RadCraft 2017 Year In Review
In 2017, RadCraft's partners brewed more than 93,000 BBL of beer, employed 1,154 people, and contributed more than $100,000 to charity.
RadCraft’s partners brewed more than 93,000 BBL of beer, malted 400,000 pounds of barley, and distilled a small but significant volume of American Single Malt whiskey in 2017.
photo by Emily Sierra Photography
Last year our partners employed 1,154 people across the country, and served their world-class beer in five states. They debuted more than 15 packaged products on the market, which included Strange Craft’s 125th anniversary beer for The Brown Palace Hotel and Spa and Deerhammer’s first extension of their flagship product, Port Cask Finish American Single Malt.
RadCraft partners contributed more than $100,000 to charitable efforts throughout the calendar year.
A few of RadCraft’s tribe dug deep into their brands, refreshing and in some cases completely overhauling their label design and beyond. Lone Tree Brewing Co. underwent a complete company rebrand via Anthem Branding in the spring, and later in the year Bonfire Brewing began refreshing their canned beer labels one by one.
Lone Tree Brewing Company was awarded a gold medal for its Mexican Lager and a silver medal for its Hop Zombie IPA at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival® in the American Style Lager or Light Lager category and the Imperial Red Ale category, respectively. RadCraft partners also brought home awards from the San Diego International Beer Festival and the Colorado State Fair, among others.
Strange Craft joined forces with Wit's End Brewing Co. on Denver's first brewery co-tasting room and brewhouse at Strange's location on Zuni Street. Wit’s End Head Brewer Tyler Bies took over as Head Brewer of both brewing operations in December 2017.
Asheville-born Thirsty Monk, brewer of Belgian-Rooted Modern Ales and operator of world-recognized craft beer bars expanded its family of pubs to Denver, Colorado and Portland, Oregon. The Monkification of these locations is underway.
That’s only a snapshot of what our partners are up to. Here are their complete 2017 Year in Reviews.
Strange Craft Beer Co. / Wit’s End Brewing Co.
RadCraft secured more than 2,000 earned media placements for our partners in 2017. We helped with the launch of a new brewery brand— congratulations to Spice Trade Brewing on all of its successes in year one— and the development of online presence for a company that’s been thriving for more than 13 years— props to The MBM Group, which also hired its first managing partner Anna Nadasdy this year.
photo by Colin Bridge
In February, RadCraft Founder Emily Hutto launched the #dailystout campaign. Learn more about the effort and its 2018 development here.
In May, Little Shop of Floral made more than 20 bouquets of #GrowlerFlowers using our old growlers for our Moms on Mother’s Day. This was the soft launch of The Growler Flowers Project, a hashtag on Instagram and Twitter. There is so much more to come.
Over the summer we challenged beer-loving photographers to submit their depiction of “Summer Beer” in the Summer Session Photo Contest. The winner, Chris Rand, won our hearts with this photo of Bella and a Mountain Tap Brewery Crowler.
Throughout the year RadCraft had the honor of participating in several educational functions dedicated to professionals in the craft marketing space. If you would like resources from any of these conferences and events, feel free to reach out.
In January, our Founder Emily Hutto gave a presentation at the January Business of Beer event at Comrade Brewing advocating social media as a market research tool.
In March she moderated a panel during Colorado Craft Beer Week that celebrated the community of the breweries along the C-470 Corridor (Keep up the #C470beer hashtag, folks!), and another discussion on best practices for brewpub marketing at the inaugural Beer Marketing & Tourism Conference.
In November she had the opportunity to speak at both the North Carolina Craft Brewers Conference and the Colorado Brewers Summit about best practices for brewery blogging and brewery public relations strategies, respectively.
Also in 2017, RadCraft was stoked to be included in two podcast episodes, both focused on our favorite topic: craft beer marketing. Thank you to Steve Schmidt at Market the Brew and Ryan Wheaton at Branding Brews for their time and great conversations!
Market The Brew, Episode 030: PR: Authentic Narratives for Unique Breweries
Branding Brews, Episode BB020: Creating a Content Calendar
In December, RadCraft celebrated its 5th anniversary. Read our reflections on five years in business here.
photo by The Brewtography Project
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2018
We're currently in the throws of Stout Month, using the hashtag #dailystout to document our fundraising efforts for Water For Good.
