Getting "Smaller" To Get Bigger

Hey everybody!  Long time no talk.  I wanted to take a minute to make everyone aware and explain some changes we are making to our local distribution footprint.  As you may or may not know, we are distributed in Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky by Stagnaro Distributing.  They are currently our only distribution partner and up until now we have been available to retailers in their entire distribution footprint which extends from Dayton, Ohio down to well past Florence Kentucky.  They have been a great partner with us for nearly 3 years now and we are happy to continue working with them for the foreseeable future.

As we have begun to grow and make a name for ourselves in the local beer world it has become increasingly difficult to support all of the bars and restaurants throughout this fairly large distribution area that are interested in carrying our product.  Recently we have had to turn down numerous opportunities to attend events or otherwise be involved in happenings around town simply because we just don't have enough beer to go around.  Our goal from day 1 has been to stay as local as possible and to never "bite off more than we can chew" as they say.  Over the last few months we have had a lot of difficulty keeping even our closest neighbors supplied with beer so we have decided to reduce our distribution territory for a while.  This will allow us to adequately serve SOME people instead of inadequately serving a LOT of people.

So.  Effective this week you will only be able to buy Blank Slate in Hamilton County Ohio.  I apologize to those bar and restaurant owners outside of Hamilton County who have been supporters of us in the past.  This decision wasn't made lightly and I hope that you will still support us when we are ready to resume selling in your area.  Again, thank you for the support.

The logical question to ask is "why don't you just make more beer".  Well, we're working on it.  Our business model has always been one of slow, sustainable growth, much slower than many of our peers.  For one, we don't have the deep pockets needed to pull it off but more importantly I feel strongly that our ability to maintain the high standards we have for quality and consistency dictate that we do it this way.  We are currently preparing to triple our capacity and hope to have that online by early 2016.  However, by our best estimates this will only begin to meet the demand that we currently have inside Hamilton County.  I'd love to put a time frame as to when we will be ready to add other counties back into distribution but right now I really don't know when that will be.  I don't want to make any promises that I don't think we can keep so I'll just say that we'll see you when we see you.

Thanks for listening!

Will Someone Please Come And Clean These Kegs?

So.  It's been an insanely long time since I have posted.  I have a million things and tons of stories I'd love to get on "paper" for everybody.  However, there's no time for that these days so I'll cut right to the chase...

We are in need of a part-time assistant to work here in the brewery.  Now before everyone goes off half-cocked and starts flooding me with emails, hear me out.  We need someone to wash kegs about 12-16 hours a week.  The hours are SLIGHTLY flexible in that as long as the work is done between 9:00 and 5:00 between Monday and Friday (thus no nights or weekends) we can make it work.  This will be the ONLY task associated with this job, at least for the foreseeable future.  It COULD turn into a larger role in the brewery at some point, but there is certainly no guarantee of that right now.  The keg washer is one of the last points of quality control for the entire brewing process so it is still a critical step, even if it is mind-numbingly repetitive.

Pay will be $8.50 per hour.

Necessary Qualifications

- Must be 21 years of age and legally allowed to work in  the United States.
- Flexibility to work anytime between 9:00 and 5:00 Monday-Friday a total of 12-16 hours per week.

- Must be meticulous in their attention to detail and able to follow procedures and instructions to the letter as well as fill out data logs completely.
- Must be able to multi-task. 
- Must have a good mixture of analytical common sense as well as a desire to think outside the lines when needed.
- Good mechanical aptitude and ability to understand simple pump and valve controls.
- Must have a working knowledge of all-grain brewing, especially as it relates to sanitation.  Doesn’t have to be commercial experience (although that would be nice), but homebrewing experience is a must. 
- A simple understanding of basic chemistry is highly desirable as well.

- Must have a basic understanding of beer styles and off-flavors. 

- Should be able to communicate well with others and comfortable speaking to groups.
- Ability to maneuver full kegs of beer weighing approximately 130 pounds each.

If that seems like some terribly specific requirements for a grunt job cleaning kegs, it is.  As I have said before, I want to bring in folks that have a desire to move beyond just an introductory level position at some point.

With all that in mind, if you are not deterred, please send an updated resume detailing your specific skills and experience that you feel makes you right for this position to scott@blankslatebeer.com  (I’m not terribly interested in knowing that you spent 3 years at Kings Island checking kids’ height for the roller coaster so you can leave stuff like that out).  Please type “yes I want to be a grunt” in the subject line that way I know you read this posting completely and fully understand what you are getting yourself into.  I will only be responding to emails from folks that we want to speak to in further detail.  I'm sorry but I simply do not have the time to respond to everyone individually any more.  Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not send me an email saying that you can only work night/weekends, or that you are looking for a marketing/sales job or something else besides what we are specifically looking for in this posting.  Do not call or stop by the brewery as all correspondence needs to be done through email.  We are looking to fill this position quickly and will conduct interviews in the next few weeks if possible.  I will let everyone know through this blog and/or Facebook when the job has been filled.

Thanks for reading!

***EDIT 2-23-15***  We are no longer taking applications for this position.  Thanks to all those who applied!