In March 2019, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (the
Court) affirmed a $2.6 million dollar fine against Craft Brewers Guild (CBG), a
wholesaler. The reason, alleged violation of anti-price discrimination statutes
and other commercial bribery regulations.
Allegations
CBG allegedly paid
companies money as a rebate in exchange for an agreement to sell CBG product at
bars and restaurants. To hide the payments, these companies allegedly billed
CBG for services like marketing support and promotional services that never
happened.
The Court held that CBG
violated commercial bribery regulations
and participated in a commercial bribery scheme to encourage retailers
to supply CBG distributed products. The Court held that this type of commercial
bribery falls with the purpose of the Massachusetts Liquor Control Act. CBG’s
conduct was allegedly illegal because the regulations prohibit companies like
CBG from providing money to induce the purchase of certain alcoholic beverages.
When money is given to a company to persuade that company to purchase a
product, at that point there is a possible violation of these regulations.
In the present case CBG
allegedly did not offer these rebates to all retailers, and rebate amounts
differed among the retailers involved so it is held responsible for violating
the anti-price discrimination statutes and allegedluy also the commercial
bribery regulations.
A bribe to induce a
company to do something in violation of law or anti-discrimination policies is
illegal no matter what form the bribe takes or how the paper trail is
structured. Rebates, refunds and other incentives to illegally induce a company
to sell its products could be construed as a bribe if there is no logical and
legal basis for the transfer of money. A bribe is a bribe no matter what form
it appears.
US antitrust laws regulate the relationship of companies involved
in a supply chain at different levels. There cannot be an arrangement by these
companies to reduce competition. Courts will lift the veil behind the name of
written documentation (how an agreement is titled), or even behind the words
used in documents to determine whether an agreement to pay money is actually a
bribe.
The courts look to
substance (the real relationship between the parties and of their conduct) over
form (the words in a document). This principle holds true in many transactions
when documents are drafted to embody the terms of the transaction. During
litigation, substance and conduct will usually trump form (a cleaverly written
document disguising a bribe or anti-competitive conduct as something else).
Massachusetts’ commercial
bribery regulations are valid, banning discounts, rebates and other inducements
to buy alcohol from only one particular vendor. These regulations help to
prevent price discrimination and an even, fair, competitive playing field for
all craft-brewing companies trying to sell product based on quality and market
price as opposed to “buying” their way to higher sales using illegal practices.
15 U.S. Code § 13 (15 USC
13), deals with pricing and selection of customers in the supply of products.
In accordance with this Code section, It is unlawful for any person engaged in
sales or distribution of products either directly or indirectly, to
discriminate in price between different purchasers of commodities of the same
type of grade and quality of that product if the products
are sold for use, consumption, or resale within the US if the effect of
such discrimination may be substantially to lessen competition.
This Code Section Also
Indicates:
“PAYMENT OR ACCEPTANCE OF COMMISSION,
BROKERAGE, OR OTHER COMPENSATION It shall be unlawful for
any person engaged in commerce, in the course of such commerce, to pay or
grant, or to receive or accept, anything of value as a commission, brokerage,
or other compensation, or any allowance or discount in lieu thereof, except for
services rendered in connection with the sale or purchase of goods, wares, or
merchandise, either to the other party to such transaction or to an agent,
representative, or other intermediary therein where such intermediary is acting
in fact for or in behalf, or is subject to the direct or indirect control, of
any party to such transaction other than the person by whom such compensation
is so granted or paid.”
This rule does not apply
if there are differences in the cost of manufacture, sale, or delivery relating
to one purchaser and not to another. Also the rule does not prohibit price
changes from time to time where a price change is in response to changing market
conditions of the goods concerned, such as actual or imminent deterioration of
perishable goods, obsolescence of seasonal goods, distress sales under court
process, or sales due to the discontinuance of sales of the goods concerned.
The US Federal Trade Commission has the power to stop any kind of unfair
business practices including but not limited to exclusionary exclusive dealing
contracts.
Anti-bribery regulations
are made, published and implemented all over the world. They are becoming more
obvious in China, Ireland, and Saudi Arabia. Enforcement in other countries is
somewhat irregular. Enforcement in the US is aggressive when the facts warrent
investigatioin and punishment.
The Massachuetts Supreme
Judicial Court case discussed in this article will be followed closely by other
jurisdictions in the US. This type of kick-back may be viewed as a form of
bribery in other jurisdictions with large fines to follow. Be aware.
Oenophiles have long known that wine dinners — where wine is
selected and paired with a variety of foods based on complementary tastes and
styles — can elevate the dining experience. Now, craft breweries are opening
that door to customers who want to expand their culinary horizons with the
plethora of flavors and styles of beers available on the market today.
“We’ve been doing
beer-food dinners for years, and they’re great fun for everyone,” said Ben
Edmunds, partner and brewmaster at Breakside Brewery in Portland, which opened
in 2010 as a restaurant and pub brewery. “The events introduce customers to a
wide range of beers, plus we have an opportunity to reach a different audience
than we usually have.”
Indeed, according to the
National Restaurant Association, food-and-beer pairings were listed as a top
beverage trend in its “What’s Hot 2018 Culinary Forecast.” This isn’t surprising, considering that beer
— with its broad range of flavors, aromas textures, and styles — offers endless
possibilities for pairing with food.
Whether it’s a light lager with a spicy Asian dish or an IPA with loaded
fries and a decadent burger, the right pairing will deliver a flavor nirvana
that far surpasses the flavors of each component. Ask any aficionado, and they
will tell you: food makes beer better, and beer makes food better. It’s that
simple.
Like wine and food pairing
dinners, beer and food events typically go through a progression of four or
five courses, sometimes more if the occasion is more extravagant. Each course
is paired with a different beer, depending on the strength, flavor and style
and its compatibility with the food.
According to Edmunds, each
beer serving in Breakside’s dinner is five and eight ounces. The event, he
said, is informal and educational. “We always have a brewery representative at
the dinners to talk about the beer,” he said, “and we ask the chef to come out
and introduce the food. It’s a fun way for customers to experience our beers,
and from our end, we get to present our beer in an entirely different format.”
While many customers are
die-hard beer drinkers, Edmunds told Beverage Master Magazine the dinners often appeal
to a wine-drinking crowd. “These events offer wine drinkers an opportunity to
see how diverse and food-friendly beer can be.”
Recently, Breakside featured wood-aged and acidic beers with lots
of fruit flavors, components that are similar to those in wine. “It was a good way
to challenge preconceived notions of what beer is and how it should be
consumed.”
Breakside’s dinners may
seat as few as 10-to-15, or as many as 70-plus. Prices range from $35 to $120,
depending on the number of courses and the complexity of the menu. The average
for an all-inclusive dinner, said Edmunds, is $65 to $85. Breakside has
sponsored events ranging from introductory beer pairing at gastropubs and bars,
to more elaborate affairs at fine dining establishments. This year during
Portland Beer Week, Breakside paired with renowned Icelandic chef Ólafur “Óli”
Áugústsson, the culinary director for Portland’s forthcoming KEX hotel. The
dinner featured aged and sour beers selected to complement local seafood and
produce.
Pairings, Edmunds
explained, are a collaboration between brewery personnel, the restaurant’s
chef, and others, such as a bar manager. “The dynamic that works best for us
and leads to the best results for the consumer is for us to invite the
restaurant people to our brewery and taste through a wide range of beers,” he
said. “We’re lucky because we make many different styles of beer and aren’t
limited to three or four options. We ask them to find the beers that inspire
them, and we talk about food pairings.”
Edmunds said that the collaborations
always start with selecting the beer and then choosing a food pairing, rather
than vice versa. “Once a beer is done, it’s done, and you can’t modify it. It’s
easier to design a dish to a beer that’s already finished than to make a beer
to complement a specific dish.”
While the brewery
generally does not interfere with the chefs once a menu is selected,
occasionally they will use their expertise to “nudge” them one way or the
other. For example, Edmunds said he is very particular about pairing desserts.
“Even with a sweet beer, the dessert is likely to overpower it,” he told Beverage Master Magazine, “so I’ll ask the chef to do something with a savory element,
like a cheese plate.”
For Edmunds, whose
interest in food preceded his interest in beer, the pairing dinners are a
natural fit. “The two go hand in hand,” he said. “We also have three locations
for our brewery, plus two restaurants, and we regularly do pairings when we
release a new beer. The multi-course dinner is a natural extension of that.