We're excited to welcome Ska Brewing to our tribe of radical crafters. Say hello to Ska, everyone!
We're heading to Nashville for the Craft Brewers Conference in April, where we're collaborating with fellow craft marketing companies— Promote The Brew, CODO Design, and more— as co-expo vendors. Get ready.
We couldn't do what we do without our partners, our collaborators, and our friends in the craft beer community. Raising our glasses to everyone who contributed to a successful 2017 at RadCraft. Cheers to 2018!
Four Styles of Stout to Track Down This Stout Month
Talking Stout styles with Dan Rabin. Here are four varieties of Stouts, with examples of each style to boot. Happy Stout Month!
Emily Hutto and Dan Rabin, photo by The Brewtography Project
Beer and travel author Dan Rabin and RadCraft founder Emily Hutto, gave a talk at the Denver Press Club in November about the variety among styles of the beloved Stout beer style. Thanks again to The Press Club for having us, and thanks to Dan for this great idea. He wanted to convey the true spectrum that is Stout styles, and he's largely responsible for choosing the beer list below.
It should be noted that Dan was one of the first contributors to the #DailyStout campaign for Water for Good, too!
Here are four varieties of Stouts, with examples of each style to boot. Happy Stout Month!
Dry Irish Stout: Carlow Brewing Co. (aka O’Hara’s Brewery) O’Hara’s Irish Stout, 4.3% ABV 40 IBU
This family-owned brewery began operating in 1996 as a pioneer in Irish craft brewing. While the Dry Irish Stout style is generally synonymous with Guinness, there’s a perception among many that the Guinness brewed today by the Irish corporate giant lacks the robust character of the Guinness of old. O’Hara’s Irish Stout is often described as “authentic,” “traditional,“ and “how stouts used to taste.” Indeed, the beer hits all the right notes stylistically with a smooth malt base, coffee-like roastiness, dry finish and low alcohol content conducive to partaking in multiple pints. Its flavors are best expressed when served cool, not cold.
Sweet Stout: Finkel & Garf Brewing Co. Oatmeal Milk Stout, 5.5% ABV, 36 IBU
Stylistically, this Boulder-brewed stout represents a hybrid of Sweet Stout and Oatmeal Stout. F&G is committed to subtlety and approachability in its beers, and this one in particular is brewed to debunk assumptions that dark and “sweet” beers are scary, chewy, or cloying. It has just the right roundness of roast, dark chocolate, and malt sweetness that washes down smooth and slightly sweet. The silky mouthfeel of this stout is created through the use of about 10 percent oats in its grain bill. F&G Oatmeal Milk Stout is the 2017 GABF gold medal winner in the Sweet or Cream Stout category.
Foreign Export Stout: Left Hand Brewing Co. Fade to Black Vol. 1, 8.5% ABV 30 IBU
Longmont’s Left Hand Brewing may be best known for its smooth milk stout, but the brewery’s seasonal Fade to Black Vol. 1 Foreign Export Stout has garnered its own collection of prestigious awards including three gold medals and one silver at the Great American Beer Festival, and a gold medal at the 2016 World Beer Cup. The beer is big, bold, complex and highly satisfying. As it warms, a variety of flavors emerge including coffee, chocolate, licorice and dark fruits. At 8.5%, it toes the line, but doesn’t quite enter the terrain of Imperial Stouts.
Imperial Stout: Great Divide Brewing Co. Yeti Imperial Stout, 9.5% ABV, 75 IBU
This beer is big in every way. Made by the home of Colorado’s original strong ale (Hibernation Ale, first brewed in in 1995), Great Divide’s infamous Yeti is a classic example of the Imperial Stout style, winner of three Great American Beer Festival awards in the Imperial Stout category. It’s a liquid balancing act between big, roasty malt flavor and bold hop flavor and aroma. Stout in general and specifically Yeti has been a great canvas for brewing creations, which at Great Divide have been an array of Yeti varietals including Espresso Oak-Aged and Oatmeal Yeti.
