Laurie Millotte is the founder of Outshinery, a product photography and video company that creates images and other visual marketing assets without physical products. Millotte has over 12 years of experience as a creative director and designer in the wine & food industries and, in her column for Brewbound Voices, she provides three easy hacks to help brewers on a budget master social media with visual storytelling.

In his column for Brewbound Voices, Scott Birkner, the senior vice president and manager of the craft beverage lending division at United Community Bank, addresses 10 important questions brewers need to consider before working with a lender.

In his column for Brewbound Voices, Andrew Zender, the founder of ‘The Beer Label Guy,’ highlights some of the common mistakes that can slow the beer label approval process and outlines some of the label changes that require breweries to submit a new COLA.

Lawrence A. Katz is a shareholder and Kristen E. Burgers is a principal in the Tysons, Virginia, office of Hirschler Fleischer. In their column for Brewbound Voices, Katz and Burgers provide an overview of the bankruptcy process and discuss the tools available to a debtor in bankruptcy.

In our latest edition of Brewbound Voices, Beer Business Finance founder Kary Shumway returns to discuss self distribution. Shumway has worked in the beer industry for over 20 years as a Certified Public Accountant and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Clarke Distributors, Inc. in Keene, New Hampshire. In part II of his column for Voices, Shumway dives deep into the process of self distributing, discussing account and route building, proper cash flow management practices, the “hidden” costs of operating in a self distribution model and succession planning.

In our latest edition of Brewbound Voices, Beer Business Finance founder Kary Shumway returns to discuss self distribution. Shumway has worked in the beer industry for over 20 years as a Certified Public Accountant and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Clarke Distributors, Inc. in Keene, New Hampshire. In part I of a two-part column for Voices, Shumway begins deconstructing the ins and outs of self distribution. He discusses the advantages and disadvantages of self distribution while profiling one brewery he believes is doing it well.

Marty Butler is is the co-founder of The Butler Bros, an Austin-based branding, consulting and graphic design studio that has executed rebrands for craft breweries such as Maui Brewing Co. and Real Ale Brewing. In his column for Brewbound Voices, Butler, who also co-founded the Austin Home Brew Festival, describes his firm’s creative process while sharing lessons learned during recent branding projects with companies across the beer, spirits and food industries.

Beer distributors have been adapting to changes in the marketplace, on one level or another, for decades. When retailers asked distributors for greater levels of service, the merchandising department was created. As on-premise accounts added more draft lines, distributors were asked to clean the lines and assist with repairs or new installations. So what makes the SKU proliferation of the past decade, and the level of associated changes, different from the above-mentioned service layers?

Kary Shumway is the founder of Beer Business Finance, an online resource for beer industry professionals. He has worked in the beer industry for over 20 years as a Certified Public Accountant and currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Clarke Distributors, Inc. in Keene, New Hampshire. In part I of his two-part column for Brewbound Voices, Shumway describes the inner workings of a beer distributor and begins to explain how these organizations are evolving to accommodate an onslaught of new craft SKUs.

In the final entry of our three-part series on branding considerations for craft breweries, Isaac Arthur, a partner and designer at CODO Design in Indianapolis, Indiana, explains how an established brewery might approach a rebranding process.

In part two of our three-part series on branding considerations for craft breweries, Isaac Arthur, a partner and designer at CODO Design in Indianapolis, Indiana, explains how a well-funded startup might approach its branding process.

It’s been nearly one year since we last invited a guest to contribute to the Brewbound Voices column, but we’re excited to pick things back up with a three-part series on branding considerations for three types of beer companies: bootstrapped breweries-in-planning, well-funded startups and firmly-established players who are looking to rebrand.

Rarely do we write, or read, reports of a brewery owner opting to turn the business over to the next generation. As the industry continues to evolve, however, we recognize that some brewery owners might be considering a generational transfer as their primary succession plan. So, to discuss the ins and outs of generational transfers we tapped Deborah Steinthal, the founder and managing director of Scion Advisors, a boutique strategy consulting firm serving private business owners in the food and alcoholic beverage industries.

Liquidity options are plentiful for owners of craft breweries: strategic sale, private equity, management buyout, family transfer, leveraged recapitalization. Which path should you take? Harpoon, New Belgium, Odell, Left Hand and many others walked a different path. These breweries chose to implement an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). ESOPs can be a great exit strategy for craft brewers. Outlined below are the top five reasons why craft brewers should consider an ESOP.