The Tortilla Challenge, A Lawn Flamingo Beer Bong, and Stickers In Support Of The MJF Foundation

Are you going to slap each other across the face with these? 

The bartender was onto us. After finishing tacos and margaritas at State of Confusion, we ordered three more fresh tortillas to-go. It was the thick of summer 2022 and the #tortillachallenge was heating up TikTok feeds across the globe. 

We aren’t really trend or hashtag chasers at RadCraft. Sure, it’s important to keep your thumb on the pulse when you’re managing a brand’s online presence— but if there’s not a compelling why? to learning the latest dance sequence or a donation to follow dumping a bucket full of ice on your head, I say it’s all just noise.

Contribute breath not noise. It’s one of my one-liners. And I really mean it. 

That’s why I surprised myself when I suggested we find a hilarious location to do the tortilla challenge along what we called Tour De RadCraft 2022. This 3+ week long road trip included more than 30 brewery, distillery, malthouse, and farm visits to our partners and friends. The remote nature of our work means that we don’t always meet our collaborators in person right away, and I was on a mission to meet some people face-to-face before another summer became fall. 

It went without saying that we would stop in Chattanooga to see the one-and-only LT Butts. 

We’ll get back to the tortillas, but first it’s important to introduce this hardworking, humble brewer who we’re lucky to know. We met LaTroya Butts when she came to work at Bonfire Brewing in Eagle, Colorado. She eventually moved home to Chattanooga, Tennessee to work at Five Wit’s Brewing Company, and she would go on to receive scholarships from The Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling and the Cicerone program via the Black Beer Chick #roadto100 initiative to further her brewing career. To-date, LaTroya is working at Resident Culture Brewing in Charlotte, North Carolina. She’s grateful for all of the people and organizations who have been a part of her journey thus far.

Time To Meet Frieda. 

The research and development for Five Wit’s Brewing took place in the owner’s pool house, “on a tiny system we called Pool City,” Butts says. “They had giant flamingo floaties and shirts, and flamingos just became the vibe. Then I came along. Everyone who knows me knows I love flamingos… and my flamingo beer bong named Frieda. Elliot [who co-owns Five Wit’s] once asked me what flavor Frieda was because he thought she should have a beer, just to see what happens…” 

The result was Frieda Sour Ale— an effervescent kettle sour with just the right balance of strawberry and pineapple flavors. Frieda wasn’t just a yard flamingo beer bong or the name of a beer in a can; she became a company mascot. To-date, Five Wit’s has an outside patio adorned with yard flamingos who watch over the brewery. Inside, the OG Frieda and a new twin sister flamingo live in the brewhouse. Frieda isn’t just a beer bong anymore; She is a summertime ethos; a symbol of well-crafted refreshment; an embodiment of the freedom that comes with long, warm days and the pride of independently brewed craft beer. 

Back To The Tortillas.  

Flash forward four years. We arrive at this Frieda shrine on our roadtrip, taste this remarkable sour ale, and take LaTroya to dinner at the Mexican restaurant across the street. One thing led to another and soon enough we were plotting our video. At Five Wit’s, it all comes back to Frieda.

So we took Frieda and her twin sister off gently from their resting places on the fermentation tanks full of their namesake sour beer, fired up the GoPro, took some swigs of said sour beer, and got grooving on multiple rounds of rock-paper-scissors. 

Cheyenne brought her A-game, and nearly lost her glasses. Em needed a pep talk to strengthen her tortilla slaps. LaTroya could barely contain her laughter. 

Here’s the final product. I want you all to know that no yard flamingos were harmed in the making of this video. 

So Why Does All This Matter? 

Because at RadCraft we love a good story. This one ties in some of our favorite people, with roots at one of our favorite establishments, Bonfire Brewing. And now, because we can’t help ourselves, the narrative continues with its own hashtags– and stickers, too. 

After receiving her scholarship, LaTroya sent us an email that read “I'm happy to be a part of the change we strive to make and couldn't thank everyone behind the Michael James Jackson Foundation enough for making this invaluable experience happen for me. I hope to someday pay it forward!”

