Bonfire Brewing Expands Capacity; Announces 2020 Milestones

Bonfire Brewing owners Andy and Amanda Jessen

EAGLE, CO— Bonfire Brewing is poised for growth going into 2021. The Eagle Valley brewery turned ten in 2020 among several other community milestones. Gather ‘round for Bonfire Brewing’s 2020 Year in Review.

In 2020, Bonfire Brewing produced just under 3500 barrels of beer, equating to more than one million cans. The brewery is wrapping up installation of an expansion in capacity and improvements to existing equipment. These include an upgraded glycol chiller system, the addition of 1600 barrels of fermentation capacity, equipment to facilitate the packaging of barrel aged beers, and the ability to package beer in 16-ounce cans.

Bonfire revamped its draft system that now sports 25 beer lines this year, and added the now famous rotating beer slushies to the menu. Tasting room additions in 2020 also include a partnership with the Roaming Gourmet food truck, and a heated tent the size of a city block for winter to help offset COVID-related capacity restrictions. 

Bonfire continued support of local non-profits with product and financial donations, including another record Mug Club auction— which this year, topped $8,500. The mug purchase benefited the Vail Veterans Foundation and Olivia’s Fund.

Bonfire’s patio expansion project is an ongoing one that gained more than 600 square feet of new seating in spring with employee-built Adirondack chairs to boot. 

More accolades rolled in for the brewery in 2020, including three Best of Vail awards and medals in the Best of Craft Beer Awards with a gold for WtFO DIPA, and in the “Beer Wars” competition with a Silver for the Rope Drop Hazy IPA. Bonfire is also the proud new recipient of Eagle’s “WassailMeister” title. 

Bonfire maintained its Actively Green Business certification, introduced composting to the tasting room, adopted and maintained five miles of the Haymaker mountain bike trail, and continued to make strides in sustainability and efficiency throughout operations this year. 

In November of 2020, Bonfire Brewing celebrated a decade of business in downtown Eagle with a week of throwback beer releases, specialty slushies, and an anniversary Quadrupel Brown Ale aged in Laws Whiskey House barrels. 

In the wake of Coronavirus, the Bonfire team developed and grew a popular contactless pick-up service and digital ordering system at the tasting room. 

Most importantly for Bonfire in 2020, the company retained 100 percent of their employees amid the impacts resulting from the global pandemic. “We fully employed everyone throughout the year by pivoting and adapting to every obstacle thrown our way,” says owner Andy Jessen. “[I]t took years to put this talented team together, and one of our biggest fears at the outset of the pandemic was the chance we might lose that. Being able to keep the team intact is something we’re very grateful for.”

Also in response to the pandemic, Bonfire created the BonFamily t-shirt that features all 16 employees, for which all proceeds directly benefited staff. “We couldn’t have done it without the people that make up the BonFamily, and that includes our customers near and far,” adds owner Amanda Jessen. 

For more information about Bonfire Brewing, contact Emily Hutto at hutto@radcraftbeer.com. 

ABOUT BONFIRE BREWING

Craft enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers gather around Bonfire Brewing in Eagle, Colorado, where the beers are driven by quality, curiosity, and community. Founded in 2010, Bonfire continues on their path of sustainable growth with cans of their year-round beers available in liquor stores and restaurants across Colorado. Gather ‘round Bonfire online at bonfirebrewing.com.

50 States of COVID Hospitality Relief

RadCraft, the hospitality industry, and the world as we know it will never be the same again.

I seem to say that every year, though. While I never could have anticipated a year like 2020, I did know I was in for a wild ride when I launched a business based on live, agricultural products and small, variant batches. It’s been a dynamic eight years to say the least.

One reason I love working with brewers, distillers, maltsters, farmers, and other crafters of all kinds is their resilience. They show up every day. They troubleshoot, they innovate, and they evolve to craft radical, high quality products and cultivate company ethos that’s changing the world. Along the way, their strength fosters community, and their beers and spirits make for some damn good times.

Amid pandemic, we’re finding some of these communities to be stronger than ever. American craft breweries, distilleries, and malting companies have come to bat for their people in big ways. We’ve been documenting these heroes in our COVID relief hub, and pouring over countless stories of how the hospitality industry is activating in crisis. Here are 50 of them.

Thanks for reading and stay well,

-Em Hutto

This project, and our entire relief effort, would not have been possible without Content Editor Karen Mills’ tenacious work and unrelenting positivity. Karen will be discussing her experience rounding up 50 of the country's most impactful relief efforts for the hospitality industry on the RadCraft Industry Relief zoom chat on Thursday, September 24 at 3pm MTN.

Why Rapids & Grass is a Brewer's Favorite Festival, Even When They Can't Go

Photo by Zach Mahone @ South Main Co.

“The beer is great, the music is fire, and the venue is laid out wonderfully.” 

That’s Ashleigh Carter, the co-founder and head brewer of Bierstadt Lagerhaus. She’s not alone.