Not Just for Breweries
While breweries like
Breakside typically collaborate with different restaurants to introduce their
beers, some restaurants host regular beer and food pairing dinners to showcase
the skills of their chefs. One such restaurant is the Session Room and Beer
Garden in Ann Arbor, Michigan. With the theme, “Real Food, Craft Beer,” the
restaurant focuses on fresh ingredients sourced locally and serves 70 rotating
beer taps.
Since opening three years
ago, the restaurant, under the guidance of Executive Chef Traver Lucas, has
offered pairing dinners every month or two, always featuring beers from
Michigan breweries, including Bell’s Brewing, Founders Brewing Company, and
Perrin Brewing Company. Like Breakside’s dinners, the Session Room pairings are
a team effort, where the chef meets with the brewery’s personnel and tastes the
beers, then decides what to cook. The beer dinners are inspired by French
cuisine, with the food selected to complement the beer.
According to Event and
Marketing Director Jessica Smith, the Session Room dinners are very elaborate,
with four courses and a beer to match each course. “The cost is $50 plus tax,
so customers get a lot for their money. Generally, 30 to 50 people attend the
dinners,” said Smith. The menus are not released ahead of the event, so the
dinner is always a surprise. “That’s part of the fun,” Smith added.
Festival Pairings
As competition among craft
breweries heats up, many breweries and beer festivals are upping their game
with pairing events to attract more visitors. Last year, at the California
Craft Beer Summit, a “Brewed for Food” event featured specialty brewed beers
from 12 breweries paired with specially crafted food from as many restaurants.
The objective, said the advertising, was for “teams to partner to create the
perfectly balanced bite that elevates the flavor profile of the beer.” The 2019
Portland Beer Week featured four pairing events. “Bean to Bar,” was a
chocolate-and-beer festival hosted by Xocolatl de Davíd chocolatiers and Ruse
Brewing, spotlighting 10 local chocolates and the beers paired for each one.
“Mussels From Brussels,” featured four local brewery’s takes on the classic
pairing of mussels and frites.
At the “Brewer’s Burger
Brawl,” four Oregon brewers served a carefully selected beer alongside a
slider-sized burger to determine the best pairing. The “Nordic + Northwest”
event was the event held by Breakside Brewery and Portland’s future KEX hotel.
Everyday Pairing
“Culinary Brewhouses” are
making waves across the country. In these establishments, brewmasters are
applying culinary skills to create beers that showcase flavors and aromatics,
and chefs create foods that transcend pub fare like burgers and chicken wings.
Chicago’s Band of Bohemia, noted for “infusing culinary flavors into house
beers and pairing them with global plates,” became the first brewpub to be
awarded a Michelin star within its first year of opening.
Moody Tongue Brewing
Company, also in Chicago, has classically-trained chef Jared Rouben at the helm
as brewmaster. According to Moody Tongue’s website, Rouben “draws on his
culinary training to forge this connection between the kitchen and our brewery,
building recipes for our beers in the same manner a chef would for a dish.”
Clearly, beer pairing beer
and food is a hot trend throughout the country, and it shows no signs of
stopping. According to the 2017 Nielsen Craft Beer Insights, 71% of consumers
look for complementary foods when choosing a craft beer at restaurants and
bars, and that isn’t about to change. If anything, the number is likely to
increase, as more and more beer lovers become exposed to the wonders of the
beer and food match-up. Stay tuned…as the market continues to ramp up, the best
may be yet to come for the thirsty consumer with a discriminating palate.
In the past 10 years, workplace injuries and illnesses declined in
the craft beverage manufacturing industry. This is good news, as it’s a
thriving employment sector. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that
in 2016—the most recent data collected—breweries, distilleries and other
artisanal beverage producers employed approximately 75,000 people. In Canada,
according to information from the System of National Accounts in 2018, the
craft industry had more than 15,000 workers.
Some experts say a reduction in workplace incidents is the direct result of an attitudinal shift from reaction to prevention. Ashley Heiman is the MRO department manager for Nelson-Jameson in Marshfield, Wisconsin—a single-source food, dairy and beverage processing plant supplier. Heiman explained the vital importance of this approach.
“The Food Safety
Modernization Act created a significant culture shift. The essential question
that the FSMA pushes us and our customer base to ask is, ‘How can I most
effectively and proactively create a safe, quality product?’” she told Beverage Master Magazine. “When you think proactively about your product, it pushes you to
think proactively about your facility and the staff that produces that product.
From floor drains to dust collection in your rafters, every facet of your
facility and those operating that facility can make or break a brewery or
distillery.”
Established in 2011 by the
Food and Drug Administration, FSMA compliance extended to beverage producers at
a graduated rate. It began in 2016 for companies with over 500 full-time
employees, scaling down to “very small businesses”—those with beverage sales of
less than $1 million—finalizing compliance in September 2018. Inspections of
beverage raw materials started this year. For some producers, this compliance
required extensive examination and overhaul of processes and systems.
One might assume that
requirements by OSHA and the FDA already cover worker and product safety
issues. In many ways, they do, but this additional layer of compliance mandated
by the FSMA is a necessity for consumer products. It’s also another thread of
bureaucracy to follow—one of many that can be challenging to untangle.
“It’s very difficult for business owners to dedicate time to learning all the nuances of compliance to both OSHA and the FDA. They’re really interested in creating and growing their businesses, so having a consultant who’s knowledgeable in these compliance areas allows the owner to both focus on the business and ensure that someone is keeping them compliant,” said Gary D. Morgan, Vice President and senior consultant ofSafeLink Consulting in Cumming, Georgia. He’s also an authorized OSHA outreach trainer.
“Our business is to know
everything we can about OSHA safety requirements and FDA regulations on
producing beverages that are safe for the public to consume, so we keep our
clients as informed as possible in these areas,” Morgan said. He also pointed
out that the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety and its Food Inspection
Agency mirror OSHA and the FDA requirements rather closely, so producers
sharing a national border are assured of similar compliance between partners.
Create an Environment of Safety
Doing what’s best for the
product starts with the optimum workplace atmosphere and training provided to
employees. Ideally, owners and managers should establish these best practices
in the early stages of the business.
“Bringing a consultant
onboard at start-up can ensure decisions can be made in the development stage
that takes into consideration compliance issues for both OSHA and FDA,” Morgan
said. “Trying to retrofit safety considerations into an existing design can be
costlier than providing for it upfront. Implementing an FDA-compliant quality
system initially can also prevent or handle issues in producing a product
that’s fit for consumption.”
Morgan advised that instead of evaluating consultants by price,
first outline facility specifications.
“Then, I would suggest
that as part of due diligence, talk to several consulting firms and ask the
same questions of each one to ensure an apples¬-to-apples comparison, rather
than just looking solely at pricing. A producer should include expenses for
these services in the annual budget.”
Another top-to-bottom
safety solution, Heiman said, is color-coding. “We’ve seen a great interest in
it. It’s proven to be an excellent proactive approach. Not only can
color-coding help prevent cross-contamination in terms of allergens or yeast
strains, but it also helps to organize and streamline workflow, designates
critical control areas of a facility and assists many of our customers in
isolating possible pathogen risks,” she said. “With the wide variety of
products we offer, facilities can build a color-coded program to break up their
operations into pragmatic zones.”
Josh Pringle is the vice president of CO2Meter in Ormond Beach, Florida. His company specializes in the design and manufacturing of gas detection and monitoring devices—mainly CO2—as well as consultancy and training. He advises producers not to rely on state or local inspectors to tell them to improve ventilation or install monitors: do it because it’s what’s best for your employees.
“Producers should consider
the following when preparing to train or educate staff: what’s in the best
interest of our employees, what does our insurance provider require us to do,
what will OSHA/NIOSH expect as part of a training package, and how should we
plan to test and retrain staff,” he told Beverage Master
Magazine.
“We have a brewing partner who made the following statement: ‘Why would I pay a
few hundred dollars for a safety monitor and then not train my staff on what to
do if it goes off? Pointless!’”
Pringle noted that many
professional associations offer free training regarding CO2
safety, proper lockout/tagout procedures, and dozens of other critical topics.
These organizations
include, but are not limited to:
OSHA and NIOSH also have
online training, workbooks, visual aids and other resources for new employee
and refresher training.
He cautioned against
complacency in your facility. “When employees work in and around hazardous
situations, materials, ingredients and situations, no duty should be considered
mundane or a ‘to do.’ Safety is an every moment, everyday project,” Pringle
said. “The statistic always sited from the National Transportation Safety Board
is the majority of car accidents occurred within five miles of someone’s home.
The data demonstrated that drivers started to let their guard down in more
familiar surroundings. Employee safety has no mileage areas. Any training that
allows for complacency is flawed.”
