An American Intern at Anspach and Hobday: Clayton's Week Two & Beer X

The Second Week - Canning, Liverpool & Beer X

I can't believe how fast my time here at Anspach and Hobday is flying by. I just wrapped up my second week here on the job, and I don't know how else to put it other than that all of my expectations have been blown out of the water!

I just returned from an overnight trip up to Liverpool to experience the annual BeerX convention with some of the A&H team. Let me just say the whole trip was a great experience. There was food, friends, awards, and let's not forget the important part, GREAT beer! Before I get too into the weeds, let me briefly discuss what led to this trip. During my first week, I kicked off the internship with a bang, being able to attend the monthly London Brewers Alliance meeting (see past blog). After that first interesting day, the week kept on moving, and the LBA was one of many exciting learning experiences that I had. Coming in on day two, I started to get into the nitty gritty of A&H and began working on plans for the future. Along with Jack's help, I used some of the work I had done the previous day to help prepare for a forecast meeting with the team. These meetings are critical to how A&H runs smoothly as they are the primary time we plan what brews must be scheduled and allocate how much of a brew will go to certain aspects of the business. Don't worry; more London Black is definitely on the way. It was also interesting to see how the thought process behind brew scheduling worked at A&H. It's not as simple as I thought it would be, and there is a lot that goes into the chilled perfection that everyone loves to enjoy. When I saw that we were running low on a brew, I asked, "Shouldn't we get that on the schedule just to have a couple of cases?" But unbeknownst to me, a brew process takes weeks to complete. I learned that the time it takes from placing all the ingredients in one tank to letting them ferment in another, to being able to schedule the canning or kegging process, to having the product ready to distribute takes around three weeks and sometimes longer, depending on the circumstances. The meeting was an eye-opener, showing the planning and foresight required for a craft brewery to consistently supply the products its customers love. 

The following day, I started my morning by chatting with Jack about what I should get started on, and it came up in our conversation that I once was surfing the webshop page before my internship and saw the London Black Map. Excited, I checked to see if there was anywhere that sold LB in the States and saw that there was a place in Washington, D.C., listed. However, when I mentioned this, Jack said that A&H definitely did not supply to someone in D.C., and it got me thinking that other aspects of the map might not be accurate. This idea led to one of my ongoing projects, which is speaking with suppliers to determine all of the locations LB serves to accurately represent A&H's reach. Over the next few weeks, I will work alongside Jack to speak with distributors to determine where LB is being sold to make a complete and accurate LB map. Although I was sad to see the D.C. location go, it will be great to bring this to our customers and make our map as reliable as the A&H brand itself!

I know what you're thinking, Clayton, where is this juicy BeerX story you mentioned? Well, I'll tell you all about it… right after I tell you about my first experience with canning. At the end of my first week and the beginning of my second week, the A&H team canned. A lot. Before I experienced canning, I heard some pretty dystopian feedback about what to expect. Most of it revolved around cold, boring, and long, but that didn't slow me down, I was excited to see the process in action. We first canned about 80 cases of the Ansbacher Lager. During the process, I was stationed a little bit everywhere. Whether it was at the beginning, loading cans onto the line, the middle, weighing and checking the cans for imperfections, or the end, boxing, taping, and storing the boxes, I got a thorough look at what it took to make an empty can into what is sold. At the end of my first canning run, I was pleasantly surprised at how the whole process had gone. It was relatively problem-free, it didn't take too long, and I was able to learn from and talk with the team throughout. I enjoyed it.

Then, the following Tuesday, we canned London Black. Let's say that Friday was like trying to ride a bike with training wheels; Tuesday was like riding through a flaming hoop on a motorcycle. Right off the bat, we had some trouble getting the weights right on the finished cans. This is critical because a can that is too light may have too much air, which can cause the can to continue to ferment and spoil, while a can that is too heavy is overfilled and likely to burst. So, after about 15 minutes of disposing of bad cans, cracking lots of tabs, and trying to sort light, heavy, and perfect, we began to have a consistent stream of in-weight cans. However, we started having trouble with the labels once that was fixed.

