Brewed Musings

Brewed Beverage of Choice:  A glass of Biere des Sans Coulettes Biere de Garde, La Choulette

Earlier this year I gave you a list of my goals for the year as it comes to marketing myself as a brewer in Portland, Oregon.  I thought it would be a good idea to give you a brief update on these goals.  Primarily because it will help me keep up with them if I make them public, but also because it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

In the past two weeks I have had two friends comment on how well my self promotion has been going.  Since my last post I have brought about a monthly event at my own pub where we release a new or special beer in the original pub which now goes unused save for the few catering events that take place there.  The first event was so-so when it comes to how many people showed.  But the last two have been spectacular in attendance and the beers have been well received.  In fact it was the last one that boosted my confidence three fold.  The beer, the Blind Abbot Abbey style ale, sold over 10 gallons in less than 5 hours.  Another customer told a fellow patron that I was the most underrated brewer in the area, which I found to be one of the best compliments I have received in a while.  And, finally a friend told me on the way home that my marketing plan seemed to be doing quite well.

In addition to that event, I was given the chance to serve my beers at a non-company pub which is unheard of up to that day.  So Tuesday night at the Green Dragon Bistro in Portland, three of my beers were being served to many patrons who not only were shocked that the beers came from the company I work for, but were also served to beer geeks (I am sticking to that term…Beer Nerd???  NO!) who have all but given up on the corporate company I work for.  It is my goal to bring these two groups back together again.  Beer geeks…The company I work for have really decent brewers working for them who actually care about the beers they create.  My company…Beer geeks will bring in more beer geeks if you welcome them.  It is time to kiss and make up.

Finally, last night, my Blind Abbot Abbey ale was served at the Portland Cheers To Belgian Beers festival.  I was there and received some rather exciting raves from the people who attended.  People now know me by my face, which scares me.  They also know my beer which was my goal to begin with.  I spent the night talking to people who were happy to know that my company allows me the freedom to do such extravagant brews.  For the last few weeks I have been able to actually see the results of my tireless self promotion.

So there you have it.  A selfless person such as myself can actually promote themselves well enough to make a difference.  My confidence has skyrocketed because it is good to be recognized for the work you do, despite the fact that I cannot take a compliment to save my life.  I will not be able to make the Craft Brewers Conference because of the cost.  But the GABF is still in my sights, as is the North American Organic Brewers Festival in June.  The excitement continues and I have YOU to thank!

Cheers,

the confucian brewer