Morgan agreed. He offered
these three tips:
1. Always be vigilant to
compliance issues. Oversight is demanding.
2. Delegate responsibilities
to duly-trained and competent individuals.
3. Training is an ongoing
activity, not a one-time event.
More Than a List on a Clipboard
Workers in the craft
beverage industry are prone to the following injuries and illnesses:
• Overexertion, including
medical conditions caused by repetitive motion or lifting heavy items such as
barrels, kegs and crates.
• Slips, trips and falls
because of slick floors, ladders, obstacles and carrying heavy loads up and
downstairs.
• Working in fermenters,
tanks, vats and other confined spaces, especially when carbon dioxide exposure
is a concern.
• Physical hazards such as
pressurized equipment, forklifts, temperature extremes, and moving parts.
It might require
specialized products, protective gear, and consultation to maintain essential
worker safety. “Safety concerns are widespread across a facility. Personal
protective equipment, noise protection and respiratory protection are some of
the most common product areas we deal with for our brewery and distillery
customers,” said Heiman of Nelson-Jameson. “Lockout/tagout products are also
popular. Additionally, it’s important to be specific with vendors if employees
are handling chemicals, lab reagents, machinery, and so on. These details
dictate the best products to utilize.”
Even with a safety plan
upon start-up, and as Pringle of CO2Meter expressed
previously, crafting operations are integrated with safety in handling not only
CO2
but throughout all functions. So the plan becomes more of a living document,
refined by training, to help staff anticipate and correct issues before a more
significant problem occurs.
Here are the steps Pringle
recommended:
• Identify the hazard
• Discuss the hazard
• Create a plan of action
to prevent the hazard
• Create a secondary plan
that accounts for and mitigates the hazard
• Define methods to disperse
the hazard
• Understand the
methodology to test an area to ensure safe conditions
• Create and institute a
policy and procedure to understand an incident
• Create a safety plan
• Including safe zones and
rally points
• Practice, practice, practice
“Be mindful. Be aware, Follow procedures, no matter how
cumbersome. For example, lockout/tagout has become a mainstay because it’s
effective,” Pringle said.
Regarding C02
specifically, “The most likely points of CO2 incidents for beverage
producers are at their canning and bottling lines. ‘Dosing’ areas typically
register CO2 concentrations above the OSHA– and NIOSH–permissible
time-weighted average standard of 5,000 ppm TWA for employees—placing a typical
producer in violation,” Pringle said. “While working around CO2
can often be a necessity for beverage staff members, having proper training
sessions and ensuring your staff is informed on the dangers of CO2
is the first step.”
Morgan of SafeLink
Consulting had some final thoughts. “Be proactive in establishing your
compliance programs. If you have to be reactive, then something negative has
happened that could be very detrimental to the business itself. It could be an
employee injury or complaint, or a product that causes consumer complaints or
worse, consumer injury or illness,” he said.
“And there’s always the
ever-present specter of an inspection from a regulatory agency with fines,
penalties and even forced business suspension or closure. Give yourself peace
of mind by being on top of compliance issues, not at the mercy of them.”
The popularity of craft beer in Canada has
fueled the growth of beer festivals across the country. Some, like Craft Beer
Week events in Vancouver and Ontario, are primarily dedicated to showcasing
local brews, while other festivals, like Montreal’s Mondial de la bière, are
opportunities for beer-lovers to explore new tastes from across Canada and
around the world.
Mondial de
la bière
At
the 26th annual Mondial de la bière, held in May 2019, an estimated 80,000
visitors flowed through the kiosks at Windsor Station in downtown Montreal.
Visitors were keen to sample some of the 450 beers, ciders, meads and spirits
from at least 90 craft beverage producers—including 35 from Quebec.
While the included the usual branded brewery kiosks, it also featured
the Petit Pub where visitors could try a selection of beer varieties from eight
countries: Belgium, Brazil, Canada, the U.S., Italy, Norway, the Netherlands
and Switzerland. Although admission was free, visitors could buy coupons for
two- or four-ounce samples, ranging in price from $2 to $8 CAD.
Quebec distilleries were a notable presence at the event, offering many
creative tastes like les Subversif’s maple gin, produced in a former church in
Sorel-Tracy; and Franklin-based Sivo’s rhubarb liqueur. Sivo was the first in
Quebec to create a single-malt whisky in 2017 and is now known for its complex
herbal liqueurs as well. Quebec’s first locally produced bitter Italian-style
apératif, Amermelade, by Montreal’s Les Spiritueux Iberville was also available
for sampling, along with the company’s Amernoir, a bitter amaro-style digestif
with notes of coffee, cocoa, sarsaparilla, mint and orange.
The
event featured Quebec breweries proudly touting their sour beers. La Souche’s
Canadian Brewing Award-winning Limoilou Beach beer stood out, in particular.
The brew incorporates locally sourced ingredients unique to the northern Boréal
forest, such as tart wild berries, Labrador tea and pine tips.
The
Mondial de la bière was founded in Montreal in 1994, and has become one of
America’s most important international beer festivals. In addition to the
original Montreal event, there are now three other Mondial de la bière
festivals organized around the world, including one in Europe
(mondialdelabiereparis.com), and two in Brazil. The events in France and Sao
Paulo took place in late May and early June, and the seventh edition of the Rio
de Janeiro Mondial de la bière (mondialdelabiererio.com/en/) is September 4-8,
2019.
Just wait,
there’s more…
If
you missed out on the Mondial de la bière, don’t fret—there are similar events
held across Canada throughout the year. Here are some of the most notable.
Festibière (festibiere.ca), held in Gatineau in June and February, is
another Quebec beer festival. The June festival drew more than 30,000 people
over three days and featured over 300 beers from more than 30 Quebec breweries.
The winter edition in February is more intimate, drawing closer to 10,000
people.
In
July, the Toronto Festival of Beer (https://beerfestival.ca/) pairs craft
beverages with food and music. This year’s headliners include Ashanti and Ja
Rule. The event will feature samples of over 400 beers from more than 90
brewers.
Brewfest (http://brewfest.ca/) takes place in Ottawa
in February and Toronto in March. The February event coincides with Ottawa’s
annual Winterlude festival, a significant tourist draw at the famously frigid
time of year. The Toronto event features over 150 beers from breweries in
Quebec and Ontario, as well as gourmet eats from popular local food trucks.
Alberta Beer
Festivals (albertabeerfestivals.com) organizes six events
throughout the year in Calgary, Edmonton, Banff and Jasper. Their Calgary
International Beerfest, home to the Canadian International Beer Awards, is one
of Canada’s largest beer festivals. The beer fest, held annually in May,
features over 700 beers from more than 200 breweries. Another of their events,
the Jasper Beer & Barley Summit, held in February, is a two-day mountain
retreat at the Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, featuring food and beer pairings and
seminars from top brewers, distillers and other industry leaders.
In
British Columbia, Vancouver Craft Beer Week (vancouvercraftbeerweek.com)
is the event to watch. Held in late May and early June, it’s a 10-day party
celebrating the city’s thriving craft beer scene, including a two-day festival
at the PNE Fairgrounds in June, as well as events at breweries, restaurants and
bars throughout the city. This year’s events included beer bike tours, tap
takeovers, special beer pairing menus at local restaurants, and a three-hour
sunset cruise featuring craft beer, snacks and a DJ.
Another notable summer festival in B.C. is Farmhouse Fest (farmhousefest.com), held in July at the
University of British Columbia’s 24-hectare model farm. Farmhouse Fest is an
ode to farmhouse-style beers and ciders—the funky, fruity, peppery, tart, dry
and sour. Participating breweries include local breweries as well as specialty
producers from throughout Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Spain, Sweden, Belgium,
Chile and Australia.
August in the Maritimes brings the Seaport
Cider & Beer Festival (seaportbeerfest.com) to Halifax, Nova
Scotia. The two-day event features over 300 beverages from producers in 20
countries. This year they’ve added a new feature: the Maine Beer Box, a pop-up
taproom in a shipping container featuring 78 craft beer taps from breweries in
Maine.
Another major East Coast beer fest is New Brunswick’s Fredericton Craft Beer Festival (http://frederictoncraftbeerfestival.com/)
in March, which features over 200 varieties of beer, cider and mead.
In
remote Whitehorse, the Yukon
Beer Festival (yukonbeerfestival.com) in October brings a
taste of craft beer and ciders from around North America to delight beer fans
in the Great White North. Last year’s event featured over 100 different brews.