Any little thing can cause the label to not adhere to the can correctly, whether it's too much water, the label machine not being positioned properly, or the cans coming down the line too fast, we were having some trouble making sure the labels were correct. But after some trial and error, the team got that fixed too. All in all, after about 5 hours and 213 cases of LB later, we were finished and I was starting to see what all of the warnings I heard initially were about. In truth, canning wasn't awful; it was quite the opposite. The process was a great insight into what it takes for a can to make it to a consumer. It also was a really great way to bond with the team. Sure, everyone is super busy, but in the off moments when everything is running smoothly, It was a good chance to get to know the team. I talked about football, the team's families, and the best place to get fish and chips, which was resoundingly Whitstable if anyone was wondering, and overall, it was a great way to see the culture of A&H, which I really enjoyed.

Now that the team had scheduled, networked, adjusted, canned, and prepared, it was time to head to BeerX! On Wednesday morning, I met up with some team members, including our head brewer, Dan, at the train station, and we started our journey to Liverpool. On the way, Dan gave me an overview of what I was in store for. He mentioned that BeerX is an annual convention where lots of suppliers from all parts of the beer industry come together to put on a showcase for craft brewers. There are vendors ranging from barley and hops suppliers to tank and equipment sellers to labeling and glass customization providers, all in attendance. Upon arrival, we walked into the convention hall where the event was held. We were immediately greeted by a rotunda of taps with beers from different locations across the UK. I was impressed by the difference in flavor between the various regions, even though some were right next to each other. After grabbing a few drinks and a bite to eat, I started walking around the event to check out all the vendors. I didn't know what I was looking at half the time, but after talking to a couple of booths, I started to get an idea of all it takes to create a product in the beer industry. All of the different pieces it took to get started were astounding, and that doesn't even account for all the optional branding and differentiating aspects of the business.

Unexpected Power Nap

After scoping out the place, I decided to sit down and listen to a presentation or two that various people were putting on at the event. By this point, I had lost everyone I was with, but a couple minutes after I had sat down, I opened my eyes to Dan tapping me on the shoulder, asking if everything was ok. It must have been a concise presentation because it ended right as he was asking that… Suddenly feeling rejuvenated, I walked around with the team and listened to their more technical questions, trying to follow along as they talked about nitrogen drips and CO2-recapturing methods. After a little longer, we eventually made our way out for the day. We went home to check into our Airbnb before heading back out to some local breweries and pubs for some get-togethers that local establishments were holding. This had to be my favorite part of the day. Being able to have some food and drinks with the team while meeting new people and trying some new and interesting drinks at local breweries was a real treat. Even cooler was that I started recognizing some people from the day and the LBA event. It made me feel like I was a part of the industry, which was very cool. Overall, the trip was terrific, and I certainly won't forget it. Although I didn't get the high score on Galaga to win a free pallet of cans, I wasn't able to take home the prize for a reaction speed game, and I wasn't able to show Jack who's boss in ping pong, I still made lots of memories and learned so much from the trip. I am so thankful that I could go and experience such a cool event with the team. I cannot wait to share what this next week has in store!

Clayton

Looking at Brew Kit (Mash Ton & Kettle Behind us) with Sam from 6Process Design.

An American Intern at Anspach and Hobday: Clayton's First Day

Clayton’s First Day :

I just finished my first day at my new internship at the Anspach and Hobday Brewery in Croydon, and let's just say I think it's going to be a fun six weeks. My first task of the day was to figure out where I was supposed to be going. So, as I made my way up the stairs to the main office, I noticed the impressive number of beer posters I was passing. It was interesting to see as it was almost as if I was walking through a pictured history of the brews that A&H has come out with over the years. It was quite a great insight into the history and comedic culture I was walking into, and looking back, it is impressive to see the culture of A&H captured in their advertising material. As I reached the top of the stairs, I reached the main office and quickly realized that this would be a fun job. The main office of A&H is both a functional workspace and a den of creativity, with a little mix of man cave in between. It was very cool how the entire office was adorned with their product in one way or another. Whether it is a can from a discontinued line sitting on the windowsill, posters hanging on the walls, or even the coaster board that shows various beers they've made over the past years, the whole space is covered in the company's history.

