Brewing success: TMU alumni make waves in the beverage industry

As a senior marketing leader, what attracted you to the beer industry after your experience in fashion and retail?

It’s all about lifestyle. As a fashion graduate and marketer in the retail fashion industry, my passion lies in promoting lifestyles. Creating genuine excitement is crucial for a successful marketing campaign and what better way to connect with people than by sharing life’s passions, such as beer? Consumer brand experience is the common thread between both industries. Each day presents an opportunity to offer consumers new experiences through products, brands, services and engaging lifestyles, which excites me immensely.

In what ways has your fashion communication degree helped you to pivot creatively between brands and products?

Fashion communication taught us to innovate, cultivate brand loyalty and connect with empathy. The program equipped us to achieve business objectives through creativity. Every brand, regardless of its product, has a narrative, and we’ve been trained to articulate that story in a compelling manner. Through my education and career, I’ve mastered the art of engaging consumers with innovation, capturing their interest, sharing their experiences and creating memorable moments.

Can you share any surprising similarities or differences that you’ve encountered between the fashion and beer industries?

Passion is universal. Whether it’s a favourite shoe brand, a love for couture, a preference for hops in beer or support for a sports team, every consumer speaks the language of passion. Throughout my career as a marketer, I’ve discovered that regardless of demographics — from millennials to Gen Z, from Toronto to Red Deer — everyone, no matter who they are or where they live, is deeply passionate about something, be it a brand or a product, across any industry. As a marketer, I find it exhilarating to uncover the unexpected facets of people’s passions and connect with them daily. Understanding consumer beliefs and resonating with their passions is the hallmark of a marketer’s success.

What trends do you see emerging in the realm of strategic partnerships within the beer industry?

Partnership equals loyalty. Collaboration is at the forefront of marketing across all industries and the beer industry is no exception. Embracing new partnership opportunities enables us to generate more excitement for consumers and forge deeper connections with them. Partnerships thrive on uniting people’s passions. While partnerships are not a new concept, they are increasingly prominent. Many brands and retail spaces are already teaming up with emerging and established entities to engage diverse audience segments. Beyond being a trend, the greatest advantage of partnerships is fostering loyalty, which will be a central focus for brands across all industries in the coming years.

What do you enjoy most about working in the beer industry? 

First and foremost, I relish collaborating with individuals from diverse professional backgrounds, as it gives me insight into their interests, passions and motivations. In the brewing industry, many of us feel like part of a large family bound together by our shared passion for beer. Secondly, it’s no secret: beer tasting is a crucial aspect of understanding a brand or product. What better way to familiarize oneself with a beer than by tasting it firsthand? It’s an experience that provides invaluable knowledge and insight into the product itself.

What’s your drink of choice right now?

Malt-based seltzer! This product innovation is truly exciting. With its wide array of flavours to choose from, it has quickly become my new favourite beverage. The versatility and taste options make it a refreshing choice for any occasion.

How did you first become interested in the beer industry and what led you to pursue it professionally?

After taking a few years off to raise my son, I was ready for something new and challenging. I have always had a passion for craft beer. There was a job fair at Great Lakes Brewery, so I applied. I’ve worn so many hats and am grateful for my experience and where I am now. 

What do you enjoy most about working in the beer industry? 

I love the way breweries bring their community together. Either a fun drag bingo night, trivia nights, charity taps (we do one every month at the Waterloo Taphouse!) and festivals. I have made lifelong friends just being a part of this beer community. It’s truly unique — I haven’t seen this kind of comradery in any industry I’ve been in!

What trends do you foresee shaping the beer industry, particularly from a female perspective?

Recently, I have been seeing a lot of breweries with non-alcoholic beers, especially on tap. I think this trend will continue to soar. We need these options available and that’s the bottom line. I also think with everything getting more expensive, we will find people making more wallet-conscious decisions. 

How are communities like The Society of Beer Drinking Ladies and Beer Babes Family helping to make this male-dominated industry more gender-inclusive?

The Society of Beer Drinking Ladies (external link, opens in new window)  helped pave the way for women and the LGBTQA+ community to get together and enjoy drinking beer while feeling safe. From their festivals to collabs — they were pouring positivity and inclusivity into the community. More recently, they have altered their focus on their event space — a beautiful spot. I was there last acting as a beer judge!

The Beer Babes Family (external link, opens in new window)  is a registered charity, meaning they do not make any profit. They brew all over North America to raise money for women in beer. Last year’s grant was given to Mary Beth Keefe from The Granite Brewery in Toronto (a must visit! I am getting married there next year). They are an inclusive group who loves to brew, travel and see women excel in this industry. The two co-founders, Rachel (from Arizona) and Roxy (from Quebec), work hard to uplift good people in beer. Anyone can be a Beer Babe!