Some
larger craft producers, like Beau’s Brewing in tiny Vankleek Hill, Ontario,
have created their own marquee events. Beau’s
Oktoberfest (beausoktoberfest.ca) has become a
significant fall music and beer celebration, featuring not only Beau’s brews
but also a mini-beer festival with over 50 rare or exclusive beers from
Canadian craft breweries. The New Pornographers and Shad headline the September
festival, along with Jenn Grant, Neon Dreams, Birds of Bellwoods, Caravane,
John Jacob Magistery, and What If Elephants. The 2018 event drew over 17,000
people, and since its launch 10 years ago, has raised approximately $711,000
for area charities.
The beauty of
beer festivals is the opportunity for brands to make a personal connection with
beer fans, tell their story, and above all, to entice more people to taste the
unique product they have to offer.
It can be hard to capture consumer attention in today’s digital age within the increasingly crowded and competitive craft beer industry. We live in a world of short attention spans, information overload, and the constant ding of gadgets begging us to look at something else. While there are many effective marketing strategies to help your brewery stand out in the digital landscape, sometimes it’s even more effective to bring a great marketing idea to life right at the shelf…particularly when it means partnering with another brand that your potential consumers already know and love. In these situations, one plus one can often add up to much more than two, benefiting both brands and helping your brewery grow in awareness and sales.
To do this, more and more breweries are starting to ink partnerships with companies to gain competitive advantage. Often, these collaborations involve parties that have nothing to do with beer, but everything to do with the brand’s values, character, and target consumers. These tend to be quite successful, partly due to the unique combinations of ideas. By success, we mean several factors: it could mean that both parties have profited from the partnership in terms of sales, or that the partnership has created buzz on social media or through publications, increasing awareness and consideration of the brands involved. Indicators such as likes, shares, comments, search queries, feature articles, increased production, and additional projects are used to gauge the reception and success of these beer partnerships. With that in mind, let’s look at a few examples of innovative campaigns that have helped craft beer brands stand out.
Muskoka Salty Caramel Truffle
Beer and ice cream…a match made in heaven. No? Well, this partnership between Ontario craft brewer Muskoka and ice cream maker Kawartha Dairy shows that it’s not as strange as it may seem.
This new brew was a bock-style beer inspired by Kawartha’s popular Salty Caramel Truffle ice cream. The beer had a milk chocolate flavor thanks to roasted malt, and was also infused with salted caramel for a unique taste. A can of this brew was only available for a limited time, which had Canadian craft beer fans scrambling to buy. The brand’s first Facebook post last February about the new product garnered over 500 likes, 118 shares, over 200 comments, and the attention of several publications in Canada.
Star Trek “Captain’s Holiday” Ale
Any product that is attached to a globally popular franchise has good odds of generating high sales. During the 2017 holiday season, Shmaltz Brewing Company launched its Star Trek themed ale, called Captain’s Holiday. The beer is tropical with hints of citrus. While the release was aimed to celebrate the franchise’s 30th anniversary, as reported in Food and Wine, it actually was not the brewery’s first Star Trek deal. Even before this release, they had already launched another Star Trek inspired beer called Symbiosis.
Both beer labels included images of the Starship Enterprise, which is one of Star Trek’s most beloved and recognizable icons. Even casual fans can identify the ship and franchise. This is why it’s often added to all sorts of Star Trek related media, for immediate recognition. This rule certainly applies to brands operating in niche markets, since they’ll be using the Star Trek name as a form of leverage. Suffice it to say, anything Star Trek touches seems to turn to gold. As of this writing, Shmaltz has released over six Star Trek-themed craft beers. Amidst their move back to a contract brewing model, they are most certainly holding onto this product line, which is a sure indication the partnership is lucrative for their brand.
Urban Underdog American Lager
Drinking for a cause? Great idea. Purina, the widely popular pet care brand is lending its name to one of Urban Chestnut’s brews called the Urban Underdog American Lager. Purina donated $3 to the Petfinder Foundation for every eight pack of the brew sold in St. Louis. To help market this partnership, Urban Underdog came up with a campaign called “Consider a Shelter Pet” incorporated into the brand’s packaging. The St. Louis Post Dispatch revealed that Purina planned to donate up to $50,000 so it could offer $50 subsidies toward pet adoption fees.
The campaign rolled out in August 2017 with Urban Underdog expanding distribution in St. Louis in 2018. With its continued distribution, it’s safe to say that the partnership is doing well for both sides. If you are looking for another reason to drink beer, you can consider finding a good home for pets a pretty awesome choice.
Are Partnerships Right For Your Brewery?
Depending on where you are in your brewery journey, marketing partnerships like the ones we’ve shared today can have a variety of benefits. For newer brands, they can put you on the map as a favorite new craft brewery. In these situations, make sure that you have a solid reputation for your own beers first and don’t jump into a marketing partnership too quickly.
For established breweries, partnerships can spread awareness to different audiences to bring in new fans. To find the right partnerships here, talk to your existing customers about what other activities and products they love. A rich pool of potential fans may be found enjoying a broad range of interest from hiking to a genre of movies or music to a certain style of food.
When thinking about collaborations with other brands, remember it is not only creativity and uniqueness that will get people’s attention; the partnership has to be relevant, in sync with recent trends, on brand, and have intrinsic value to your target consumer. As with all good marketing strategies, thinking about the 5Ws is critical…who, what, when, where & why. Then focus on how to actually execute the idea. Make sure you don’t overlook the power of partnering with smaller, local brands. We can’t all land deals with brands as big as Star Trek or Purina but, honestly, depending on your consumer base and brand, partnering with someone that big might not be the right move. So, make sure to focus on the potential value of the partnership for your customers and don’t get distracted by brand star power.
Pursuing these opportunities can be an effective and fun way to spread razor-thin craft beer marketing budgets to reach more people when done right. It’s also a great way to fund the innovative ideas that your brewer wants to explore and raise awareness for causes that are near and dear to the heart of your business. While this is only one of many marketing tactics to help grow brand awareness and sales, it’s an exciting one in today’s digital age since it comes to life tangibly at the point of purchase. And isn’t that what marketing is all about? Let’s raise a glass to working together so consumers find, buy, and enjoy more of your brews.
Saké has been around for thousands of years, but few Americans are familiar with the drink that is deeply rooted in Japanese culture. That is changing, and it’s changing quickly. With U.S. consumers eager to experience alternative beverages and explore new flavors, saké is on the cusp of a revolution here at home. As imports of saké rise dramatically, local artisans and entrepreneurs are seeing an opportunity for a new niche in the craft beverage market: local saké production.
Currently, there are about 20 saké breweries (Kura) in the U.S., including several that originated as American outposts of Japanese companies. These breweries span from California to Maine, from Texas to Minnesota. Wherever they are located, the owners and master brewers (toji) have one thing in common: a passion for the product. Dan Ford, founder and owner of Blue Current Brewery in Kittery, Maine, is one such devotee. After living and working in Japan for years, he decided to “spread the word” by bringing hand-crafted saké to New England.
“I love saké,” Ford said. “I love making it, and I love to see people smile when they taste it. That’s what drives me.”
So what exactly is this mystical brew that is rapidly growing in popularity in the U.S. and around the world? Saké is an alcoholic beverage fermented from rice. It has often been called ‘rice wine’ but, in fact, it is not a wine. Nor is it a beer, nor a distilled product. Rather, it fits into its own unique category.
“Saké has a little bit of identity crisis because a lot of people consider it a wine, but it’s more like a beer, fermented from grain using a saké yeast,” said Tim Klatt, co-founder of Texas Saké Company in Austin, the only saké producer in Texas. “In the past, people’s knowledge was pretty much limited to ‘hot saké,’ which is basically grain alcohol with a little rice flavoring that’s super cheap and heated up so you can’t really taste anything. Our approach is to make a much more crafted, artisan product.”
Jack Lien, sales and education ambassador at SakéOne in Forest Grove, Oregon, said their brewery, too, is on a mission to introduce people in the U.S. to the joys of quality saké. “Saké is unique,” he told Beverage Master Magazine. “It’s brewed like a beer and drinks like a wine. It offers a nice alternative for people who are conscious of what they’re drinking. It’s sulfite free and naturally gluten-free. Some are vegan. It’s a unique beverage that intrigues a lot of people.”
