event experience

Experience, perspective, and a grounded operational approach are essential to creating events. Creating the Big Beers, Belgians & Barleywines Festival and growing with it over the course of 18 years, Laura is familiar with the ins and outs of larger and smaller events, and the growing pains that come with the territory. Coordinating the execution and featured brewers for the Craft Beer & Brewing Brewers Retreats and coordinating the beer judging for the Mesa State University Grand Valley Beer Festival take a completely different approach than an outdoor festival or destination group specialty dessert pairing. A veteran of a myriad of different styles of events, Laura will work with you to create a seamless, upscale experience for everyone.

restaurant experience

Dining events are much more easily facilitated when working with someone with fine dining experience on the floor, working with kitchen teams, creating support materials for staff and guests, and the many other aspects of the restaurant world. With ten years’ experience at Grouse Mountain Grill in the Pines Lodge in Beaver Creek, CO and additional years working with the staff and on the floor in Atwater on Gore Creek at the Vail Cascade Resort, Laura is familiar with the ins and outs of service, working with the staff both front and back of house, facilitating menu creation with the chefs, and executing events – small or large – with the team. Pairing restaurant and event experience is most certainly a winning combination.

program creation and staff training

Augmenting event and restaurant experience with staff training, vendor relations, and corporate business experience, a variety of different programs and approaches become possible. Laura created the craft beer program at the Vail Cascade Resort, trained the staff, created the beer list and rotation schedule, worked with the staff to create menu pairings, worked with the vendors and the purchasing team, maintained the lists as changes and rotations happen, and curated a cellar list. In addition, more than 15 staff members have earned their Cicerone Certified Beer Server credentials, and the programs at the Vail Cascade have included weekly brewery tastings, Brewmaster’s Weekends, and custom beer pairing dinners for various groups and guests at the resort.

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Similarly, Beaver Run Resort and Gateway Canyons Resort have set up programs tailored to their specific environment and operational capacity geared toward growing their beverage business and creating a new niche for marketing and events at their properties. The food pairing aspect of craft beer is strong at all properties, focusing on educating both staff and guests about how craft beer and food work together. Customized Craft Beer Programs is pleased to consult with your team to provide ideas about how best to create or adapt a craft beer program to your specific property, understanding that each property is different and needs its own individual approach.

distribution experience

Another component that Customized Craft Beer Programs brings to the table is experience with the distribution tier of the craft beer industry. Working with a small, independent distribution company for many years, Laura has experience with everything from loading trucks and delivering beer to working with brewery contracts, handling inventory and depletion reports, and doing the overall accounting for the business. As her takeaway from her time with distribution, she published a book called Distribution Insight for the Craft Brewer and offers her perspective and assistance to others on a consulting basis. Many breweries are not familiar with the distribution side of beer sales, and have found insight with regard to contracts, setting up, and troubleshooting the overall distribution partnership to be quite helpful.