So that, my friends, is what we’re here to do. Pay it forward. We turned this silly Instagram trend and inside joke into a campaign to raise money for The Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling. Many of you purchased Frieda stickers last year, for which proceeds went directly to the foundation that funds technical education and career advancement for black, indigenous, and people of color in the brewing and distilling industries. We hope you’ll visit their website, learn more, and get involved yourselves. 

Thanks to LaTroya (@asaptroya) for being an endless source of inspiration, laughter, and flamingo puns. 

Cheers! 

- Em Hutto

Meet RadCraft at the 2019 Craft Brewers Conference

Don’t forget your brewery stickers for our life-size cooler door at the expo!

RadCraft is joining fellow beer marketing colleagues at the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver, April 8-11. Find us at the Promote The Brew Marketing Resources Lounge  (on the ground floor of the Convention Center next to the Blue Bear). Between the five of us, we're a one-stop hub for all of your craft brewery marketing needs.

Bad Rhino

West Chester, PA
Marty McDonald, Rich DeMatteo, Ashley Owens and Eric Wilkes • Social Media Strategy

Crafting a Brand

Rochester, NY
Glenn Clark • Brand strategy and creative packaging, design and communications

Outshinery

Vancouver, BC
Laurie Millotte from Outshinery • Photography and bottle images

Promote The Brew

Delafield, WI
Scott & Steve Schmidt • Promotional marketing and the Market The Brewpodcast

RadCraft

Colorado
Emily Hutto, Aaron Sprengeler, Chea Franz, and Erin Hamrick • Marketing Communications and Media Relations

Join The Co-Op

RadCraft will launch its application period for 2019-2020 co-op memberships at the Craft Brewers Conference this year!

RadCraft Announces New Content Manager, Aaron Sprengeler

photo by The Brewtography Project

DENVER, CO— RadCraft, a Colorado-based company dedicated to supporting the communications needs of crafters of malted, fermented barley, announced today that its new Content Manager. Aaron Sprengeler joins the executive team after more than a year on staff.

Sprengeler worked as an intern at the Brewers Association and Social Media Coordinator at Dry Dock Brewing Company before joining RadCraft in 2017. He is the company’s first addition to the leadership team since its launch in 2012. “I’m so fortunate to have joined RadCraft in its startup phase,” he says. “I decided to work in this industry for the people (the beverages are a close second). Emily and the team at RadCraft have cultivated a tribe that could only exist in the craft industry, and it is my privilege to spend each day helping to bring out the best of each member through their rich stories.”

“Aaron has proved integral to our overall company marketing strategy, and a sound social media resource for our brewery partners,” says RadCraft Founder and CEO Emily Hutto. “His thorough, wholistic approach to content development keeps us all in check. It’s an honor to welcome him to RadCraft’s executive team.”

Sprengeler dwells in Denver, Colorado with his puppy Maple. He spends as much of his time in Colorado’s mountains as possible, usually climbing its rocks. Contact him at aaron@radcraftbeer.com.

ABOUT RADCRAFT

Founded in 2012 by craft beer journalist Emily Hutto, RadCraft is the craft beer co-op. Dedicated to serving the communications needs of crafters of malted, fermented barley, RadCraft is an agency of record and full-service marketing house for craft breweries, distilleries, and malting companies. Learn more at radcraftbeer.com and join the tribe across social media platforms @radcraftbeer.

RadCraft 2017 Year In Review

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.

Barrels & Bottles Brewery

Bonfire Brewing

Deerhammer

Karl Strauss Brewing Co.

Lone Tree Brewing Co.

Station 26 Brewing Co.

Strange Craft Beer Co. / Wit’s End Brewing Co.

Thirsty Monk

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

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.

RadCraft Reflects on 5 Rad Years in Business

Photo by The Brewtography Project

Good things come in fives— like human senses, and arms on a starfish. And the number of years that we've been in business helping fermented malted barley crafters tell stories about their brands. Rarely, though, do we tell stories about our own brand. In observance of the cooperative's fifth anniversary, RadCraft's founder Emily Hutto reflects on the company's evolution.