2024 NanoCon Online

Description

Big Ideas for Small-Scale Craft Brewing – Now in an Annual Online Format 

October 25, 2024

Learn from craft brewing industry experts with live online sessions covering Brewery Operations, Business Operations & Sales, and Start-Ups.

 

Don’t Miss:

• Full-Day of Live, Online Seminars and Q&A Panels

• Access to Video Recordings and Course Materials for All Sessions

• 3 Learning Tracks: Business & Sales, Brewing Operations, Start-Ups

• Get Your Questions Answered Live by Craft Beer Experts

• Interact with Other Small-Scale Craft Brewers & Breweries-In-Planning

• Q&A Sessions with Leading Small-Scale Brewing Suppliers

2024 NanoCon Seminar Descriptions

11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (Eastern)

SAVING MONEY WHILE MAINTAINING BEER QUALITY
BREWERY OPERATIONS
In this current brewery business climate every penny counts. As a brewer in charge of one of the business’ largest cost areas, your decisions can dramatically impact the P&L. But how do you save money without sacrificing the quality of your beer. Learn how to pinpoint the areas where money can be saved producing beer without affecting the quality of the product from pro brewer and head of the American Brewers Guild Steve Parkes.
STEVE PARKES
BREWMASTER & OWNER, DROP IN BREWING COMPANY
OWNER & LEAD INSTRUCTOR, AMERICAN BREWERS GUILD

HOW MUCH IS MY BREWERY WORTH?: UNDERSTANDING EVALUATIONS
BUSINESS OPERATIONS & SALES
Many brewery owners have put plenty of sweat equity and their own dollars into their business. At a certain point a common question any owner asks is what my business is actually worth? And during this time of market change, that question is increasingly being asked of our speaker Audra Gaiziunas by brewery owners. Learn from Audra about how breweries are evaluated and what are the important numbers in the process to determine a dollar figure on your brewery business.
AUDRA GAIZIUNAS
OWNER, BREWED FOR HER LEDGER, LLC

REDUCING BREWERY START-UP RISK
START-UPS
Starting a business is an exciting process, but it can also be a little scary. As a new brewery business, you can unknowingly walk into financially devastating problems. Matthew McLaughlin is uniquely qualified to help offer you advice on potential pitfalls to avoid as you get ready to open your brewery. Every day he advises breweries on navigating the often-confusing laws surrounding breweries and running an alcohol business. He’s also gone through the process of launching a new brewery himself so he can speak from experience on the various ways you can reduce your risk.
MATTHEW MCLAUGHLIN
FOUNDER, MCLAUGHLIN, PC

12:15 to 12:45 p.m. (Eastern)
NANO BREWER TRENDS PANEL
Join moderator John Holl and listen to a panel of Nano brewers discuss timely business trends specific as the Nano segment deals with the ups and downs of running a small brewery business in the current market environment.
JOHN HOLL
HOST, BYO NANO BREW PODCAST

1 to 1:30 p.m. (Eastern)
Q&A WITH NANO VENDORS – You can check in live with your choice of top craft brewing vendors to get your questions answered about Nano-sized equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies.

1:45 – 2:45 p.m. (Eastern)

BREWING EQUIPMENT TLC: MAINTENANCE & UPKEEP
BREWERY OPERATIONS
You’ve already made the big investment in your brewhouse and fermenters and you’re using this equipment to brew great beer. But you really need to regularly maintain your brewing equipment for the sake of beer quality and also the sake of your dollar investment. Learn what regular maintenance you need to be doing – and how often as well as the right techniques – to take care of your equipment with Owen Woods who advises breweries on equipment every day.
OWEN WOODS
TECHNICAL SALES MANAGER, ABS COMMERCIAL

FINANCING YOUR START-UP BREWERY
START-UPS
Congrats – you are getting closer to realizing your dream of opening a small brewery! But shiny new tanks or a new taproom space aren’t free and not everyone has enough cash flow or savings on hand to self-fund a brewery launch. Learn the keys to financing your plans for growth with Candace Moon and Ashan Amiri, attorneys who work with brewery start-up clients and small business financing on a regular basis. Candace and Arshan will go over what needs to be in your business plans, financing sources and options, and more to help you make your dreams of a new craft brewery a reality.
CANDACE MOON
THE CRAFT BEER ATTORNEY
ARSHAN AMIRI
CORPORATE AND SECURITIES ATTORNEY, AMIRI LAW FIRM PC

TAPROOM & BREWERY FINANCIAL METRICS TO FOLLOW
BUSINESS OPERATIONS & SALES
You have to understand the key metrics for sales, margins, and operating expenses for the unique business model of your brewery and also its taproom. Kary Shumway not only is the CFO at a successful craft brewery, but he also shares his love of the financial side of craft brewing through his online articles and classes after realizing this critical aspect is a blindspot for many breweries. Learn what the key accounting and financial guidelines should be for both your taproom and your brewery so you can understand your numbers more accurately and make better business decisions and forecasts.
KARY SHUMWAY
PUBLISHER, CRAFT BREWERY FINANCE
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, WORMTOWN BREWERY

3 to 3:30 p.m. (Eastern)

Q&A WITH NANO VENDORS – You can check in live with your choice of top craft brewing vendors to get your questions answered about Nano-sized equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies.

