. “Thriving on a Shoestring” promises to empower breweries of all sizes to compete in today’s competitive market landscape, proving that with ingenuity and determination, success is attainable even on a modest budget.
Learning Objectives:
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Develop strategies for building authentic connections with local communities.
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Master the art of leveraging event sponsorships, contests, and partnerships.
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Harness the power of digital and social media tactics, including user-generated content, influencers, and giveaways.
Denise Ford Sawadogo has more than 35 years of marketing and business experience in package and consumer goods. She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the City University of New York (Baruch College) and an undergraduate degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. Her global branding, marketing communications, campaign development, and product launch background have been put to good use managing her and her husband’s New Jersey-based microbrewery and tasting room– Montclair Brewery, since 2018. She heads up all marketing, HR and community engagement efforts for Montclair Brewery. Denise is a resident of Montclair and a mom to a young adult son. In addition to being a founding member of the National Black Brewer’s Association, she is also a board member of the newly merged New Jersey Brewers Guild.
Reception at Oxbow Brewing Company thanks to Malteurop
WEDNESDAY, June 12, 2024
Trade Show + Coffee
Michael Varda (Craft Beer Advisory Services), Mike Dell’Aquila (Hot Plate Brewing Co.), Sarah Bryan (Maine Brewers’ Guild), Tony Rehagen (Bloomberg)
No longer can a brewery survive off the consumption habits of your stereotypical beer nerd, but rather, they must now appeal to greater demographics, with changing preferences. So, why should your brewery go forth on a quest to get new and different butts in seats? Money.
Well, money, and your desire to not only create more profitable experiences, but also give new audiences a reason to return. Millennials became the largest generation group in the United States in 2022. Along with Gen Z, they’ve got money to spend and you possess the opportunity to teach them and welcome them into the world of taprooms. As our industry evolves, you must attract and connect with new audiences.
In this session, you will hear from a mix of industry experts with a collection of real-world experiences and data to better understand how to talk to Gen Zers and Millennials.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the necessity for taprooms to adapt to the evolving landscape of the industry and why your business can benefit from attracting younger and new audiences
- Discover the importance of giving new audiences a compelling reason to return and building long-term customer loyalty
- Gain insights and practical advice on how to effectively communicate with and appeal to Millennials and Gen Zers
- Acquire strategies to build meaningful relationships with Gen Zers and Millennials.
Michael Varda is the Founder of Craft Beer Advisory Services (CBAS), a market research and analytics firm exclusively dedicated to the craft beverage industry. He began his professional career in market research advising some of the nation’s top universities on attracting students and several Fortune 50 companies on improving brand perceptions. Combining his research skill with passion for craft beer, CBAS was born in Fall 2021. Since its founding, Michael has delivered research to more than 500 breweries in 45+ states and 10+ countries. He’s delivered a keynote presentation at Ohio’s Craft Brewers Conference and other events including New Hampshire’s annual conference, Craft Beer Professionals, NanoCon, and Craft Beverage Expo among others. CBAS research has been featured in FOrbes and held two of the top ten most read articles in Craft Brewing Business in 2022.
Mike Dell’Aquila is the Co-Founder of Hot Plate Brewing Co. Prior to opening the brewery, Mike
was an award-winning creative marketer for industries as varied as cable television, retail, and
sustainability. Mike specialized in mission-driven marketing for clients like Disney, Unilever, and
Johnson & Johnson. Mike’s work for Hot Plate has been recognized by several organizations and
publications. They were named Organization of the Year by the National Alliance on Mental
Illness-Berkshire County, they were a Silver Awardee for the 2023 MassEcon Awards, and they
were also selected as one of the Top 19 New Breweries by VinePair in 2023.
Sarah Bryan, a New Hampshire native, is a 13+ year craft alcohol professional who has spent her career working with independent breweries and distilleries to optimize their retail operations and brand management. Before joining the Maine Brewers Guild as Executive Director in 2024, Sarah served on the boards of the New Hampshire Brewers Association, the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association, while working in leadership positions for a number of New England based craft alcohol companies, most recently having served as the opening Director of Branding and Operations for Après, a craft seltzer and cider company based in Portland, Maine.
Tony Rehagen is a monthly beer columnist for Bloomberg, and his other writing has appeared in the Washington Post, Garden & Gun, and Popular Mechanics (okay that one was about growing up in a gas station, but we did sell the coldest beer in Osage County, MO). He’s based in St. Louis, where he covers the local beer scene for The Riverfront Times.
Unlock the secrets of responsible trademark management in an engaging and interactive session. We will begin by reviewing what to focus on and how to run your own knockout search to avoid obvious infringement. Next, attendees will dive deeper into what constitutes customer confusion and potential infringement. Attendees will then learn the importance of not only considering other beer brands when considering a trademark, but also the conflicts that can transpire across industries.
Learning Objectives
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Provide participants the basic concepts and language of trademarks.
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Apply the basic concepts of trademarks by comparing the names and logos they have created.
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Design your own trademark and see if it holds up to the competition.
Brandon specializes in trademarks and trade secrets, leading a proactive approach to alert clients early on to potential conflicts, ways to strengthen their trademarks, and how to eliminate overlap with other breweries. When a trademark war breaks out, his extensive local and federal litigation experience helps resolve issues efficiently. He has successfully represented breweries and other business clients in front of the USPTO, TTAB, and federal court. In addition to trademarks, Brandon specializes in beer and spirits law more broadly, including TTB compliance, licensing/permitting, and other regulatory issues. He is an active member of the Brewers Association, Craft Beer Professionals, and Colorado Brewers Guild.