Basic Ingredients
Saké comes in a variety of styles, but the basic ingredients are always the same: rice, water, koji (a fungus that converts the starch in rice to sugar) and yeast. Like good beer and good wine, good saké starts with quality ingredients, primarily premium rice. Generally, U.S. brewers source their rice from California’s Sacramento Valley, which grows some of the finest rice in the world. Texas Saké Company uses Calrose rice, the offspring of high-end rice used ages ago in Japan. SakéOne uses mostly Calrose rice and an American grown Yamada-Nishiki rice, known in Japan for its use in quality Saké. Blue Current uses Koshi Hikari, a short grain variety of rice named after the historic Koshi Province in Japan.
Water quality is also important, as completed saké is 80 percent water. “Water is critical because it can affect the final product,” SakéOne’s Lien told Beverage Master Magazine. “Soft water produces a soft and mellow saké, while hard water, which contains certain minerals, produces a more full-bodied saké.” Most American brewers prefer to use soft water.
Saké Production
Production of saké is not for the faint of heart: it is a complex process that takes time, patience and skill that can only be acquired by training and experience. This process starts when the rice first arrives at the brewery, where it is polished to remove the outer husk and prepare it for brewing good saké.
The polishing rates vary, depending on how much of the outside husk of each grain of rice is removed to reach the starchy and more desirable core. In general, the more the rice is polished, the more aromatically expressive the Saké becomes, and the higher the grade. The majority of saké made in the U.S. are junmai ginjo, a high-end saké milled to 60 percent of its original size, although some brewers may polish further.
After the rice is polished, residue from the milling process is washed from the grain, and the rice is saturated with water, depending on the type of rice and the desired characteristics of the saké. Next, the rice is steamed, which changes the molecular structure of the starch in the grain, allowing easier breakdown of that starch.
The next step — making the koji — is the heart of saké-brewing. “The Japanese say there are three pillars of brewing saké,” Blue Current’s Ford told Beverage Master Magazine. “The first pillar is koji, the second pillar is koji, and the third pillar is koji. All things flow from making koji. If you can make really good koji, you can make really good saké.”
In this process, the freshly steamed rice is spread out on long tables in a warm, heated environment known as a koji room. The rice is covered with koji-kin, the “miracle” mold that converts the starch in the rice to a form of glucose. Over the next 36 to 45 hours, the toji constantly tends the koji to ensure that it’s developing properly. “The koji is food for the yeast, and it’s critical to fermentation,” SakéOne’s Lien said. “Our toji, Takumi Kuwabara, has 25 years of brewing experience—13 years in Japan and 12 here—and he makes our koji completely by hand. He’s continually tinkering and tweaking the koji to make sure he gets the recipe just right.”
After the koji is made, a small amount is mixed with steamed rice, yeast and water in a tank to produce shubo or moto, or a fermentation starter. Typically, it takes two weeks to create a small batch of starter with a high concentration of robust yeast cells. Next, all the prep work comes together. Water, steamed rice, saké rice and the fermentation starter are added in three successive stages over four days to create the main mash, which will ferment over the next 18 to 32 days. During this time, the toji may adjust the length of fermentation, temperatures, and other factors in creating a specific saké profile.
The actual fermentation process is what separates saké from beer or wine. In wine, no sugar conversion is necessary, since sucrose is naturally-occurring in grapes. With beer, the creation of sugar and alcohol are separate processes: starches in the grain are converted to sugar in the form of wort, then yeast is added to create alcohol. In saké, conversion of starch into glucose and glucose into alcohol occur simultaneously in a process called multiple parallel fermentation. One of the characteristics of alcohol made in this method is high alcohol content. Saké is usually about 15 percent alcohol by volume and may be as high as 21 percent.
Once fermentation is complete, the saké is pressed to separate the newly created alcohol from the rice solids left in the mash. The saké is then filtered to remove fine particulates and pasteurized to kill off any remaining bacteria and yeast. Finally, the product is aged—usually for three to six months—and then bottled. The time to brew a batch of saké, from start to finish, is around seven weeks.
American Spin
While U.S. craft saké brewers typically follow Japanese methods and traditions for brewing saké, they are putting an “American spin” on the product by using processes and ingredients more suited to the local palate. The Texas saké Company, for example, filters their product less than the Japanese. “This gives a more robust saké with lots of fruity flavors,” co-owner Tim Klatt said. “We’re home brewers from the past, so we’re always trying something different. One of our big pushes is oaked sakés, where we toast oak chips in-house and add them to the brew. This delivers an amazing vanilla and oak and tannin experience, which will even stand up to barbeque.” The Texas Saké Company also produces a line of sparkling sakés with seven percent ABV and is preparing to produce a typical Japanese product that “will bridge the gap” between American and U.S. styles of sakés.
SakéOne is on the cutting edge as well, with its Moonstone brands, flavor-infused sakés. These include Cucumber Mint, Asian Pear and Coconut Lemongrass. All are infused right before bottling. “We are making these to appeal to our wild, pioneering side,” Lien said. “This is what we do to have fun.”
As U.S. Saké brewers look to the future, they see more breweries popping up, and more consumers taking notice. All agree that we can expect to see new products, more experimenting with saké-brewing techniques and broader distribution of American-made saké, both in the U.S. and abroad.
“Craft saké is definitely a niche market,” according to Ford, the Harvard-trained entrepreneur who founded Blue Current Brewery. “People are trying new flavors and looking for the next new thing. As a brewer and frequent traveler to Japan, I think it’s wonderful to open the kimono and show people this wonderful new beverage which is probably the coolest thing people have probably never had. The future is looking good: we’re seeing blue skies ahead.”
By: Amy Lessa and Nicole Stenoish, Attorneys At Law, Fisher Phillips
Marijuana legalization is on the rise and quickly expanding to all corners of the United States. Nearly 2/3 of the states have legalized marijuana for either recreational or medicinal use. Currently, 11 states and the District of Columbia allow recreational marijuana, and an additional 22 states allow medical marijuana. These numbers are expected to grow over the next few years as the societal and political perspectives on cannabis continue to shift in favor of legalization.
Despite this shift, marijuana still remains an illegal Schedule I drug under the federal Controlled Substances Act – in direct contrast with legalized marijuana at the state level. Although federal law is superior to state law, businesses must comply with both – even if federal and state laws conflict with one another. The chronic dispute between state and federal marijuana laws has left many employers confused about how to handle marijuana use in the workplace. We’re here to clear the smoke.
Legalized Marijuana – What Can-a-Business Do?
Marijuana laws are constantly evolving and continue to be challenged in courts across the country. This makes it difficult to keep up with the requirements and limitations of legalized marijuana under both state and federal law.
Many employers are now questioning whether their workplace marijuana policies and practices should be revised. Before deciding what policy is best for your company, it is important to understand the law in your state. A company’s policies should also reflect the specific needs and challenges of the business and workforce. For example, many craft brewery owners report they can no longer test for cannabis because most of their applicants cannot pass the drug test at the pre-employment stage. That could leave a brewery without a workforce. As a result, Company’s should decide whether it makes sense to continue testing for cannabis in their pre-employment drug screens. Other issues relevant to this determination are whether your employees operate heavy machinery or work in safety sensitive positions, and are you having difficulty recruiting qualified candidates for your company?
There are several key issues the keep in mind when determining the best marijuana policies and practices for your workforce:
Maintain a Drug-Free Workplace
Employers are entitled to maintain specific policies related to marijuana use in the workplace, including drug-free workplace and zero-tolerance policies. Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, employers can strictly prohibit marijuana at work. Employees can be disciplined, and even terminated, for coming to work under the influence, possessing marijuana on company premises, or using marijuana while at work – even in states where marijuana is legal. In most states, companies also have the right to test employees for drug use, and can discipline or terminate employees for violation of the drug-free workplace policy. Before implementing a zero-tolerance policy, make sure your state does not specifically protect medical marijuana users or prevent employers from disciplining workers for legal off-duty conduct. Otherwise, drug-free workplace policies are essential to help protect your business and manage employees in the wake of legalized marijuana.
Review Drug Testing Policies
Employers can typically require employee drug testing throughout employment. The different types of testing including pre-employment drug testing, random drug testing, reasonable suspicion drug testing, and post-accident drug testing depending on state laws. Employers with mandatory drug testing policies need to ensure they follow specific state laws restricting disciplinary action based on positive test results. Additionally, employers are prohibited from administering drug tests as a form of discipline or for retaliatory purposes. There are several other issues to consider when reviewing your company’s drug testing policies.
First, the science used to test for marijuana has been slow to catch up with increased legalization. While there are testing methodologies currently in development, there is no test to determine whether an individual is presently under the influence of marijuana. Marijuana can remain in one’s system for weeks, and an employee could test positive for marijuana even if it was consumed outside of work and had no impact on the employee’s job performance. This creates potential issues for employers when drug testing employees who have medical marijuana prescriptions, or in states where recreational marijuana is allowed.