After taking in the sights, I met Jack, the company's co-founder and supervisor. Jack and I first met when I was interviewing for the role at my desk in Knoxville, Tennessee, in preparation for my time in London. I am currently abroad for the semester studying international business, and this six-week internship is a critical aspect of my semester as it is a time to use the knowledge I learned in my classes in a professional environment. After getting reacquainted, Jack introduced me to everyone on the team and walked me to their secondary building to show me my office. Once I got situated, I was given my company email and credentials to log into the various aspects of the business I would be working with. After getting set up, Jack and I began discussing my role here and some of the tasks that might be of interest that I could work on in the future. A lot of them sounded really interesting. For example, I will audit A&H's online shop and see what the P&L looks like for the various products sold there. I will also be helping with the multiple operations areas A&H has, whether the warehouse, canning, or taproom, which sounded like a blast. I'll finally be able to learn the perfect pour! I might also get the chance to help with some projects on the marketing side, which would be really interesting because marketing has never been in my wheelhouse. Still, I'm excited to get out of my comfort zone and try some different areas of business!

My first assignment of the day was to make an updated spreadsheet of the total beer sold and then make a list of the beer still in stock to help plan the upcoming production schedule. I enjoyed this task because it gave me a good overview of what types of products A&H sells and their wide variety of beers. This was an excellent first task to familiarize myself with the tracking software A & H uses in a relatively simple way so that, going forward, I can be much more capable with the site. After I had completed this, I moved on to work on a marketing slogan for an upcoming Saint Patrick's Day email to be released. Working on this was fun because, as I was working with Ellie, the leading marketing person, and Jack, it turned into a comedic history lesson surrounding Saint Patrick's Day and a spitball session about how to best market A&H for the holiday. Being able to laugh and joke around while still learning a little and working towards a goal made me feel like I am a part of the A&H family and further strengthened the feeling of belonging here.

Towards the end of my first day, Jack asked me if I would like to join him at one of the monthly London Brewers Alliance, LBA, meetings. I jumped at the opportunity because it would be great to see a group of self-employed brewers all coming together and see how they all learned and grew together from each other's mistakes and successes. On the train ride to the event, however, Jack discovered we were heading to the annual general meeting of the LBA instead of a standard monthly meeting. Upon arriving, we were welcomed into a local London brewery, Saint Monday, and began an evening of conversation, drinks, and good food. It was a unique opportunity to be able to speak with people from so many different aspects of the brewery business, whether it's aggregate suppliers, equipment sellers, or brewers themselves; the whole evening was a great insight into what it takes for a beer to make it into someone's hands. Towards the end of the evening, when the alliance had to speak on the meeting topics, there were three changes to the alliance's constitution. The first two passed with flying colors, but the third caused quite a debate. The last change surrounded the idea of whether everyone thought it a good idea to add a system of accepting new members who may not brew most of their beer in London but add a "significant" impact to the London community. There were two conflicting arguments for the validity of the bill. Firstly, some people disagreed with the change because they didn't want to allow larger companies who might claim validly or not to contribute to the London Brewing scene, produce outside of London and still potentially be a member. The other thought is that this may be a good change because as breweries currently in the LBA grow and potentially move the bulk of their brewing to a cheaper location outside of London (outside of the M25 to be precise), then they could remain a part of the LBA, but if it didn't, there was a good chance they would have to leave. I won’t say which way Jack, in his capacity representing A&H, voted but the vote was so close it is now being re-run electronically. Overall, the experience gave me a lot of insight into the brewing culture in London and some of the industry's problems, which I was utterly unaware of coming into this internship. It was the best first day I could have asked for, and I cannot wait to see where this internship will take me in the future!

Clayton