You know it’s a good sign when you see a brewer at a beer festival. And in this case, the Rapids & Grass festival in Buena Vista is packed full of them— especially in anticipation of the festival’s rafting component. 

Rapids & Grass is so much more than just a beer fest; it’s an opportunity to get to the mountains, enjoy the river, and get social. Although the festival has decided to skip this year, keeping public health and safety in mind, it still goes down as one of our favorite festivals -- and here’s why the brewers agree. 

“The Rapids & Grass beer festival is unlike any other beer festival I have attended. I have traveled all over the country and poured at a few different beer festivals in Europe and none of them are as laid back and chill as Rapids & Grass,” shares Skip Schwartz, wood cellar and innovation lead at WeldWerks Brewing, “Attendees have access to some of the best beer Colorado has to offer at their fingertips with a relaxed, no lines or waiting. Last year was my first time attending and I know why I will be going back in the future.  Never have I worked a festival with my shoes off and my pants rolled up and it fit into the atmosphere of the festival. Not to mention a water gun fight broke out mid-festival with a few other brewers, which was a lot of fun!” 

Jordan Wheeler, senior packaging operator at WeldWerks Brewing adds, “Ummm everything Skip said. It’s definitely a festival I want to attend every year. It will never get old pouring beautiful beer with such a beautiful backdrop.”

There’s no arguing that the festival’s venue is one that is hard to rival. It also makes for a perfect location for brewers to also kick back, relax, and hang out with each other. 

“Obviously Buena Vista is beautiful,” shares Carter, “and really the beer is just a small part of the fest.”

“What makes it unique is how many brewers actually participate,” Carter continues, “We all get to hang out and camp together the night before and night of the festival, so there is that added social aspect that makes it fun to participate.”

It’s not just the brewers who enjoy it, either. 

“It’s an honor to get to pour our whiskey amongst some of the best beers around, and it’s inspiring to see what these brewers continually offer up such bad ass expressions of their craft,” says Lenny Eckstein, founder & head distiller at Deerhammer in downtown Buena Vista, “It’s always been Deerhammer’s approach to bring innovation and creativity to whiskey. A huge part of this is fueled for us by those on the beer side of the fence.”

Not to mention, the festival draws huge crowds to the Arkansas Valley, boosting tourism and the area’s economic viability. 

“There’s this ongoing effort to bring visitation to BV throughout the year,” shares Eckstien, “The thing about Rapids and Grass is that the crowd that comes up here, who’ve maybe blazed through BV or heard of our hot springs or killer mountain bike trails, or whatever, when they come here for Rapids & Grass they are getting full exposure to the full spectrum of awesomeness that BV has to offer. Deerhammer is PACKED during Rapids and Grass. It’s a great crowd who comes here looking to enjoy this place.”

To our friends Sarah, Shane, and their great Rapids & Grass partners, we love you and we miss you. Thank you for bringing world-class beer and music to Buena Vista. 

— Words by Karen Mills

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - June 2, 2020

Small businesses across the globe continue to take hits amid Coronavirus shutdowns and policy changes. From South Africa to Istanbul, North Carolina to Latin America, and beyond— here are 19 Coronavirus relief efforts that support the hospitality industry.

1. Three weeks after deciding to convert their beer tanks into giant soup-making tanks, Drifter Brewing Company has fed more than 75,000 people across ten different communities in Cape Town through Operation Soup-A-Heroes.

2. Laws Whiskey House released a single barrel selection to support Colorado Restaurant Response. This unique single barrel bourbon has been aged 5 ½ years and has flavors of wildflower honey, butterscotch and orange peel will also be available for sale at participating Colorado Restaurant Response restaurants in May. Find a list of retailers and more details here.

3. Hospitality Net has been adding special coverage with specific topics pertaining to the impact Coronavirus is having on the hospitality industry. Their page contains a growing list of resources with topics that pertain to the industry, with new ones being added as they become available.

4. The James Beard Foundation is committed to helping independent restaurants survive the crisis, rebuild stronger, and thrive for the long term through their Open for Good campaign.

5. One Fair Wage’s High Road Kitchens Program launched during the COVID-19 crisis. High Road Kitchens are independent restaurants that provide food on a sliding scale to those in need, as well as providing jobs for restaurant workers and act as a subsidy for responsible restaurant owners.

6. The United States Bartenders’ Guild National Charity Foundation provides emergency assistance grants to bartenders and their families.

7. The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild launched the #NCBeerPledge to promote health and safety as businesses begin to reopen. “The #NCBeer Pledge is our industry’s demonstration of that commitment to you.”

8. Hi-Wire Brewing releases a beer to benefit service industry workers in response to the impact the pandemic has had on the industry. A portion of the proceeds from every 6-pack of Donate to Service Industry Workers by Drinking This Beer sold will be donated to the USBG National Charity Foundation and the North Carolina Restaurant Workers Relief Fund.

9. CORE: Children of Restaurant Employees is providing support to food and beverage service employees with children diagnosed with COVID-19.