What advice would you give to other alumni interested in pursuing a career in the brewing industry?

My advice would be to do your research. Make sure you’re working for a brewery that you can believe in. The beer industry offers a wide range of career opportunities. There truly is something for everyone. Brewing, quality control, marketing, sales, distribution, many different management roles, and the list goes on. Maybe you’re looking into the science of brewing, or the always evolving world of marketing, or the logistics of distribution, there is a role for everyone.

Working in the beer industry as a woman can be hard. You will have doubters and yes, even as a brewer, you will be told that you do not know anything about beer. But this industry can also be a fulfilling and exciting career. If you’re passionate about beer, community, creating meaning change and endless opportunity, this could be the right path for you. You can do so much for your community through beer. Women in beer need to stick together and support one another! 

What’s your drink of choice right now?

I have been loving the non-alcoholic options out there. Free Bar in Hamilton and Bevvy’s (Toronto’s first standalone non-alcoholic bottle shop) have many great options. But my all-time go-to beer is a local hazy IPA. I want all the stone fruit and tropical flavours! I also never say no to a stout.

Find April on Instagram (external link, opens in new window) 

How did you first become interested in brewing beer and what led you to pursue brewing as a profession?

When I turned 19, I didn’t actually enjoy beer. It was not until I attended university that I was introduced to more beer focused bars around Toronto and I started to foster a deep appreciation for traditional styles. This was in the late ’90s, so the current craft beer environment did not exist. And yes, I did have a Barney Gumble moment when a friend gave me a Guinness to try after saying I did not drink beer. From there, I took numerous trips to Europe and continued to explore the world of beer. It was not until 2012 when a friend and I tried to make beer in his garage that I became obsessed with the process of producing beer. This led me to eventually change careers in 2016.

What do you enjoy most about working in the beer industry? 

The easy answer is people. This industry is very open to communication and it seems like wherever I go, it is easy to make new friends. That being said, there are lots of industries filled with great people. So specifically for the brewing industry, I would say the satisfaction of the balance between art and science that goes into making beer. A quality brewer is like a fine art painter, pâtissier, biologist, chemist and mechanic rolled into one. I use the analogy of juggling to explain how beer is made. Imagine juggling 20 balls. Once you get good at it, you can toss some away as you have found some efficiencies, but almost immediately, 10 more balls will be thrown at you to deal with. It is a playful balance that continuously evolves.

How do you differentiate your beers from others in a crowded market?

Quality and consistency are key for retaining customer loyalty. At Grain and Grit, this is more challenging as we rotate a lot of different beer styles. Most beers we make once or twice, then move onto something new and different. For this reason, it is difficult to dial in the exact profile for these beers. Fortunately, with experience I know what processes and ingredients work well together, and I allow myself to experiment, but within tight parameters, to ensure the final product will meet the expectations of our customers. It also helps that one of the brewery owners is a graphic designer, so our labels are fun and really stand out on a crowded shelf. I would argue branding and marketing has almost become more important than the beer in terms of initial sales.

Can you share a memorable brewing experience or a favourite beer you’ve created?

When I first started to homebrew, I was fascinated by spontaneous/wild fermentations. Normally breweries used commercialized produced yeast to achieve their desired results. With spontaneous fermentations, you allow native yeast and bacteria in the air to inoculate the beer. This creates a unique terroir profile that can have a wide range of flavours, from fruity to funky, sometimes smokey, and make the beer slightly tart to extremely sour. Due to some specialized equipment and processing, these beers can take up to 5 years to fully mature, thus few breweries make these. It was an absolute pleasure to brew this type of beer when I was working in the Niagara region. We even got to share the experience with the local fire department numerous times, as all of the hot steam from the cooling wort would set off the fire alarm!

What advice would you give to aspiring brewers or entrepreneurs looking to enter the brewing industry?

Bring your Wellies (boots) and expect to get wet and dirty! While this industry can be a lot of fun, it also requires an immense amount of hard work and dedication in an uncomfortable, hazardous environment. You are essentially making a living product as active yeast is needed to make alcohol, thus you are constantly caring for your yeast as it really is the one making the beer for you. I can easily come to the brewery eight days a week just to confirm things are going well. 

What’s your drink of choice right now?

Well now, if we are talking about my beers, it would have to be “Little Thrills”, our award-winning German pilsner. Crisp and malty, basically liquid bread. It is one of the few beers we make year-round, since it is an employee favourite and always one of the top sellers. If I want something more hop forward, I am loving our Good as Gold IPA series that focuses on Australian and New Zealand hops.

