CBP Connects Charleston
December 4-6, 2023
CBP Connects presented by Arryved POS
Monday, December 4, 2023
Welcome Reception at Holy City Brewing thanks to ABS Commercial
TUESDAY, December 5, 2023
Gather + Breakfast + Trade Show
Welcome/Get to Know Your Fellow Craft Beer Professionals
Andrew Coplon (Founder, Craft Beer Professionals/Secret Hopper)
Brian Winkeler & Jennings Hammack (Robot House)
Your beers are your brand’s superheroes. They each have their own distinct, otherworldly powers and a fervent fanbase of frenetic followers. How do they relate to one another? How are you telling their strange & wonderful tales? Branding experts Brian Winkeler & Jennings Hammack with Robot House will discuss how you are the architect of your brewery’s one-of-a-kind universe and lead an interactive exercise that will encourage you to reflect on each beer’s origin story and unique strengths, and what their names, designs and iconography say about the craft beer world you’re building.
Learning Objectives:
- Attendees will be encouraged to analogize their brewery’s collection of craft beers to a team of superheroes and reflect on how they can best position each of their craft beer heroes for success as individual brands and as part of a larger brand family.
- Attendees will see a demonstration of a brand development process that resulted in the creation of a storytelling system to visually connect The Nook Brewing Company’s 12 beers while also infusing layouts with maximum personal detail to highlight the origin and unique powers of each style.
- Attendees will engage in an interactive activity giving them the opportunity to create their own brewery superhero wielding powers unlike any other – because there’s no other brewery like theirs.
Brian Winkeler & Jennings Hammack represent 1/3 of Robot House, an Oklahoma City-based six-person team of creative thinkers, dreamers and doers who craft emotional brand stories with fresh, cool, award-winning design in collaboration with clients around the country. Specializing in brand development, packaging design and all things creative, Brian & Jennings are on a mission to find passionate people eager to build and explore a brave new world for their craft beer brand.
Trade Show + Lunch
Brynn Keenan (Founder and CEO, Grist Analytics)
Join us for an immersive Brewery Data Diagnostics workshop, where we delve into real-world production data to collaboratively diagnose brewery issues. This interactive experience goes beyond theory as we analyze actual data from the brewhouse through packaging, providing hands-on insights for troubleshooting and enhancing overall quality.
For production teams, this workshop unlocks the keys to streamlined operations, precise scheduling, and early issue identification, providing brewers with the predictability they need to foster creativity and innovation when production flows seamlessly.
Front of house positions, including taproom and sales personnel, will gain a fundamental understanding of what “quality” truly means, empowering confident communication with customers and distributors.
Whether you’re a seasoned brewer or a sales rep seeking a competitive edge, this workshop equips you with skills to understand your brewery’s data and elevate your quality control practices.
Learning Objectives:
- How to analyze brewhouse data, including brewlogs, spreadsheets and control charts.
- How to diagnose issues using data and identify root cause.
- How to effectively communicate and validate that you have good quality product.
Brynn is a biochemist by training and fermentation scientist by trade. Her experience in brewing QC includes building micro, sensory, and analytical programs for Left Hand Brewing and Inland Island Yeast Laboratories. Brynn started Grist Analytics to bring big brewery QC tools to craft by making data entry, visualization, and analysis easy. She now helps breweries across the world turn production data into actionable information. Brynn is passionate about good beer, rock climbing, and building community.
Day Bracey (Founder, Barrel & Flow)
Day Bracey is a comedian, podcaster, activist, & founder of America’s first Black arts and craft brew fest, Barrel & Flow (formerly Fresh Fest). In this session, he’ll discuss how he and his team built one of America’s most inclusive brew festivals, & the initiatives behind it. Barrel & Flow has been named one of America’s best brew fests by the readers of USA Today four years in a row, and has gained international recognition and following since it’s inception in 2018. Attendees should expect to be entertained and prepare to engage in meaningful discussions surrounding the benefits and difficulties in connecting with your community, building culture, & creating mutually beneficial relationships for the betterment of both business and society.
Learning Objectives:
- How to meaningfully connect to your community through mutually beneficial relationships.
- The benefits of inclusion in action. The importance of culture in the long term success of your business.
- Pitfalls of event planning.
Day Bracey is a comedian, podcaster, activist, & producer. His credits include co-host of the award winning Drinking Partners Podcast, co-host of TV Show Ed & Day in The Burgh, & founder of America’s first Black arts and craft brew fest, Barrel & Flow (formerly Fresh Fest). When he isn’t drinking or paying Black people, he’s trolling bigots online.
Reception at Commonhouse Aleworks thanks to Malteurop
WEDNESDAY, December 6, 2023
Trade Show + Breakfast
Julie Rhodes (Owner, Strategic Business Consultant, Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions)
In baseball, there’s a strategic theory called Sabermetrics that establishes a roster of players that might not be household names but have skill sets that will produce the highest probability of success. Why? Because they contribute incremental gains, in this case, base runners or runs scored, that allow that team to win more games. This method of team management rose to popularity because some teams were playing at a huge disadvantage – a low spending budget and a high level of competition for players. The craft beer world is not that different from baseball. At a time when marketplace competition is high, the economy is low, and budgets are limited, craft beer brands might want to consider how to play Lager–metrics with their sales plans.