10. Daniel Grieves reported on chef initiatives in Latin America in the article Sharing the table with coronavirus on 50 Best Stories. Grieves is writing a book to be called Restaurants at Home, featuring 100 recipes from 100 restaurants in Istanbul. All the money raised from sponsors as well as from book sales will go into a fund for restaurant employees in need in Istanbul.

11. The Restaurant Workers Community Foundation created a restaurant workers’ COVID-19 Crisis Relief Fund.

12. After seeing the community enthusiasm for their COVID relief efforts, Athletic Brewing Company has pledged to continue their efforts till they reach $100,000 in donations to The Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.

13. The Independent Restaurant Coalition is lobbying Congress to advocate that the stimulus money and related programs pertain to and are tailored for independent restaurants. 

14. Shiner Beer donated $500,000 to the TX Restaurant Relief Fund, an initiative by the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation. The fund benefits independent restaurants and their workers impacted by COVID-19 by issuing grants.

15. The Brewers Association has teamed up with Bottleshare to create the Believe in Beer fund, which support breweries and state brewers guilds impacted by COVID. “We’re proud to join efforts with the Brewers Association to reciprocate the love and strength that characterize the craft beer community and help the breweries that make it so special,” shares Christopher Glenn, Founder of Bottleshare.

16. Distillers from all around the nation have been responding to the pandemic by pivoting their operations to include the production of hand sanitizer. The Distilled Spirits Council has created a COVID-19 Hand Sanitizer Connection Portal as a resource for distillers looking to produce hand sanitizer, including a map of distillers that are producing hand sanitizer, a list of necessary ingredients and supplies, and distribution methods.

17. Garrison Brothers Distillery, the first legal whiskey distillery in Texas, seeks to raise $2 million for COVID relief efforts with Operation Crush COVID-19. Rather than selling Laguna Madre, a limited-edition, 8-year-old bourbon, as planned this summer, they’ll be making all 2,004 bottles available elusively to donors who support their cause.

18. The Above and Beyond Foundation is dedicated to providing financial relief to help hospitality workers who have been laid off due to the pandemic. Learn more about their efforts here.

19. Pendleton® Whisky, who has close ties to the Western sports community, knows that many athletes within that community are facing challenges due to cancelled events and fewer chances to ride. They’ve donated $100k towards COVID relief efforts for their community.

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - May 26, 2020

photo courtesy of Funkwerks

“In that power of self-control lies the seed of eternal freedom.” Paramahansa Yogananda

As the world enters into a re-opening phase, I find myself bristling at the phrase “new normal” that keeps getting thrown around. I react this way because of the state of flux we all currently exist in. I don’t want to accept ambiguous new rules and haphazardly written legislation. I’m a skeptical journalist— what can I say?

As we all navigate this next phase I can’t stress enough how important it is to pay attention and stay safe, but also to stay skeptical too. Listen to your intuition, do your homework, and triple check your facts from legitimate sources that aren’t censored. It’s difficult to know what’s right and wrong now, especially as government parameters seem to change by the hour. One thing you can always control, though, is yourself.

I can’t seem to find a good set of best practices for managing a pandemic, so I thought I’d share a personal compass I’ve developed over the last two grueling months. I’m not accredited in any way to share this list as any more than a blog post, from a friend.

STAY SELF AWARE

The person who knows your health and exposure status best is you. Tune in.

STAY RESPECTFUL

It’s a dumpster fire out there, and everyone kindles it differently. It’s hard to predict how we’ll react to something so life-changing. Be easy on yourself and others during this time, and always.

STAY CLEAN

Do your part, and that goes far beyond Coronavirus. At RadCraft we often share desks in the office, and our simple rule is leave the desk space as clean or cleaner than you left it. What if we all took that approach to all of the spaces we inhabited?

STAY BUSY

Read. Write. Color. Paint. Run. Lift. Hike. Bird watch. Organize your closet. Take a Q-Tip to your floorboards. Make music. Make love. Make memories. Whatever it may be— stay busy with the activities that fuel your passions. I don’t want to look back on this time as lost time, and I know you don’t either.

STAY CALM

I’m finding that equally important as staying busy right now is giving myself time to relax and decompress. For me, that’s logging miles on trails with my cattle dog and showing up daily on my yoga mat. For you that might be blasting 90s hip hop when you’re stressed (well I guess I do that too), or talking to your plants (fine, you got me). Whatever it may be, your nervous system will appreciate you for it.

Let’s hope this “new normal” is still a long way out. And let’s take care of ourselves and each other while we figure this shit out together.

Hang in there, friends!

— Em Hutto, RadCraft Founder + CEO

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - May 19, 2020

Andrew Barrack is going live on the RadCraft Industry Relief Zoom chat this week!

I’m excited that I get this opportunity to work with Andrew, not just because he’s a great musician but also because he’s such a critical thinker. Behind-the-scenes, I’ve had the pleasure of picking his brain over a series of calls and Zoom chats in preparation for this presentation.