Also, many states have laws that provide protections for engaging in legal off-duty conduct. These laws prohibit employers from considering an employee’s lawful conduct outside of work for purposes of making employment decisions. For example, in states where recreational marijuana is legal, the consumption of marijuana outside of work hours could be considered lawful off-duty conduct, and an employer could be prohibited from using an employee’s positive drug test for purposes of making an adverse employment decision. Although this issue remains largely untested by the courts, and employers are currently allowed to make certain employment decisions based on drug test results, we anticipate that employee drug test results will be challenged by lawful off-duty conduct laws in the years to come.
Furthermore, employers in a limited number of states may need to accommodate medical marijuana usage by employees. In those circumstances, employers are prohibited from making employment decisions based on an employee’s positive test result, depending on the nature of the employee’s particular position and job duties.
Pre-employment Drug Testing
Companies are generally allowed to require drug testing as a condition of employment, and can deny employment based on positive test results. However, some states limit pre-employment drug testing for medical marijuana users, and other states have anti-discrimination laws for pre-employment drug test results.
Interestingly, an increasing number of companies, including those in the craft beverage industries, are eliminating pre-employment drug testing because of difficulties it can pose in finding employees who can pass the test. As a result, some employers are softening their drug testing policies or removing marijuana from the list of drugs tested for. However, softening the stance on pre-employment marijuana drug testing may not be a viable option for companies with employees working in safety-sensitive positions, or companies with insurance policies or government contracts that specifically require employee drug testing.
Drug Testing During Employment
Employers may also consider random drug testing, reasonable suspicion drug testing, and post-accident drug testing of employees. Random drug testing is only allowed in some states and often limited to employees in specific, narrowly defined classifications – such as employees working in safety sensitive positions. Almost all states allow employers to drug test employees if there is reasonable suspicion that an employee is impaired on the job. Reasonable suspicion must be more than a hunch, and employers should be able to articulate the employee’s specific conduct or behaviors that led the employer to suspect impairment on the job. Employers can also conduct post-accident drug testing following a workplace injury or accident, but only for employees whose impairment or drug use could have contributed to the incident.
Overall, companies should review state-specific laws and consider the specific needs and challenges of their workforce when reviewing or revising drug testing policies and practices. And you should always put drug testing policies in writing, distribute to your employees, and enforce the policies uniformly.
Accommodation of Medical Marijuana Varies by State
Generally, employers do not need to accommodate medical marijuana in the workplace. However, this could soon change. Courts in several states have recently indicated that accommodating an employee’s medical marijuana use may be appropriate in certain situations. Employers already must engage their employees in the interactive process to explore reasonable accommodations for known disabilities of an employee. In some circumstances, this could mean accommodating medical marijuana use if it is determined to be a reasonable accommodation that does not create an undue hardship on the Company. Before doing so, however, employers should consult with qualified legal counsel.
Employers also need to be careful when disciplining medical marijuana users. Several states have specific laws protecting medical cannabis patients from employment discrimination. Medical marijuana patients in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, for example, have already won lawsuits against companies that rescinded job offers or fired workers because of positive tests for cannabis. Medical marijuana laws are continuing to evolve, and protections for medical marijuana users are likely to increase.
Conclusion – Best Practices
An increasing number of states have legalized medical or recreational marijuana, yet the federal government continues to classify marijuana as an illegal drug. This conflict between state and federal law is not likely to be resolved anytime soon. In the meantime, employers should follow several best practices to manage employees where marijuana has been legalized.
Companies should carefully review these issues and create policies that balance legal compliance with the specific needs of the business. Until the conflict between state and federal law is resolved, this includes:
Stay up to date with evolving marijuana laws.
Determine specific requirements for drug testing and medical marijuana in each state in which your company has employees.
Develop state-compliant workplace drug policies that are appropriate for your business.
Confirm your drug testing policies in writing, distribute to employees, and apply the policies uniformly.
Consider eliminating strict drug testing practices in favor of reasonable suspicion drug testing.
Determine if you will test applicants for marijuana use or not.
Contact legal counsel if any specific concerns or incidents arise within your workforce.
If your company follows these simple guidelines for managing employees in the wake of legalized marijuana, you will be in a good position to adapt while protecting your business as marijuana legalization continues to evolve in the coming years.
For questions on specific state laws, consult with an attorney.
Amy Lessa and Nicole Stenoish are attorneys in the San Diego office of Fisher Phillips. Amy and Nicole counsel and defend employers, including breweries in employment law matters. They can be reached at alessa@fisherphillips.com and nstenoish@fisherphillips.com
With industry demand calling for new innovations in allergen testing, Nelson-Jameson is proud to offer 3M Allergen Protein Rapid Test Kits.
These kits are a qualitative immunochromatographic assay for rapid in-plant monitoring of specific food allergens, and are designed for accurate detection of processed and unprocessed allergen proteins. With results available in 10 to 12 minutes, these fast, easy tests can be used for clean-in-place (CIP) final rinse water, environmental swab samples, raw ingredients and finished food products. We currently have the following test kits available: Almond, Bovine Total Milk, Cashew, Coconut, Egg White, Fish, Gluten, Hazelnut, Peanut, Pecan, Pistachio, Soy, and Walnut. All test kits include 25 tests per kit.
Nelson-Jameson also offers 3M’s line of Allergen Protein ELISA Test Kits for both processed and unprocessed target allergen proteins. For additional information visit nelsonjameson.com or call us at: 800-826-8302.
Nelson-Jameson has been an integrated supplier for the dairy and food industry since 1947. Product lines include safety & personnel, production & material handling, sanitation & janitorial, processing & flow control, laboratory & QA/QC, and bulk packaging & ingredients. The company is headquartered in Marshfield, Wisconsin, with other locations in Turlock, California; Twin Falls, Idaho; York, Pennsylvania; Amarillo, Texas; and a sales branch in Chicago, Illinois.
Better time management, production consistency and organizational excellence are just a few of the promised benefits of adding or updating the technology and software within your craft brewery. While this may not have been in the forefront of your original craft brewing dream, in order to reach your brewing goals, you will want and need to increase efficiency, production and quality by using compiled and organized data to make key business decisions. It’s critical to research and determine what you will need in order to get some of your time back to spend on your first love, that of making great quality craft beer for both your loyal and potential new beer patrons.
Adding Technology To Grow Your Brand
Mike Bianco is the Operations Manager for the Civil Life Brewery in St Louis Missouri, but as is the case in small business, he’s a wearer of many hats, including acting as the liaison between the production, distribution and sales teams.
“Up until a few months ago, our brewery information was recorded and kept on a mix of whiteboards, excel sheets, dropbox documents, google docs, and whatever else was available,” said Bianco. “All of these mediums had to be put together to decipher whatever information we needed at the time, so researching and investing in a brewery management system that offered system-wide integration was the major focus of our technology investment.”
The Civil Life brewery needed a software system that could help them now and grow with them as they plan to increase production to expand into packaged product offerings. They are growing and need a streamlined and user-friendly product to help them along their way. They chose to go with EKOS, a company that prides themselves on easy-to-use craft business management software.
“We chose EKOS mainly because of their integration and streamlining aspect. But it was also a matter of finding functionality with someone that had extensive experience on the craft beer side of things while being available at our required price point” said Bianco. “EKOS is visible and used by all employees. Our employees are permitted access to different dashboards depending on what role they fill within our brewery. We’ve had it up, fully functional, and in use for about a month now, and have already noticed much better planning and forecasting capabilities. We deliberately implemented the system in phases over a couple of months so we could make sure it was doing what we wanted and needed it to do before moving on to the next step. This way, we knew the system would function as advertised for our specific situation.”
Although Bianco is very satisfied with the EKOS system, he’s already looking to the future and what can be improved upon with respect to additional software and technology.
“We’ve got the brewing process down within EKOS, but we’re still lacking when it comes to point of sale integration from our tap room into our back office reporting,” he said. “There’s still a disconnect that we’ll look into getting integrated there, and for the most part, we are still a manual brew operation. There is no real brew automation currently, but that’s an area we’ll transform as we continue our growth. Down the road, as production expands further we’ll also look at a good tracking system for our kegs.”
“But one of the best advantages for us in using a package system like EKOS is its ability to integrate seamlessly with our QuickBooks functions, immediately updating and providing in-the-moment reports and brewing process information.”
Additionally, Civil Life is a big proponent of solar energy, using panels to feed into their main system to help power everything from their lights to chillers.