Lessons Learned From A Month of #DailyStout Tasting
We drank Stout every day for a month, and here's what we found out.
Photo by Jeff Tyler
In Colorado, February is Stout Month. It’s a short but passionate 28 days dedicated to the full-bodied, roasty, coffee-esque, malt-forward wonder that is the Stout beer style.
I love Stout, but I don’t always reach for it over other styles. I also love a good challenge.
So when a friend suggested I fully explore this beer style by tasting a different Stout every day last February, I gladly accepted. And to what was often the chagrin of my partner, I did it.
I tasted a different Stout each day in February 2017 and documented the process on social media using hashtag #dailystout. I held myself accountable for tasting at least one different Stout every day. Thirst Magazine caught on to what I was up to and they published this article about my Stout recommendations.
Stout came to be my daily liquid bread— after a month I had discovered its versatility, and I craved it. When Stout Month ended, #dailystout did not. I kept tasting and researching the style. One year later, here’s what I’ve come to know about Stout…
Stout comes with a dark beer stigma, and the style is generally misunderstood— even among craft beer drinkers.
Stout is not Porter.
Stout Month is one of my favorite craft marketing campaigns.
Stout is for whiskey lovers.
Stout can develop incredible nuanced flavor and aroma over time, if you know a thing or two about cellaring beers.
Stout is a food-friendly beer, perfect for pairings.
Stout is a blank canvas for a cornucopia of abstract beer ingredients.
Stout is scarce in island communities. More on that later.
Stout is a foundation for good causes.
2018 Stout Month is upon us and the #dailystout ritual returns! This year it’s dedicated to raising funds for the conservation of clean water, a resource that the brewing industry continues to consume more and more of. I've recruited fellow Stout tasters too.
Throughout the month of February, we're drinking #dailystout to raise funds for Water For Good. This organization creates long-term partnerships with communities in Africa, empowering them with sustainable access to clean water and transformational development solutions. Water For Good was a natural partner for our #dailystout campaign because Africa is responsible for much of the world’s production and consumption of Stout... And we think what they're up to is pretty rad.
Whether you can donate or not, we hope you’ll join the #dailystout hashtag on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to help us spread the word.
Cheers to Stout Month!
— Emily Hutto, RadCraft Founder
Lone Tree Brewing Horchata Stout Now Available
This popular wintertime beer is back for the third year, and only available while supplies last.
Photo by Colin Bridge
LONE TREE, CO — Lone Tree Brewing Company’s seasonal Horchata Stout hits Colorado shelves in bombers this week. This popular wintertime beer is back for the third year, and only available while supplies last.
Horchata Stout is a 6 percent ABV stout brewed with chocolate, cinnamon, and lactose. It was first brewed in collaboration with The Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant as a nod to the popular Mexican rice and almond milk beverage. "Together we developed a recipe that incorporated the creamy texture of Horchata and the slight spice of cinnamon,” says Lone Tree Sales Manager Bridgette Geiger.
Horchata Stout belongs to Lone Tree Brewing Company’s Branching Out series of experimental, limited quantity beers in large format bottles. These beers were first served draft-only at Lone Tree and by popular demand have become the brewery’s packaged offerings. The Branching Out Series also includes Bière de Printemps, India Pale Lager, Cranberry Saison, English Old Ale, and Triple IPA.
A very limited number of Horchata Stout bombers will be distributed across Colorado. The beer is also on draft while supplies last at the brewery’s tasting room.
For more information about Lone Tree Brewing’s Horchata Stout contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com.
ABOUT LONE TREE BREWING COMPANY
Take Root, Grow Friends
Lone Tree Brewing Company was the first brewery in Lone Tree, Colorado that opened near Park Meadows Mall in 2011. The neighborhood-focused, family-friendly brewery and tasting room regularly hosts community events that gather around a stylistically diverse lineup of flagship, seasonal, and limited release beers. Lone Tree's cans and 22-ounce bombers are sold across the state of Colorado, as well as Kansas and Nebraska. Its draft beer is poured at many bars and restaurants in its distribution footprint as well. Find the brewery online at lonetreebrewingco.com.