Andrew is committed to getting it right—sure he’s going to nail his songs, but more importantly he’s got a message for us that gives a voice to an often forgotten part of the community: musicians.

In the craft barley space, musicians often reside in the fringe as entertainers at events or occasional collaborators. They’re often forgotten in the bigger picture too, Andrew reminds me. Live music is a luxury; Venues are an amusement. Pandemic or not, these are easy components of our lives to give up on a budget— wants, not needs.

Musicians and owners of independent venues have needs too, though, and Andrew tells me he’d like to shed light on these artists that we often take for granted in the corner of the beer festival.

NIVA, a new coalition of independent venues, reported to Rolling Stone on earlier this month that 90 percent of its 1,300 member venues report they do not have cash on hand to last more than six months without federal intervention, and just over half of them say they do not have enough to last more than three months. Pretty wild when you consider this is just a sampling of the venues in the United States, and even wilder when you compare these stats to the 30 percent of brewing company that reported to the Brewers Association in April that they would shutter if forced to shut down for more than three months. As breweries are granted permission to re-open slowly, independent venues have no re-opening plan in sight.

“Can you imagine a world where the only venues were big box?” Barrack asked me in one of our conversations. We’re discussing how independent music related to craft beer, but sometimes he’s so passionate that he makes me feel like we’re solving worldwide dilemmas. “I would rather pay a little bit more to see one of my favorite bands in an intimate venue than a huge stadium with a half dome. We’re losing iconic venues to Coronavirus.”

If your brewery or distillery was focused on music before pandemic, Andrew can’t stress enough the importance of staying committed to relationships with bands. “You’ll have to get creative,” he says, “but if you had live music rock the livestream, or find another way to keep moving.”

Listen to Andrew Barrack’s tunes, and get his industry relief insight this Thursday, May 21 at 3pm MTN on the RadCraft Industry Relief Zoom chat.

(Zoom Meeting; Password:  223518)

Check out Andrew Barrack’s new CD In Seasons, available on Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, Apple Music, and Soundcloud. Cheers to indie music and beer!

— Emily Hutto, RadCraft Founder & CEO

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update, ACBW Edition - May 12, 2020

© Brewers Association

This week marks the Brewers Association’s American Craft Beer Week®, which celebrates Small and Independent craft breweries. This national beer holiday has been celebrated by millions of beer lovers, breweries, and retailers since 2006. This year’s festivities hosted by CraftBeer.com will be a little bit different, but will be celebrated nonetheless between May 11-17th. The root of it remains unchanged: the spirit of supporting craft breweries and those craft breweries who supported their communities and country.

Participating in this year’s American Craft Beer Week may be more important than ever given the current economic circumstances. In a continued effort to support local small and independent craft breweries, this week provides an opportunity for craft beer enthusiasts to connect while practicing social distancing while supporting local small businesses.

This goes without saying, but these brewpubs, taprooms, breweries, etc., are going through unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic. A recent study conducted by the Brewers Association shows that these small businesses provides “more than 161 direct full and part time jobs” and have “donated more than $82 million to local charities last year” — which breaks down to “approximately $3.10 for every barrel of beer brewed.”

Being a part of the craft community that does so much for the community around them, whether within or outside of the craft brewery community, is something very special. It’s also a great reminder to support them as they are going through these difficult times.

“Independent craft breweries are an essential component in the important economic network of growers, distributors, supplier partners, beer lovers, and retailers,” said Julia Herz, publisher of CraftBeer.com and craft beer program director at the Brewers Association. “This American Craft Beer Week, brewers and beer lovers will connect in new ways during these challenging times. From May 11 to May 17, those who commit to giving independent craft beer will make a difference that reaches beyond the beverage to support and save thousands of hometown breweries who are instrumental in giving back to so many local communities and charitable causes.”

Curious on how to participate? Here’s what the Brewers Association has lined up:

• Commit to #GiveCraftBeer at AmericanCraftBeerWeek.com: Stand up and be counted by gifting craft beer, gift cards, merchandise, or other food and beverage offerings from a U.S. craft brewery.

• Get Social: Use custom American Craft Beer Week social media posts.

• Sign up to become a supporter of independent beer at SupportIndependentBeer.com.

• Find your community: Use #GiveCraftBeer and follow @indiebeer_ for chances to participate all week

• Donate to the Believe in Beer Craft Brewery Relief Fund to help craft breweries and state brewers guilds weather this unprecedented financial storm.

You can contact Jenelle Scott, who is working on the behalf of the Brewers Association) at jenelle.scott@backbonemedia.net or 970.963.4873 x224 for more information.

Happy American Craft Beer Week, everyone!

— Karen Mills, RadCraft Content Editor

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update, Mexican Lager / Logger Edition - May 5, 2020

Hutto enjoying a Mexican Logger, a sunny day in Durango, listening to the Ska Crew talk Mexican Logger.

