Almanac Beer got lots of people (including the hosts of this podcast!) talking earlier this summer when it announced it was ditching the word “taproom” and rechristening its Alameda, California-based location as Almanac Adventureland.
There was a lot more than alliteration and snappy branding behind the move. Eschewing the “taproom” part of its name made way for Almanac to embrace all the other things it had become: a gathering space for all members of the community, whether or not they drank beer.
In the fourth and final installment in the Brewbound Podcast’s Learning Lounge: Taproom Tactics series, Almanac EVP of sales Kevin Scoles details the brewery’s transformation of its own-premise location from a taproom to a full-blown, family-friendly entertainment space.
With the new name, Almanac also installed kid-friendly activities for younger patrons to enjoy while their parents tasted the brewery’s offerings. Scoles explained the pivot’s purpose was to demonstrate that Almanac wasn’t merely tolerating the families who visited on weekends, it was embracing them.
“We just didn’t say we’re family friendly and slap a sign on the building saying kids are welcome,” he said. “We started building sandboxes. We started adding pinball machines and arcade games. You can book out a private event space at the brewery and have a bounce house or a ball pit included in that, so I think really providing things for families to enjoy is the big part of that equation, versus just saying ‘Hey, you’re welcome to come out here.’”
In addition to Scoles’ conversation with Brewbound managing editor Jess Infante, this episode highlights news from Calicraft Brewing and New England Brewing Company, as well as Brewbound reporter Zoe Licata’s trip to Chicago, and remembers New Albion Brewing co-founder Jack McAuliffe.
Listen here or on your podcast platform of choice.