Tips To Running A Successful Brewery

Everyone loves a great brewery. However, breweries are a lot of work and many people don’t understand the work that goes into running one. If you want to run a successful brewery or even work at one you need to check out these tips.

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Tip 1: You Have To Love Beer

This is serious. You have to love beer, the smell of it, the taste of it and even the thought of wearing it when accidents happen. A brewery is all about the beer and without it you have no business. So you really do have to have a love for craft beers in order to run a successful brewery. If the smell of beer is disgusting to you, you might want to think about another career choice.

Tip 2: Cleanliness Is Next to Godliness

Using the right chemicals to clean with is essential for the fermentation process. Cleaning the kettles, the machines and the floors is a daily process that needs a checklist schedule in order to make sure you are not harming the fermentation process. Making beer is a sanitary process with the no room for mistakes. You have to love to clean and even be a little bit OCD to work at a brewery.

Tip 3: The Fermentation Process Is A 24/7 Job

Fermentation is the process which gives the beer both its alcohol content and its carbonation.

To begin the fermentation process, the cooled wort is transferred into a fermentation vessel to which the yeast has already been added. Since fermentation produces a substantial amount of heat, the tanks must be cooled constantly to maintain the proper temperature.

You better love to work, because running a brewery is a constant job. You will work long hours. If you don’t own the brewery expect to work long hours for little pay. If you do own the brewery expect to work long hours and do a lot of paperwork. Don’t get me wrong, running a brewery can be rewarding, however, it is a lot of work.

 

Tip 4: You Have To Be A Good Handyman

Breweries have machines that are typically in harsh conditions from crazy temperatures to being ridiculously wet all the time. Small motors like to break frequently. You either have to know how to repair the machines or you have to have an affordable mechanic on the payroll. Either way you have to know that your machines will take a beating.

Tip 5: Quality Beer Is Key

The one thing you can’t do when running a brewery is cut corners. High quality beer made from good products is essential. Also, tasting the beer for quality is important.

If you are trying to make cheap tasting beer might as well put it in a can, box it up and call it domestic beer. Customers frequent breweries for the real deal.

Tip 6: People Love To Drink And Are Always Thirsty

A big mistake that many first time owners make is that they underestimate the need that customers want to drink at the brewery. So when they build their brewery they get smaller kettles and run out of beer faster. Be sure you are well stocked up on product and when you or your boss decides to purchase a new kettle make sure it will be big enough to serve your customers.

Tip 7: Branding Your Product Is Essential

Lastly, branding your product in a way that people will remember it is essential for sales and to bring customers in. So when it comes to design, don’t go cheap. Find someone who can create a good logo for you. If you don’t own the bar this may not apply to you. But selling the product and the brand is. So, make sure you are behind the product and can really sell it.

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Billie Raucci, Contributor

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How to Approach your Manager with a Problem

Servers and bartenders are often in an unfortunate position when they are experiencing a problem in the workplace. There’s no HR department or other designated, impartial third party to turn to when something goes wrong. On top of this, restaurants and bars can be unique environments.  

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Everyone spends so much time together that the lines between staff and management can easily blur, making it that much harder to approach your uppers with an issue. Here, we’ve come up with some tips for dealing with a workplace dilemma in a professional way that gets results.

Find the Right Time 

If your issue is not an extremely pressing one, and you think it could wait a couple of days or even hours, hold off until the right time. That means no barging into the office in tears or accosting management during the dinner rush. Wait until the end of your shift to address the problem, or better yet, come in early the next day. This shows a level-headedness and calm that your boss will appreciate and it also gives you time to cool off and collect your thoughts.  

Of course, if you’re assaulted, having a physical problem, or experiencing any other urgent matter, don’t wait!

Find the Right Words

Ok, let’s say you have a set schedule and one of your days gets bumped to accommodate someone new.  This sucks and can be extremely unfair.  However, there’s still a right way and a wrong way to approach the issue.   

Don’t run down your manager with complaints of favoritism and unfairness.  Even if this is exactly what’s happening, it comes off as childish and won’t gain you any respect.

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Do ask them what you can do to improve.  Try phrasing it this way, “I’ve noticed you took me off of Saturday nights.  I was wondering if I could be doing something better and if you could address it with me first in the future so that I can correct my behavior.”  If they don’t really have a good reason for what happened, try this, “I love this job but I rely on Saturday nights as part of my income.  Can we reach a compromise?”. 