3:45 – 4:45 p.m. (Eastern)

KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL TRANSITION FROM HOMEBREWER TO BREWERY OWNER
START-UPS
Keith Yager started out much the same way as many of you attending NanoCon – he was an avid homebrewer who want to turn his passion into a business. He now owns and brews at his Cross-Eyed Owl Brewing Company in Alabama. Hear the lessons he learned first-hand along this journey from homebrews to running his own small-scall taproom-focused brewery.
KEITH YAGER
OWNER & BREWER, CROSS-EYED OWL BREWING COMPANY

STANDING OUT IN A CROWDED TAPROOM MARKET
BUSINESS OPERATIONS & SALES
Andrew Coplon, the Founder of taproom customer experience service Secret Hopper, has run studies on hundreds of tasting rooms and has seen it all – both the good and the bad – from years of collecting customer feedback on brewery taprooms. He is in a very unique position to understand what customers really want from their taproom visits, the keys to creating a great taproom experience, and what actions you and your staff can take to boost taproom profits. He’ll share the lessons learned from his taproom data as well as taproom triumphs so you can use this knowledge to adopt best practices to stand out from the crowd and create memorable experiences for your customers.
ANDREW COPLON
FOUNDER, SECRET HOPPER
FOUNDER, CRAFT BEER PROFESSIONALS

YEAST MANAGEMENT FOR NANOS
BREWERY OPERATIONS
Yeast is obviously the workhorse of any brewery, but what are some of the ways a small-scale brewery can get the most out of your yeast? Learn about the keys to properly managing your yeast in a small-scale brewery from best practices with re-pitching, yeast storage, propagation, as well a low-budget fermentation tests you should be using.  Learn how to take care of your yeast for predictable tank turn times, consistent fermentations, and reduction of off-flavors.
LAURA BURNS
DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, OMEGA YEAST

5 – 5:30 p.m. (Eastern)

Q&A WITH NANO VENDORS – You can check in live with your choice of top craft brewing vendors to get your questions answered about Nano-sized equipment, gear, ingredients, and supplies.

5:45 – 6:45 p.m. (Eastern)

SMALL BREWERY, BIG IMPACT: 5 DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR NANO BREWERIES
BUSINESS OPERATIONS & SALES
The post-pandemic landscape for craft beer is changing and is certainly providing new challenges for nano breweries and their taprooms. What can you be doing from a marketing standpoint to address these new realities? Brewery marketing expert Julie Rhodes has some timely tips to boost taproom sales since old stand-by marketing that used to work even a few years ago is not going to get the job done anymore. Get ready to take notes and walk away with actionable tips.
JULIE RHODES
OWNER, NOT YOUR HOBBY MARKETING SOLUTIONS

SETTING UP YOUR BREWERY TO MAKE MORE THAN BEER
BREWERY OPERATIONS
Brewery taprooms that aren’t offering a diversity of beverages are often leaving money on the table and losing potential repeat customers. As a result brewers are being asked to make batches of more than beer using the equipment they already have in-house. Find out how you can more easily add house-brewed soft drinks, hard cider, hard seltzer, lower-alcohol beers, and even sparkling kegged wine so there are more offerings for a broader range of customers. The beer is still the star, but it is not as hard as you might think to round out your taproom drink offerings also.
ASHTON LEWIS
MANAGER OF TRAINING AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT, RAHR BSG
TECHNICAL EDITOR, BREW YOUR OWN MAGAZINE

GUIDE TO BEER PRICING
START-UPS
Many new breweries don’t carefully track the cost of their individual beers they brew and as a result incorrectly price their beer on assumptions rather than numbers. Some beers simply cost more to produce whether it is ingredients used, the amount of certain ingredients or techniques like barrel aging. The price of each of your beers at your new brewery need to reflect these realities so your profit margins are in line with your costs. Our numbers guru Audra Gaiziunas will share the lessons she’s learned over the years helping breweries set their prices.
AUDRA GAIZIUNAS
OWNER, BREWED FOR HER LEDGER, LLC