“Predictive technology absolutely increases canning quality” says Neil Morris, Co-Partner of OneVision Corporation, a developer and manufacturer of SeamVision, a seam inspection system for food and beverage canners and can makers.
“We help quality managers take preventative action before seam related canning faults bring their process to a sudden halt or worse yet, are found while the product is sitting in inventory at the manufacturing site or in a customer’s warehouse.”
SeamVision uses predictive technology to initially gather statistics about the preferred settings on canning equipment and then monitor those settings so they are consistently adhered to throughout the canning process. With SeamVision, you can see the integrity of the can seams in 3 different spots while it is being formed rather than hoping it’s being done right. The system can also detect wear patterns indicating preventative maintenance is needed. It is user-friendly and fits in with your current network environment.
“With SeamVision technology, we’re able to record machine settings and provide a process to alert the manufacturing personnel if those seam settings start to deviate from the baseline numbers, indicating a potential looming problem. The alerts are color based, using traditional red, green and amber notifiers so the responsible person can rectify a potential issue before it causes costly real-time production interruptions. This type of monitoring results in greater overall consistency and increased production uptime.”
Serious can and seam faults are nearly impossible to predict using only periodic manual checks, so SeamVision provides a system of gauges all under software control.
“We are unique in this approach,” says Morris. “Once SeamVision is set up and online, less frequent physical checks are necessary. SeamVision even checks for subtle changes that affect the seam tightness, body-hook connection, cover hook length and seam overlap due to manufacturing changes, dimensional changes, equipment wear over time or undetected interior part failure. All checks are stored for easy review and reference over time.”
Seam Consistency Critical To Quality Canning Process
“SeamVision is truly a process control helper,” says Morris. “Craft brewing is obviously popular, but with wine moving into the canning market as well, seam quality is absolutely critical. The specifications for whatever dimension can you choose to use need to remain consistent to improve shelf life, hold proper carbonation levels and guarantee a quality can tab system. SeamVision empowers breweries to do this consistently, whether on an individual basis or as is becoming more common, within a shared space that houses all of the smaller craft startups that don’t have the amount of upfront capital to do this themselves.”
Morris says “A basic SeamVision system installed will run in the neighborhood of twelve to fourteen thousand dollars, which is really a drop in the bucket to what many have spent getting to the point of starting the canning process. Now, you must make sure that the quality of the can remains consistent and the beer you’re selling is the same beer that you initially intended for the public to drink.”
A typical craft brewer may run one hundred cans per minute while running a canner about thirty hours a week. More established breweries may run as high as twenty-two hundred cans per minute.
“But any reasonable canning volume is a candidate for the SeamVision system,” says Morris.
“The strength of our system is tracking and quality consistency. It’s genuinely about getting predictive, timely information to help be proactive and avoid costly downtime within the craft beer industry.”
Intuitive Process Management Software Lets You Focus On Core Business
Jason Lippa, President and Founder of FIVE x 5 Solutions, (formerly Distillery Solutions), creates total process management solutions for craft brewers and distillers to manage all facets of their brewing or distilling operations.
Brew X 5 is the craft brewing arm of his business and is a complete package software system allowing craft brewers to monitor their entire brewing process from inventory to glass. Brew X 5 includes all of your important data and reports and is easily and readily accessible through phones, tablets, or desktop computer stations with easy to read graphics. It is completely QuickBooks compatible while providing instant access to processes and active batch updates.
“Brew X 5 is very intuitive and user-friendly, so there isn’t a need for time-consuming training or user-related learning windows,” says Lippa. “There really is no big install period. You’re up and running from day one. Brew X 5 is an all-encompassing start to finish program that allows each employee the administrative permission to monitor and access the part of the process they are specifically involved in. We don’t restrict the number of users or devices, so this is a great way to keep every employee involved and informed. Individual personnel have real-time access to the data that is relevant to them and their job function while contributing to the overall brewing process and providing management complete and up to date reports on the back end. No one has to master any programs or confusing navigational procedures.
Brew X 5 handles all functions throughout the brewing process:
Operations, including recipe and batch information, vessel volume information, and product streams throughout the process, allowing quality product repetition.
Inventory levels with automatic purchase order levels, and information on customer and supplier management.
Sales tools to generate forecasts, invoices, fill orders, check available inventory and customer statistics.
Production planning by optimizing vessel usage and needed material forecasting.
Barrel profiles, blending statistics, finishing notes and inventory. Keg tracking is available by customer or type.
Over time, Brew X 5 provides insights derived specifically from these statistics that help the owner understand and manipulate things to increase efficiency and eliminate single points of failure in the manufacturing process.
“With all the individual uses for the single components of this software, the end result can be pure brewing magic,” says Lippa. “Organizing and analyzing all the data from all departments provides compliance reports, daily production logs and operational reports as well as customized metrics like brew loops while simultaneously tracking quality.”
The Brew X 5 program came about because Lippa saw a need.
“One of the main benefits of our software program is that it solves the problems that any manufacturing company has. Management has so many balls in the air that if anything does fail or break, by the time you find out about it it can be too late, costing time and money. With Brew x 5, you have all this operational information and control under one roof, so to speak. It is literally the heart of the brewery, handling manufacturing data and analysis but also allowing you to pull specific information as needed from an easy to use single source.”
Parent company Five x 5 Solutions started out in the craft spirits industry and has expanded to craft breweries through a controlled growth program. By doing it this way, Lippa believes they have better offerings and interfaces than their competitors. As to the future, Lippa says that they’re just going to listen to the needs of the customer, letting that be their focus.
“Data is king, and we are helping companies collect information and produce meaningful reports that drive key business decisions. That’s the way that we’ve been most successful. We let our customers draw our roadmap, looking at everything up through point of sale integration. Most customers don’t have a clearcut answer as to what they want or need this data to do for them, so we keep things simple to use while providing the most powerful results. By live syncing with QuickBooks, we allow the owner to stay focused on the core of his business.”
Brew X 5 also provides exemplary support, averaging an eleven-and-a-half-minute solution through their completely in-house support team.
“We pick up the phone,” says Lippa. “We believe in this type of support because software and technology used within a manufacturing environment like brewing is truly a partnership.”
Brew X 5 is offered in monthly packages if the customer just wants to test the product, but Lippa believes that with complete technology and support systems like Brew X 5, reciprocal long-term commitments are best for both parties.
“Our main goal is to enable business owners to get and remain educated on how their business is run from the inside out.”
Craft beverage consumers are often quick to judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a beer by its packaging. The quality of beer comes first and foremost, but how a beer looks on retail shelves can also drive or sink a brewery’s profits. Packaging machines are useful to breweries for many reasons, including efficiently and attractively packaging beer and cans in cartons. Depending on the size of a brewery’s operations and its goals, these machines range from small hand machines to huge mass production models.
Uses of Brewery Packaging Equipment
These days, very few breweries are packaging their products by hand. Manual processing isn’t fast enough to keep up with demand, but unlike mechanization in the wine industry, there isn’t a strong stigma regarding breweries using machines.
For breweries, packaging equipment comes in the form of case packers and uncasers, can cartoners, case erectors and partition inserters. Innovative companies have developed robotic case packers to pack products into cases and trays, as well as multi-lane diverters to configure cans in the desired format for multi-packs. It may save time and labor if breweries use cartoners that convey, collate, and package cans into multi-pack cartons that are built and glue-sealed.
Meanwhile, other packaging machines work as case and carton sealers, stretch and shrink wrappers, and label applicators. Wrap-around tray packers are commonly used for beer bottles and cans, tray-formers are used for rollover locking, and open-top glue trays are used for 24-count trays of bottles or cans. Large brewery operations typically rely on fully integrated systems that include many of these features including product conveyors, uncasing, single-filling conveyors, lane dividers, dividing wheels, star wheels and sealing equipment.
Benefits of Packing Machines for Breweries
In the early stages of operations or for small and niche breweries, manual packaging may be the preferred operational method, or at least a good starting point. Packaging bottles and cans manually can serve as a preliminary method before growing and saving up for a more automated system. Temporary and transitional packaging services are available for breweries looking to outsource this type of work. However, having your own packaging line typically saves money in the long run and gives brewers greater control over their products.
Packaging machines provide breweries with speed, consistency and efficiency on their packing line, saving employees time and the brewery money. Packaging machines also help a brewery reduce packaging costs, ensure a more consistent appearance, and promote good hygiene to prevent beer contamination. Consistent, well-placed packaging can reinforce and strengthen a brewery’s particular brand and help establish brand recognition and loyalty among consumers.