If none of this works and you keep getting shafted, it may be time to look for a new gig or move up to the person above your immediate manager.

Issues with a Fellow Staff Member 

While we believe you should always try to work things out between yourselves, sometimes one individual can create such a toxic environment that this simply isn’t possible. Take care how you approach management with interpersonal problems.  Instead of attacking the other person, cite your conflict as a whole. Try this, “I’ve found it very difficult to work with so-and-so and I was wondering what steps could be taken to mitigate this?”.  Sometimes nothing can be done. If the person hasn’t committed any fireable offenses, you may need to think about whether you want to remain at this job.

Again, if someone is harassing you or making you uncomfortable, it is a fireable offense and immediate action should be taken.  Don’t hesitate in consulting a lawyer to find out what your options are.

 

If the Situation is Delicate 

Don’t get cheated on a paycheck. Being forced to pay for walkouts, or are made to tip out cooks, do your research before talking to your boss. These things are illegal, so go into this meeting armed with all the knowledge you need to defend yourself. If they won’t listen, call a lawyer. It’s also a good idea to get the rest of the staff behind you for these tricky scenarios as everyone may be experiencing the same thing.

Have you dealt with any workplace issues recently? Tell us how you coped in the comments.

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Allison DelVecchio, Contributor

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7 Bars With Weird Names

It seems bars everywhere have clever names such as, ‘The Thirsty Turtle’ or ‘My Brother’s Bar.’ I will discuss 7 bars with weird names. It makes you think, what were they thinking when they named them? The sky seems to be the limit when it comes to naming a bar.

 

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These 7 bars maybe worth checking out for yourself.

1. Burp Castle

Burp Castle is located in New York in East Manhattan. This Belgian beer bar is quite unique. In the 1990s the bartenders use to dress up as monks. Nowadays they no longer dress like monks however, they may shush you for talking too loudly. This is bar where they encourage you talk to others but not over others, listen to your own thoughts and enjoy your beer in a very quiet way, almost as if you were meditating. What a haven for burping and drinking!

2. Ugly Tuna Saloona

I have no clue what a saloona is, but it has ugly tuna, I guess. The Ugly Tuna Saloona is a seafood restaurant and bar located in Columbus, Ohio. It’s well know for it’s seafood, fish bowl type drinks and cheap beer. A great spot to hang out while in Columbus. They regularly have bands and other entertainment.

3. Beaver’s Icehouse

It’s quite humorous to think you can hang out at a spot called Beaver’s, but you can right in Houston, Texas. At Beaver’s they focus on authentic Texan cuisines and the traditional Texan icehouse. The whole place looks like a industrial wilderness retreat with antlers and other animal motifs.

4. Bar Of The Gods

The Bar Of The Gods is located in Portland Oregon, some even call this area  Portland’s Bar-muda Triangle where approximately 11 other bars are located. What makes this bar and it’s name so unique is that the decor goes along with a Greek Mythology. There are grape cluster lights hanging above your head and pictures of Gods and Goddesses on the wall. It’s dark and mysterious and a quite the hotspot for young adults.

5. Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den

Another wacky named bar that is themed around zombies. Donny Dirk’s Zombie Den is an intimate bar located in Minneapolis, MN. It hold just over 50 people. This quaint little bar is decked out as if there was some zombie apocalypse going on. It’s unique cocktails and fun atmosphere is what keeps bringing the customers in.

6. Skinny Dick’s

I don’t even know what to say about this bar name. It’s not something you want to shout out near Grandma. Can you imagine, ‘Hey Grandma, I’m heading to Skinny Dick’s!’ This bar in Fairbanks, Alaska is one based on adult humor and novelty items. Definitely not a place to bring the kiddos, but if you are looking for some adult humor, good burgers and a drink this is a great place to stop.

7. Snake and Jake’s Christmas Club Lounge

This is truly dive bar located in New Orleans. There is something quaint, rustic and beautiful about this beat up old place. Snake and Jake’s has a lot of regular that come here but on occasion many people from out of state show up just to see what the fuss is about. If you are looking for an upscale bar to go to this definitely is not one of them. However, if you want to go to one of the best dive bars in New Orlean’s with one of the most unique names, this is it.

 

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Billie Raucci, Contributor

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