Andy Risvold (Forgotten Star Brewing Company) and Matt Schwandt (Bauhaus Brew Labs)
This session will be a transformative journey at the intersection of leadership and craft beer! In our interactive session, “Brewing Success,” we will delve into the art of impactful performance conversations within the vibrant world of breweries.
Imagine a world where annual performance reviews are a relic of the past. We will kick off with compelling stories and statistics that highlight the limitations of traditional performance reviews in the dynamic craft beer industry.
We will then dive into the heart of “conscious leadership,” presenting a memorable framework outlining 10 key skillsets and mindsets essential for today’s leaders. This segment promises to leave attendees with powerful insights and practical strategies, turning theory into actionable wisdom.
Finally, we will explore the critical role of trust – the cornerstone of any human relationship – in the workplace. Attendees will discover the three prerequisites for building trust: psychological safety, mutual respect, and honesty. We will provide practical tools and methods to help attendees foster these elements within your team, enhancing the overall organizational culture. Every concept we discuss will come with actionable takeaways. Attendees can expect to leave with a toolkit filled with checklists, templates, and strategies that you can immediately implement to create a more engaged and trusting workplace.
Learning Objectives:
- Rethink Performance Conversations: To understand the limitations of traditional annual performance reviews and learn innovative approaches for conducting more impactful performance conversations within the craft beer industry.
- Master Conscious Leadership: To gain knowledge of the 10 key skillsets and mindsets that define conscious leadership, and learn how to apply these principles to foster a more effective and insightful leadership style in the brewery environment.
- Build Trust in the Workplace: To explore and implement the three prerequisites for building trust – psychological safety, mutual respect, and honesty – in their teams, thereby enhancing overall organizational culture and employee engagement.
Andy Risvold is a successful business owner with a passion for helping other companies create memorable experiences for their employees and customers. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, Andy has a wealth of knowledge and expertise to share. He is a creative and strategic thinker, always seeking out innovative ways to enhance the customer experience.
In his current role, Andy leads an ambitious team who are dedicated to providing one of the best hospitality experiences in the state and they strive every day to create truly memorable experiences for everybody who walks through their doors. Whether it’s through strategic planning sessions, team building activities, corporate events, or customized training programs, Andy works tirelessly to help his clients succeed.
Outside of work, Andy is an avid outdoors enthusiast and enjoys spending time with his family. He is also deeply committed to giving back to his community and is actively involved in various charitable organizations.
Matt Schwandt is a seasoned entrepreneur with nearly 10 years of experience as co-founder and president of Bauhaus Brew Labs, a popular craft brewery and taproom located in Northeast Minneapolis. Throughout his time at Bauhaus, Matt has effectively managed teams of over 20 employees across three distinct business units, while also spearheading the successful development and launch of multiple product lines from initial concept to market release.
Matt’s leadership philosophy centers around cultivating a dynamic and creative work environment that empowers teams to achieve their full potential. His passion for leadership development has resulted in a thriving workplace culture that emphasizes innovation, collaboration, and individual growth.
In addition to his work in the brewing industry and consulting space, Matt is also an attorney who previously served as an assistant attorney general for the state of Minnesota. In this role, he represented the state’s largest executive branch agency, providing valuable legal guidance and representation. Subsequently, Matt transitioned into private practice with a firm specializing in employment law and representing clients in a wide range of business-related matters.
Trade Show + Lunch presented by BMI: featuring a performance by Sam James
Bill Heafy (ABS Commercial), Eric Meyer (Cahaba Brewing), John Quade (Batson River Brewing & Distillery), Matt Albrecht (River Drive Cooperage)
Craft beer is all about innovation and more breweries are diversifying their product lineup to reach more potential customers. As you seek to grow, expand your audience, and increase profits, adding a distillery may be something to consider. We will dive into why our panelists chose this model, strategies for success, lessons they’ve learned, and items for you to consider if looking into a similar concept. In this session, we will explore the strategic considerations, potential opportunities, and operational challenges of seamlessly integrating a distillery into your existing brewery.
Learning Objectives:
- Discover the opportunities that adding a distillery to your brewery can generate
- Discuss key considerations to determine if adding a distillery is a good fit for your brand
- Analyze the finances, both costs and potential profits, that come with expanding your product line.
- Understand the operational challenges and synergies adding a distillery can create
Bill Heafy is a skilled operations professional, with over 30 years of experience in the Food & Beverage industry. His experience ranges from production, R&D, logistics, system design, and beyond. Bill has been a hands-on leader working to identify problems and implement effective process solutions. He is now the Sales Manager at ABS Commercial, where his wide knowledge base will help continue to help manage quality production and improvements of our equipment, processes, and more.
Eric Meyer, equipped with a buddy and a kitchen, started brewing in 2007. As his passion started to grow through reading, brewing (and drinking), Eric outgrew his home and co-founded Cahaba Brewing Company with a group of beer-loving friends in 2011. In the beginning, Eric brewed for Cahaba Brewing on a two vessel 3bbl brewhouse. Today, Cahaba uses a 30bbl American made brewhouse and distributes across the state of Alabama. Eric’s passion for brewing continues to grow through reading, discussing, and tasting with Cahaba’s top-notch team and regulars. Cahaba continues to strive to create clean and consistent products.
Trade Show + Beers
CBP Connects attendees continually list the ability to connect and learn from others as a highlight from our workshops. We are excited to host a session dedicated to learning from your peers. In this session, we will field questions from you and then develop the best solutions together. Plan to walk away with strategies to problems many of us are facing and best practices to improve brewery operations. Together, we can grow stronger.
Learning Objectives:
- Collaborate with your peers to solve problems faced by other Craft Beer Professionals
- Discover new strategies and solutions to help you see greater success at your brewery
- Build new relationships that you can reach out to with future questions
Closing Reception at Bissell Brothers
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