“[It] started to quench our thirst and [was] meant to be in Kurowski’s living room; and it kind of blew up for us” - Dave Thibodeau

Sometimes relief means taking the week off and having a beer about it. This Cinco de Mayo we dove into a beer style that brewers can’t seem to stop talking about: Mexican Lager. We kicked back and took a week off COVID-19 talk, and we highly recommend it.

Ska Brewing is one of the pioneers of the "craft Mexican Lager” style, often touted for bringing this style to the United States… at least in a can, anyway.

Mexican Logger is celebrating its 21st anniversary — so it can now legally enjoy itself. Over the 21 years Mexican Logger has been around, it’s grown exponentially. This Cinco de Mayo we’re pleased to catch up with Dave Thibodeau, Steve Breezley, Kristen Muraro, and the crew over at Ska to learn more about Mexican Logger and how it has evolved over the years.

In sharing more about the beer itself, Thibodeau wanted to start from the beginning and highlighting the history about the beer style itself and what Cinco de Mayo actually celebrates. The Cinco de Mayo that we celebrate here in the US is often associated with Mexico’s independence. In actuality, it’s celebrating the Battle of Puebla, being as the war that gave Mexico their independence was 50 years before the Battle of Puebla.

Both battles had roots in beer, believe it or not. The country had been brewing some version of alcohol beverages well before all of this happened — even dating back to the 1500s where some European beers were brewed but was short lived; however, after the Mexican War of Independence, Mexico was invaded and that’s how the German-Austrian influence came into Mexico and when the Mexican Lager-style beer began kicking off.

In the mid-1800s, Mexico was invaded by the various European countries. While many had left, the French stayed and tried to turn it into a monarchy. Napoleon brought Maximillian the First to Mexico to be their emperor — which became known as the Second Mexican Empire. Wherever Maximillian the First went, he brought his brewer. And that is how the Vienna-style Lager arrived in Mexico. Over the years, the Mexican-style Lager evolved from a darker Lager rooted in the Vienna-style to something more similar to a Bohemian Pilsner.

And how did the Mexican-style Lager come to the U.S? Many made their way to Mexico to drink during the Prohibition and with that, they brought back the influence of this Mexican-style lager.

You may be asking yourself, How did Ska get into making Mexican Logger? Here’s the skinny:

Ska has been brewing Mexican Logger since 1999 and is widely recognized as being an “OG” of the style amongst craft brewers. The beer originated because “we were closeted Pacifico drinkers,” shares Thibodeau, “we had this crazy old van that we used to drive to all the festivals around Colorado.” He continues, “I remember going to all these small mountain town festivals, getting set up for the festival, and then going to this copper colored van with teardrop windows and drinking these Pacifico’s, then going out to the festival and pretending like we’ve been drinking our craft beer.”

And then it clicked: “we’re craft brewers — why not brew one ourselves?” Just like that, Mexican Logger was born.

“Mexican Logger,” Thibodeau shares, “grew every year, but it grew small. It really took off for us after we started canning it back in 2012.” He went on to talk about how brewing a beer this light is a very delicate process, because these lighter beers won’t mask any imperfections in the beer.

Even though Mexican Logger is a seasonal beer for Ska, it is the Durango brewery’s second largest seller after their year-round beer, Modus Hoperandi. They also shared that they initially wanted to create a Vienna-style lager to be Mexican Logger’s counterpart, but ended up producing Oktoberfest. “Between Mexican Logger and Oktoberfest, we have won a few awards,” shares Thibodeau.

We also had the opportunity to host a small Q&A with the Ska crew during our Weekly Industry Zoom call and here’s a bit of what we learned:

“Where did adding a lime to the Mexican Lager start/why does it taste so good with a lime?” —
 Cheyenne R.

“It had to be a marketing thing for Corona or the Michelada style — lime juice in a beer with the salt — in a campaign from Corona,” Thibodeau muses, “As much as I want to poo poo it as a brewer, enjoyed putting a lime in our Pacifico.” He adds, “We brought this for the first time to Colorado’s Rendezvous. We brought bags and bags of key limes that we chopped and set it up on our table in Salida.” He contiues, “we just showed up with a tub full of cut limes, but it went over really well. It felt a little irreverent and against the grain. I remember that festival very well and I don’t remember all of them all too well. We just went with it from the beginning.”

“Mexican Logger is one of the first-ever craft lagers/Mexican-style craft lagers produced in the country. What has marketing been like over the last 21 years?” — Emily Hutto

“I can tell you that when we first started putting it in a bottle, the justification at the time, we were originally had a guy in a sombrero with a chainsaw celebrating a siesta. once there was an end put to that, we put together a story as to why siestas should be mandatory,” shares Thibodeau, “We ran into flack over time, and it’s changed over time, it went to a guy welding chainsaws, and now it’s chainsaws. He continues, “there were times where our distributor didn’t want to carry it due to kick back from the label. The cans are easier to market and that opened doors.”

There is a lot of cultural sensitivity that goes into marketing a Mexican-style beer in comparison to a Belgian-style beer, German-style beer, or anything like that and that’s undoubtedly top of mind. Among the niche group of craft beer enthusiasts, there has been an upward trend of popularity amongst craft lagers at the moment. Lagers don’t mask any impurities, as mentioned by Thibodeau, it shows the true prowess of a brewer.