For beers from other breweries, really it is a time and place habit. Being a brewer, I love trying IPAs as there are so many amazing hops to use in these beers. I am a big fan of what Badlands Brewery does. However, if I need to narrow it down to something specific, I am always happy with a Great Lakes Brewery Octopus Wants to Fight IPA. They also have IMHO one of the classics of Canadian craft beer, Canuck Pale Ale.

Find Jeff on Instagram (external link, opens in new window) 

Can you describe your brewing philosophy and the types of beers you specialize in crafting?

The variety and experience that beer has to offer is why I fell in love with beer in the first place, and is still how I guide my passion for creating joyful beers and beer experiences. There’s no single style of beer I prefer brewing or enjoying the most — but with every beer I am eager to sweat the small things. I want to fully embrace what the drinking experience should be like and how my choices of material and process will affect that. I want to visualize every aspect of the raw materials, brewday, fermentation, maturation, carbonation and packaging to ensure all decisions point to that final and perfect pint in your hand.

How do you see the craft beer industry evolving in the next decade?

Beer and craft beer are never still. There are 14 times more breweries in Ontario today than when I began brewing, and also more styles, more shelves, more competition and more challenges. I would not presume to make any predictions about what people will be drinking or loving the most in the future, or how fierce competition may or may not be. But I do imagine that we will continue to innovate with package types, non-alcoholic options, beer alternative beverages and new styles. 

What is the most rewarding aspect of being a brewery consultant?

I play brewer, builder and provider of delicious beer and good times. I manage procurement, inventory, quality and production. I work with valves, pumps, hammers, squeegees, screens, spreadsheets, electricity, steam, plumbing, our business, other businesses, and most of all, people. I get to do more with more people and in more industries as a brewer than I ever have or ever imagined I would in the beer business. Just like the beverage I love, being a brewer is more diverse and versatile than most anyone expects.

What advice would you give to aspiring brewers or entrepreneurs looking to enter the brewing industry?

Take every job a brewery has to offer. Deliver beer. Sell beer. Talk to customers. Talk to bartenders. Clean draught lines and work events. Haul sacks of grain or load skids of cans. Count inventory. Work in packaging, cellar, brewing and quality. Work in procurement and production. Work for small brewers and work for big brewers. Not only will it help guide what aspect of the industry provides you with the most fulfillment, but you’ll also learn how every decision you make regardless of your role affects the person finally cracking that can or hoisting that pint. Everyone makes beer — not just the brewer.

What’s your drink of choice right now?

I do enjoy vintage beers of specific styles that I prize for their ability to mature and evolve over time like a vintage port or artisan wine. That said, there’s no such thing as my beer of choice. I fell for beer largely because of its variety and endless versatility. I rarely if ever drink the same beer twice in the same night (or day). I drink anything I find enjoyable whenever I believe it’s most suitable. And most of all, I drink as locally as possible. I always find local breweries when travelling. I try my hardest to buy directly from brewers and ask what they’re most excited about in their fridge. And I share these delicious beers with friends.

Find Stephen on Instagram (external link, opens in new window) 

What inspired you to leave the advertising industry to open your brewery?

This was a classic pandemic story. The advertising agency was hit hard by Covid and the agency hit a tough time. I’d been working on Something in the Water as a side hustle. Sometimes what looks like a crisis is actually an opportunity. I put all my efforts into the beverage alcohol industry, secured an LCBO listing, and the rest, as they say, is history.

What do you enjoy most about working in the beverages industry? 

It combines so much — branding, marketing, product innovation, customer experience, hospitality, finance … the list goes on and on. It’s 4 industries in one. I get to work in manufacturing: procurement, cost of goods sold. I get to work in sales: forecasting, modelling, marketing. I get to work in hospitality: marketing, customer experience and menu design. I get to work in consumer packaged goods: retailing, advertising and client relations. No day is the same.

What are some of the biggest challenges/joys you've experienced as a brewery owner?

Besides being regulated by the Canada Revenue Agency, Ministry of Finance, and Alcohol Gaming Commission of Ontario?

Many breweries, like Something in the Water, are entering the spirits and cocktail lane. How important has that been for your business?

It’s called the veto vote. Not everyone drinks beer. And by recognizing that and offering spirits, wine and non-alcoholic products, it means Something in the Water can be enjoyed by everyone. Not just craft beer lovers. We say we are in the curious beverage business (not the curious beer business).

What advice would you give to aspiring brewers or entrepreneurs looking to enter the brewing industry?

After you create the business plan, cut your revenue by 40% and increase your cost of goods sold by 20%. If the business plan is still sound, go for it!

What’s your drink of choice right now?

I will pick a dark, malty beer any day of the week. Mine is our World Beer Award-winning Pancake Bay Sweet Brunch Stout. It was the second best sweet stout on the planet in 2021.

Find Steve on Instagram (external link, opens in new window)