Some of my best friends I still have in my life as a (almost) 40 year old man were made with the help of alcohol. As as young student at University of Idaho, I was a small, meek, stoic introvert trying to find my path through the beginnings of adulthood. The party culture was still very much alive in 2004-2009 when I was there. Huge house parties happened every weekend whether it was with my fellow fish and wildlife classmates, snowboard club peeps, or random people I met freshman year in the dorms. There wasn't drugs, marijuana was usually relegated to a small group that smoked up a room or outside with eachother, and making friends was easy. It never felt unsafe or repetitive. It was fun, and it was how we bonded together. When people assume i must LOVE beer, and that's why i started my own brewery, they're wrong. I enjoy beer, I do love the taste and how it makes me feel, but the thing that I actually LOVE is the atmosphere and social bonding it creates. Try drinking a beer you love in a basement alone vs drinking a beer on a sunny day sitting riverside with a few good friends and you'll see what I mean. Recently the FDA changed their recommendations regarding alcohol for adults. They now recognize that social health is a thing that shouldnt be ignored. I also saw this clip from Scott Galloway on Mahers podcast that I found really interesting. https://youtu.be/BeTLZasgWS4?si=mE2hc0gIkE3UX-fB

A few weeks ago I wrote a "Test Kitchen" piece concerning the state of our industry, where we've been and where we're going. I'd love to know everyone's two cents on how you perceive the current state of the industry and where you see us in the next five years. https://thebrewermagazine.com/what-did-everyone-expect-industry-insights-from-over-10-years/

As someone who has worked in beer marketing for a long time, one of the things I see folks get confused about (or simply unaware of) is beer marketing rules/laws. Here are a few quick resources: •Brewers Association Marketing and Advertising Code •Beer Institute Advertising/Marketing Code •TTB Advertising Laws •TTB Use of Social Media in the Advertising of Alcohol Beverages Also, it’s the time of year to remember that beer advertising and marketing materials (including labels, social media, etc.) 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀. Though it’s a bit of a grey area, I think we’re good as breweries to use Santa to promote non-beer things, like taproom events, food specials, community engagement, etc.

The beer might be the highlight for customers, but brewery professionals love to see the inside of other breweries. Kick off this group by showing photos of your brewery!

For all the new members to Brewer Skool I want to say welcome and thanks for joining us! Our goal with this platform is to create a space where we can provide further education from our side, but also a place to collaborate that's not on social media. At Brewer Skool you'll be able to contact us directly, as well as your peers, to ask questions and get further insights from our in depth interviews and daily practice of owning, operating and working inside a brewery. We hope this will become a niche community that further builds our industry. My dream is for this to be a positive place where we discuss the continued growth of our industry away from the social media propaganda that might be hinting otherwise. We want everyone to feel welcome here but please check out the rules. I don't want to ever ban anyone, but this is not a place for advertising or pitching to our members. Suppliers are welcome as they bring so many unique insights to our industry, but we want to keep this platform as discussions and learning. If you want to find quality suppliers to work with, there's always BrewerMag.com! We appreciate all of you and if you have any questions or desires for this platform, please reach out! Cheers! - Tyler