Emily also shares that it’s very interesting to a craft marketer as well. Looking back even 10 years ago, craft lagers weren’t as large of a discussion on a national scale — whereas now, it’s trending to make lagers with a large gain in traction over the last couple years.

Mexican Logger, in particular, tells a story behind the brand and the beer — and that shows sensitivity more than just slapping a label on a beer style. Stories behind the beer help to avoid some of those “uncomfortable” conversations around cultural sensitivity. “Ska has a story behind each of the beers, why it was made, and why it was canned,” shares Emily, “Mexican Logger is no different.”

Since then, many other breweries, especially in the Colorado region, have followed and developed their own Mexican-style lagers. And they all attribute Ska as being the “OG” of the style.

Until next week, salud!

— Karen Mills, RadCraft Content Editor



Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - April 21, 2020

photo at Root Shoot Malting by Emily Sierra Photography

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of a difference you want to make.” —Jane Goodall

Tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day— a friendly reminder to dig just a bit deeper when we celebrate out communities during pandemic. At the root of the barley community is the agriculture and land that give breweries and distilleries their ingredients. How will you make a difference This Earth Day, and every day?

The Can’d Aid Foundation shares that although COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in their original plans, they’ve still got all the ingredients for a people-powered spring cleaning. YOU can make a difference. ONE CAN can make a difference. Can’d Aid is encouraging you to spread the do-goodery by picking up just one piece of trash each day on your walk around the block.

Can ONE really make a difference? YES! 80% of Americans are at home right now. That's 262 million people; if each person picks up just one piece of trash a day, well...we'll let you do the math!

“It's a trying time for everyone, and Mother Earth is no exception - so get out there, breathe some fresh air and show Mama Earth a little love,” shares Can’d Aid, “Be sure to post a picture of your daily trash treasure on social, tag Can'd Aid and nominate a friend to do the same.” The foundation decided to do a giveaway as a way of further encouraging the do-goodery. So, on 4/25, they'll select the strangest piece of trash and the winner will receive a set of earth-loving Happy Wraps.”

More Do-Goodery

Alaskan Brewing Co. donates one percent of Icy Bay IPA proceeds to the Coastal CODE (Clean Oceans Depend on Everyone) initiative to support the health and sustainability of oceans, waterways and coastlines. Cheers to Icy Bay IPA!

Colorado-based Root Shoot Malting and Traverse Image are proud to introduce their new documentary 100 Year Lease, created to convey the importance of family farms and conservation of Colorado agriculture. Preview the film here.

Celebrate Earth Day with Findlay Brewing and be one of the first to try Blanchard River Brew Pale Ale! This beer on Earth Day and will be available for growler fills. Proceeds of this new brew will benefit the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership. The BRWP mission is to encourage water quality improvements through sustainable land and water use, collaboration, conservation and enhancement of natural and man-made resources. “Beer cannot be brewed without a strong and healthy water source,” the brewery says. “We are excited to collaborate with the Blanchard River Watershed Partnership!”

Earth Day goes virtual this year, with hundreds of web-based events around the world. Check out this global events calendar and add your own on the Earth Day Network.

Free RadCraft Co-Op Memberships- Apply Before May 1

Marketing is more important for barley crafters than ever before, but budgets have never been tighter. That’s why we decided to open up our co-op membership application early, waive fees for applications submitted by May 1st, and offer the membership at a discounted price for those who apply after May 1st. Applications will be accepted until the end of June. 2020-2021 memberships run July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. Apply for your RadCraft co-op membership at radcraftbeer.com/jointhecoop. For more details, contact coop@radcraftbeer.com.

As always, if you know of a community or nonprofit effort that supports hospitality businesses in need, we want to hear about it. Comment here, or email us so we can help get the word out.

We’d also love to continue sharing your stories and help you keep track of your evolving changes around COVID precautions. Please email your COVID statements to karen@radcraftbeer.com.

Stay safe, healthy, and resilient!

—The RadCraft team

RadCraft Opens Co-Op Membership Application Early; Offers Free Membership to Barley Crafters Impacted by Coronavirus

Photo by Emily Sierra

Coronavirus really turned our world upside down, and we’ve heard from so many of you that’s the case for you too. We’re here to help, and we can think of no stronger way to show that than to open our doors up to the craft barley community— for business, for support, and for our community across the globe.

Accordingly, we opened up the application period for our communications co-op a month early, we're waiving all annual fees for all breweries, distilleries, and maltsters who apply for the 2020-2021 co-op membership before May 1.

The RadCraft co-op membership is an annual program designed for craft barley crafters with in-house marketing or communications professionals. Membership includes media relations resources like press release publishing and media lists; design services professional photo and video assets; subscriptions to our annual catalogue, vendor directory, and Craft Marketing emails; free tickets & discount pricing to all of RadCraft’s educational offerings, including registration to the annual Craft Social Media workshop; and more. 

