This is a part of a continuing series of Q&As with members of the brewing community from across the US. Brewer Magazine will share business and personal insights from Brewmasters, Head Brewers, Brewing Managers, Sales Directors, QCQA Managers and others each weekend to help you get to know each other better in the industry and learn more to better develop your own brand.
Andrew Silverman, Marketing Specialist, Kulshan Brewing — Bellingham, Washington
BREWER: How have recent challenges in your position helped make you better? What were those “pain points” and how did you solve or adjust to the issue?
SILVERMAN: We’ve been pushing to differentiate each location as its own entity in the community. This push has thrown me right into honing in on our outreach numbers to see how we can best cater each social platform for the respective audience. It’s an ever-changing beast, but the way we’ve found to best help this issue is just being aware of what our community is saying and keeping track of what has gathered the most interest.
BREWER: What has been your brewery’s most recent accomplishment and how is it going to improve your business going forward?
SILVERMAN: One of our most recent accomplishments has been our successful Trackside Beer Garden season. It’s coming to a close now, but thinking back on all that we’ve accomplished this year has been tremendous. Bigger crowds, ticketed events, free music three nights a week, more on tap, more food options, and expanding our layout have all culminated into one hell of a great year for us. We are always looking for paths of improvement each year. What we’ve found this year is a push for more free, community-focused, sport/music-adjacent events.
BREWER: How did you start in the industry and why do you still want to be a part of it?
SILVERMAN: I started as a beertender at a brewery in Philadelphia…Shout-out Love City Brewing! The Beer scene in Bellingham is a pedestal of our community and such a strong force of nature. Breweries are our meeting places, community centers, outdoor parks, music venues, and so much more. I’ll be part of it in one way or another for as long as I can because it’s truly the glue that holds Bellingham together.
BREWER: What are you sippin’ on right now from your brewery that you really enjoy?
SILVERMAN: I’ll never say no to a great Lager and right now I’m enjoying the new kid on the block at Kulshan. The Yutori Japanese Rice Lager is hitting so well these days. It’s one of the cleanest, crispest, most refreshing brews I’ve ever had and you can taste the hard work and passion of our brewer, Drake, in every sip.
READ MORE: The 3 Acts of an Award-Winning Lager with Local Time
BREWER: Be it in styles, ingredients, business strategies or sales & marketing techniques, what are some recent industry trends that you’ve tried or are excited about trying this year?
SILVERMAN: We’ve been very excited about video. Recently we’ve implemented vertical video into our marketing strategies and have seen some record-breaking results. That paired with an audience awareness adds so much horsepower to our social media growth. This translates into sales and local discovery.
BREWER: What are some adaptations to business practices in the industry that you’ve observed over these past few years, and how has your brewery adjusted to stay competitive?
SILVERMAN: We’ve seen and tracked a push in brewery apps as well as memberships. It’s not something that has set a fire under us to get on board, but it’s something that I could see hitting the Bellingham brew scene soon in some competitive ways. Hopefully, the local breweries can find a way to use these new(ish) strategies to collaborate on the betterment of the beer scene as a whole instead of in a competitive nature.
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