Top Packaging Machines in the Industry
Packaging machines are used in a wide variety of industries, including food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, industrial products, and non-food consumer goods. In a market with so many choices, some companies now cater to the highly specific needs of breweries.
Based in Brewerton, New York, Schneider Packaging provides case and tray packaging, case sealing, palletizing, and complete end-of-line solution services for its customers. For the beverage industry, Schneider’s gable top packing solution is the stand-out solution designed to run at speeds matching the fastest filling systems. Meanwhile, Schneider incorporates FANUC robotics to create flexible palletizing solutions to meet facility and production requirements. The latest innovations used include ProAdjust technology to increase uptime, patent-pending Intelligent Illumination to maintain case packers, and the proprietary OptiStak software to optimize and simplify pallet generation. Other industries Schneider serves are dairy, food, industrial/chemical/household, paper, personal care/cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and plastics.
Douglas Machine Inc., a packaging solutions company based in Alexandria, Minnesota, specializes in high-quality automated packaging solutions for paperboard, corrugated and shrink-film. Douglas is a 100 percent employee-owned company that has installed more than 9,000 machines in at least 30 countries.
“Douglas provides paperboard horizontal cartoning, RSC, and wrap-around case-packing and tray, shrink, pad/film and film only packaging machinery for the brewery industry at a variety of line speeds and configurations,” said Brenda Larson, Marketing Communications Manager at Douglas Machine.
Meanwhile, in Eugene, Oregon, PakTech is a full-service manufacturing company that delivers environmentally sustainable packaging solutions to the craft beer industry.
“Our handles are simple to grab, carry, and remove your product using a 100 percent recycled handle,” PakTech Sales Manager, Keenan Hoar, told Beverage Master Magazine. “PakTech’s minimalistic design and extensive color options highlight your brand and eliminate the need for obscuring artwork with other types of packaging.”
Hoar also said PakTech offers automated application versatility for flexible production requirements.
“You can apply the handles by hand if you’re a startup or have a limited volume requirement,” he said, “or you can utilize their automated applicators ranging in speed from 120 cans per minute to over 1,500 cans per minute if you have a higher speed operation.”
Accutek Packaging Equipment Companies, Inc. is headquartered in Vista, California but has locations in Irving, Texas and Fort Myers, Florida as well. One of the largest privately-held packaging machinery manufacturers in the U.S., Accutek is a leading manufacturer and developer of complete turnkey packaging solutions. It offers consumers everything from filling to capping machines, conveyors, labeling and sleeving machines, and complete packaging systems.
Vice President Drake Chocholek told Beverage Master Magazine that Accutek often helps start-up companies make the best decisions for their operations. By partnering with a company experienced in this field, brewery owners can better assess whether potential packaging machines are easy to maintain, clean, adjust and upgrade.
“For example, a lot of new producers don’t know there are different grades of quality for glass bottles, or they may not know about bottle washers or rinsers used for cleaning containers before filling,” Chocholek said.
To take this a step further, Chocholek told us about the essential checklist his company uses to help new customers understand their full scope of operations and to make packaging simpler and more affordable.
“After we find out the product and container sizes, we ask them what their budget is, how fast they want the machinery to go, and if they’re in the market for more than one piece of machinery,” he said.
What Breweries are Using and Why
Aaron Williams of Monday Night Brewing in Atlanta, Georgia told Beverage Master Magazine his brewery specializes in brewing balanced beers for weeknights that pair well with food. Monday Night Brewing opened up its second facility, The Garage, in September 2017 to feature its barrel-aged, sour, and experimental beers. This addition came with an upgrade in equipment.
“We recently upgraded to a 24/4 CFT canning line that we are running at about 250 cans per minute,” Williams said. “We use hi-cone rings packed into trays because it uses the least amount of packaging.”
Meanwhile in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Marble Brewery’s president and brewmaster, Ted Rice, told us about the packaging system that his team currently uses.
“We use a 12-head CFT for canning,” Rice said. “From the CFT, the 12-ounce cans run to a Switchback cartoner for six or 12 packs. The cans can also run to an American Canning Machine PakTech applicator.”
However, finding the best options for machines that carton beer bottles and cans seem to be more of a challenge for breweries.
“Right now, we don’t do any bulk beers in cartons but are actively looking at machines to handle this in a more automated system,” Williams of Monday Night Brewing said. “There are many machines, but it doesn’t seem there is a clear winner based on conversations with other breweries. We currently hand-package our limited sampler packs.”
Douglas Machine may have the solution, however, since they offer a variety of cartoning machinery models that fit a wide range of canning and bottling line speeds and pack configurations.
“For lower speed lines, the intermittent motion Vantra offers an unparalleled speed of 40 plus cartons per minute with range capabilities offering of four to 24 count flexibility,” Larson said. “For higher speed lines, Douglas offers the Spectrum in many models for mid-high-speed lines with speeds up to 250 cartons per minute. The Vantra and Spectrum Center Select offer flexibility to run different diameter and height cans, while the cost-effective Spectrum Center Select offers mid-high-speed capability on a single can diameter capability at a very cost-effective price.”
How to Choose the Right Packaging System
As with every decision made in a brewery, owners must make considerations before investing in a packaging system. Short-term and long-term costs, ease of ongoing maintenance, opportunities for customizable design, integration with existing bottle and can filling systems, as well as choosing the correct machine size are only a handful of things to analyze before purchasing.
Breweries can also reduce their carbon footprint and sustain more eco-friendly operations if they choose packaging products made from 100 percent recycled materials.
“Our products provide an end market for recycled HDPE, helping the economy and environment by providing jobs and keeping plastics out of the landfills and oceans while providing a second life for recycled HDPE plastic,” said Gary Panknin, PakTech’s Sustainability Officer. “Our handle recycling program also provides the opportunity for breweries to participate in keeping our products in the recycling stream and out of the waste stream.”
According to Panknin, 102,592,428 milk jugs were kept out of landfills and repurposed into PakTech handles in 2018, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. “In total, we have diverted 338,267,223 milk jugs from entering the waste stream, kept 20,973 tons of plastic out of the landfills and oceans, and saved 17.90-acre feet of land from being used as landfills for waste,” he said.
PakTech’s system isn’t merely a sustainability badge of honor, however. “The PakTech applicator makes our line far more efficient, and our operators do not experience wrist fatigue from manually applying the PakTech,” said Rice of Marble Brewery. “Having the Switchback cartoner allows our brands to have a clean billboard on the shelves. Using the PakTech allows us to run smaller volumes of seasonals in shrink sleeve cans without designing a carton with its associated costs and minimums.”
Williams of Monday Night Brewing suggests brewers ensure that any company they partner with for packing is credible and trustworthy.”I think the key is to really do your homework and ask around,” he said. “Find out who uses the equipment you’re interested in, what the manufacturer support is like, and if the manufacturer really will stand behind it for the long term. I’ve talked to many breweries that got a great up-front price on their equipment only to find the supplier didn’t really stand behind it.”
With this in mind, Mike Brewster of Schneider Packaging Equipment advises breweries “to do their due diligence on what they foresee their operation looking like in the future. Today, more than ever, consumer trends in the marketplace are changing at a rapid pace. With that, it is critical to align with a manufacturer who offers flexible and scalable solutions to assist you as your operation encounters changes.”
Concerning functionality, Hoar of PakTech said that his team looks at the fill rate when helping a brewery choose the right application for its operations. “It is extremely easy to manually apply PakTech carriers, yet the feasibility of doing so is all dependent on volume,” he said. “It is necessary to look at the cost of utilizing employees to apply the handle against the return on investment of our automated solutions.”
Hoar emphasizes the importance of packaging presentation as well because “by focusing on originality and creative expression, breweries have turned artwork into brand identity.” He also points out the need to know your brewery’s customers and consider portability and sustainability when choosing packaging products because many customers care about these things.
“We understand that many customers have a ‘pack it in, pack it out’ mentality, and we need to support the idea of a circular economy in any capacity,” Hoar said.
Finally, Larson of Douglas Machine recommends that breweries consider future packing patterns and configurations when specifying packaging systems for canning and bottling lines.
“Too often, brewers will select machinery based upon their immediate pack patterns or speeds, therefore buying a machine that cannot handle future pack patterns and speeds due to a lack of flexibility in some machinery offerings,” Larson said. “Additionally, the robustness of machinery is critical as brewers grow their operation and volumes increase to the point they need to add production shifts. It is imperative to consider the design and build design to ensure that a packaging system they purchase is robust enough to run multiple shifts, seven days per week. Initial low costs are long forgotten when experiencing poor or inconsistent performance.”