Apply for your RadCraft co-op at radcraftbeer.com/jointhecoop. All fees will be waived for applications submitted by Friday, May 1. Applications will be accepted until the end of June. 2020-2021 memberships run July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021. 

Companies who apply after May 1 can use the promo code COVIDSUCKS for 25% off the cost of annual membership.

For more information about the RadCraft communications co-op, contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com.

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - April 14, 2020

Captured by The Brewtography Project at Odell Brewing’s RiNo location.

"Unity is strength. . . when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." —Mattie Stepanek

Another week under our belts of this pandemic and it seems like things have somewhat hovered around where they were the previous week, a refreshing lull after a rush of change. Dare we ask: Is the new normal?

While it does seem like things are slowing down a bit with regards to new developments and policy changes, it may leave us asking ourselves, “how long will this last?” — whether it’s pertaining to how long it’ll be until the next major change, how long we’ll have the shelter-in-place order, how long it’ll be till we can enjoy our craft barley beverages at our favorite brewery, distillery, etc. We’re in serious limbo.

Despite it all, our incredible community keeps collaborating to achieve strength through teamwork. Day after day, there’s pieces of news that bring light during these darker times. There’s just as much positive as there is negative to Coronavirus if you’re looking in the right places. Here are a few of them:

• Dustin Hall of The Brewtography Project is supporting the community through book donations. His generous efforts have raised $4,293 and counting for Colorado craft breweries!

• Four Saints Brewing Company continues to connect with their community in creative ways as they adjust to the new situation as the first and only brewery in Randolph County, North Carolina. Check out what they’re doing here!

• Root Shoot Malting is donating 16,000 pounds of corn to Colorado distilleries to make hand sanitizer to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. The maltster has donated more than 6,000 pounds to-date for hand sanitizer efforts to Ballmer Peak Distillery, Big Fat Pastor Spirits, Conflagration Distilling, Denver Distillery, Golden Moon Distillery, Idlewild Spirits Distillery, Molly Brown Distillery, Rocker Spirits, and The Block Distilling Co., with more to come.

• Other Half Brewing out of New York launched a new campaign, All Together — similar to that of Sierra Nevada’s Resilience campaign. All Together is a worldwide collaboration created to raise awareness and funds for the craft industry. “#AllTogetherBeer invites any brewer, from any corner of the planet, to participate by providing the tools needed to make the beer at the lowest possible cost, including an open-source recipe, artwork, and name. In exchange, the collective asks that a portion of the proceeds go to supporting hospitality professionals in each brewery’s own community. The rest should be donated to keeping the brewery in business to weather this storm.” Read more on Brewbound.

• 33 craft maltsters responded to a recent survey conducted by the Craft Maltsters Guild (CMG) regarding the impact COVID-19 has had on their businesses. As expected, 88% of those responded said that they have already been impacted through reduced sales, however, only 9% of those surveyed made employee lay-offs. That equates to only 3 of the 33 that maltsters forced to make that difficult decision. Support maltsters during this time, and always, by purchasing beer made with local malt or who sport the Craft Malt Seal. Learn more on 5280 Magazine.

• The COVID pandemic has forced many business owners to think outside of the box as they’re adapting to the “new normal” we’re living in. Andy Jessen of Bonfire Brewing share this in a recent Forbes article:

  "It has also made us realize how little we were taking advantage of the opportunity to engage in a broader fashion with our diverse online customer base. With no options for communicating in-person, we've successfully created brand new channels of engagement that are proving successful. The crisis has also shown us the strength of our team and the support they garner in the community. Leaders are emerging.”

If you know of a community or nonprofit effort that supports hospitality businesses in need, we want to hear about it. Comment here, or email us so we can help get the word out.

We’d also love to continue sharing your stories and help you keep track of your evolving changes around COVID precautions. Please email your COVID statements to karen@radcraftbeer.com.

Stay safe and healthy out there!

—Karen Mills, RadCraft Content Editor

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - April 7, 2020

Photo courtesy Drifter Brewing Co.

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller

Over the last couple weeks, the craft barley community has gone through quite a rollercoaster ride, to say the least. Our community has taken it in stride, adapting as much as we can. That’s just a small reminder of the strength and resilience of craft brewers, distillers, and maltsters— and just how much we can accomplish together.

Breweries operating under new guidelines across the world continue to release new beers and innovate. Brewers guilds are working tirelessly to communicate daily changes. The social experience might be turned upside down, but beer lovers still have so much access to craft. We mentioned last week that we never realized how much we take our third spaces for granted; and that continues to ring true— on a global scale.

Our friends at Drifter Brewing Company in South Africa are having a helluva lot harder time than some of our partners in the United States. The entire country is under strict lockdown— no beer sales of any kind (or dog walking!). They shared their Captain's Log lockdown story with us here, a creative and comical way to keep the lights on in their part of the world.