Learning Objectives:
- How to leverage small, incremental sales wins to reach large sales goals
- Identifying the key data points to track to implement this system of selling
- How to structure sales goals for your team based on small, incremental wins
With over 2 decades of experience in the food and beverage industry, Julie Rhodes is an expert in off-site beverage sales, digital marketing, leadership, team management, and distributor partnership management. She is the owner of Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions, an educational services and strategic business consulting company built specifically for small to medium-sized craft beverage companies where she teaches owners and operators how to work smarter, not harder. She is also a freelance business journalist and active public speaker, belonging to multiple state brewery guilds and cider trade associations. She was the Mentor of the Year for the Brewers Association in 2022 and also sits on the BA DEI Marketing and Communications Subcommittee.
Time to wake up your events! Stop suffering from schedule sleepiness!
We believe events are some of the most underutilized tools for bringing your brand story and personality to life. During this interactive workshop, attendees will brainstorm engaging themes and create a blueprint to maximize attendance:
- Brainstorming event types
- Laying out the building blocks of engagement
- Knowing the tools available to promote
- Building contingency plans
In a small group setting, teams will agree on a theme to present to peers for critique. Together we’ll discuss the basic building blocks of events worthy of your time and primed for participation. The idea of a budget to promote the event will be introduced, as well as the need for prioritizing tools and tactics to build awareness and drive ticket sales/traffic. And then there’s the contingency plan in case things go sideways…
The goal is for everyone to have at least one new and engaging event idea for when they return to their breweries, plus the gameplan to successfully promote. Workshop attendees will also have access to 10+ Complimentary Guides, with storytelling techniques to keep fans engaged and the proven tools to build momentum and capture new sales in this environment.
Learning Objectives:
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Understand event types and identify the right theme for your next event.
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Build a meaningful, engaging event for your customers and community.
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Maximize event participation/attendance with targeted promotions.
- Build a contingency plan for the unforeseen, ensuring event success.
Market Your Craft is a virtual team of experts in storytelling your craft beer brand. We’ve worked with some of the most iconic brands in the beverage industry, including Sierra Nevada, BJ’s Brewhouse, Jim Beam, Maker’s Mark and others. Led by Scott Kolbe, industry veteran of 20+ years, our goal is to help you become more discoverable in today’s crowded market. We measure success by how quickly we provide your internal team with the tools needed to drive traffic, build engagement and capture sales. To learn more or to schedule an hour free of charge with one of our storytelling experts, visit marketyourcraft.com.
Alison Wisneski (Director of Marketing, Lady Justice Brewing) and Elise Strupp (Event & Programming Manager, MobCraft Beer)
Owning or working at a brewery is so much more than a job. Our lives are often intertwined with our colleagues, no matter the level of leadership. The best way to create healthy boundaries is to set them and lead by example, every day, no matter what. In this session, we’ll discuss how you can set yourself up for success with both internal (staff rules, meetings, and boundary-setting with your leadership and team) and external (event requests, beer fests, charity, etc.) communications for your team and your external partners.
Learning Objectives:
- Understand how to set up and enforce a communication chain of command.
- Develop strategies to set boundaries that allow you to really enjoy vacation and time away
- Discover what you can do today to model the culture you want to see in yourself and your team
Elise Strupp is the Programming & Event Manager at MobCraft Beer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Elise holds a Bachelor of Science in Education from UW-Madison, and believes that beer is a universal experience (and that you don’t need a background in brewing or even science) to understand, appreciate, and talk about beer! Elise has over ten years of experience working in the brewing industry as a tour guide, bartender, taproom manager, tour manager, and event manager.
Alison Wisneski wears many hats, but most of them fall under sales and marketing, including content creation management and strategy, along with authentic social media. She is the co-owner of Lady Justice Brewing alongside her wife, and is the owner of Alison Wisneski Strategy, LLC.
Her background in journalism and social change make her uniquely qualified to talk about the things that matter most. In her free time, you can find her sipping any local pale ale or sparkling rosé on a patio no matter the season (a true Wisconsinite to the core), preferably surrounded by dogs.
Trade Show + Lunch
Bryant Vander Weerd (Owner + Creative Director, Full Pour Media)
Crafting a strong content marketing strategy has become crucial for the success of any craft brewery. And no longer is it just about posting beer pics to your Instagram and Facebook feeds. This session will dive into the components that make up an effective content plan, going beyond just social media. Topics discussed will include:
- Understanding target audience
- Optimizing your website and SEO
- Showcasing expertise and building credibility with blogs
- Using email marketing to foster customer relationships and drive engagement
- Out-of-the-box concepts to deepen your connection with your fans
All these “slices” put together make up a perfect content marketing “pie.” Attendees will walk away with enhanced creativity and solutions to build more effective marketing for your brewery.
Learning Objectives:
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Discover holes in your marketing strategies, and what can be done to supplement your current initiatives
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Understand the role of each brewery team member, not just on the marketing team, in telling your brand story
- Possess the skills to reframe your thinking around marketing for certain events or campaigns to create greater awareness and success
They’ve partnered with organizations such as the Brewers Association and the MO Craft Brewers Guild on past marketing campaigns.
Bryant has won three Emmy awards for his work and Full Pour Media has won 9 Craft Beer Marketing Awards for their work in marketing and storytelling.
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 New Realm Brewing thanks to WIpfli
Trade Show featuring:
ABS Commercial | Abstrax Hops | Auburn Supply Group
Beer30 by The 5th Ingredient | Beer Law HQ | Craft Beverage Warehouse
Craft Buildings | Estimand | Full Pour Media | Harvest Hosts | Kegshoe
Kickfin | Lallemand | Malteurop | MarketMyBrewery
Robot House | Steel City Tap | Viatran | Wipfli
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