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.

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