We want to continue to share ways you can help, and there’s definitely still so much more to come…

• Service Industry Tips was set up to help the food and beverage professionals that are impacted by restaurant closures and the drastic decrease in workforce with the shift to take-out. During this time of social distancing, consider tipping a local service industry worker through Venmo or Cash App.

• Our friends at C-Star Provisions is donating all profits from the pre-sale of their newest flavor, Nashville Hot Jerky, sales to the staff who have been impacted by the shut downs.

• Good Word Brewing will continue operating their soup kitchen now that they’ve reopened, and will be donating any leftovers to Meals by Grace. They also encourage donating to The Giving Kitchen, an organization that aids restaurant workers when they are in need.

If you know of a community or nonprofit effort that supports hospitality businesses in need, we want to hear about it. Comment here, or email us so we can help get the word out.

Stay safe, stay positive, stay resilient – taking things one day at a time.

—The RadCraft Team

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - March 31, 2020

Photo by The Brewtography Project

"Trust is the lubrication that makes it possible for organizations to work." —Warren Bennis

The craft barley community is taking one for the team. In the United States, many of these businesses have been deemed essential by most government authorities— which means that many of the agriculture and service industry professionals in our community are out on the front lines.

(That’s not the case for every country, and we’ll get into that with some of our friends across the globe next week.)

We never realized how much we take our third spaces for granted.

We trust these establishments with our family gatherings, our first dates, our last dates, our meeting agendas, coveted catch-ups between friends, and so much more. COVID-19 gave us a harsh wake up call that it’s about time we show the service industry it can trust us back.

Let’s keep the lights on for craft. Let’s do so safely, with positivity and resilience. Here are a few ways you can help, with much more to come…

• Restauranteur Connection rounded up more than 20 relief programs for restaurants and their employees in this helpful article.

•  IGC Hospitality launched a program to ensure that out-of-work hospitality workers don’t go hungry. Family Meal will provide FREE meals to anyone in the industry. 

• Our dear friends at The Brewtography Project will give you a FREE BOOK if you send them your receipt for $50 or more at your local craft brewery. Learn more about their generosity here.

If you know of a community or nonprofit effort that supports hospitality businesses in need, we want to hear about it. Comment here, or email us so we can help get the word out.

Hang in there, everyone. One day at a time.

— The RadCraft team

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - March 24, 2020

Photo at Root Shoot Malting by The Brewtography Project

“You aren't alive if you aren't in need.”  — Henry Cloud

Wise words above by leadership expert and psychologist— a combination of skill sets I certainly need in my life right now, and I can’t imagine I’m alone in that statement. Sudden, widespread Instagram reinforcement that we’re all in this together couldn’t be more true right now, trite as it may already be.

The craft barley community has long been known for camaraderie, and the Coronavirus can’t touch that.

#COVIDcanttouchdis, amiright?!

In effort to bring y’all together from afar, provide critical resources, and to help remind ourselves why we do this every damn day, we’re working on a Coronavirus relief hub for the craft community. It’s a scramble that’s changing by the hour, but here’s what we’ll promise you today:

• A page on our COVID-19 newsfeed if you’re a brewery, distillery, or maltster — to keep track of your evolving changes in response to virus precautions. Eventually these individual company pages will be organized by state and other categories so they are more accessible. For now, each small business that sends us this information will get a custom link for easy sharing. Submit yours to karen@radcraftbeer.com.

• Regular updates on our newsfeed.. If you have a question or a tip for a news share please email karen@radcraftbeer.com.

• Weekly updates on this Craft Industry COVID-19 report that we’ll publish every Tuesday for the foreseeable future.

• Resources, tools, and opportunities for supporting the wellness and stability of your staff and your business. Sign up for our email newsletter, Craft Marketing, to get these resources delivered to your inbox.

Thank you for reading. Stay resilient, friends!

— Emily Hutto, RadCraft Founder & CEO

Craft Industry COVID-19 Update - March 17, 2020

Photo at Root Shoot Malting by The Brewtography Project

After multiple states announced yesterday mandated COVID-19 prevention closures affecting all of our partners and colleagues, we’ve intensely deliberated on what the hell we can do to help. We live by the words Rise to the occasion, and do so with your skillset. Hardly the St. Patrick’s Day we had imaged, but here we are.

Craft breweries and distilleries have jumped into action adjusting their tasting room hours and sales strategies. There’s a lot we can still do, even from our homes, to ensure the longevity of these businesses.

RadCraft is committed to keeping our community in the know as COVID-19 develops. Today we started a craft and service industry specific newsfeed covering all things COVID-19. Our mission is to support breweries, distilleries, maltsters, and service professionals in the wake of a pandemic, and keep you posted on how you can help. Stay informed at radcraftbeer.com/covid19.

We are actively seeking volunteer contributors for this newsfeed. Please email coop@radcraftbeer.com with inquiries about how to share your content or keep this feed flowing.

Thank you for your support of the craft community during this unprecedented dumpster fire.

-Emily Hutto, RadCraft Founder & CEO