There are multiple elements that combine to run the TagaBrew trail. Some of them are quite obvious (i.e. the assembly of the stamped tags and charms, shipping to breweries and customers, etc.), and some of them are not. As a collector prior to joining the company as a partner/owner, I knew there had to be a lot going on, but I had no idea just how much! In the time that Russ and I have been partners/owners, we have over doubled the size of the trail, and that trail is run daily by the two of us since Debi and Jim retired.

If you follow our social media pages, you know that we host various meet ups for our community of collectors, from midweek gatherings, to pub crawls, to larger scale celebrations. It is important to us that we continue to provide you all with fun ways to gather and socialize as groups. It is also incredibly important that we continue to strive to add more breweries to the trail so that you all have even more cool spots to explore during your TagaBrew adventures. One of the ways that we do this is through networking with different guilds. Last week Russ and I attended the Ohio Craft Brewers Association’s (OCBA) annual conference for the second year in a row as vendors in their trade show.

Attending the trade show allows us to meet new potential brewery partners in person and show them what our product is in person while also making that personal connection. As I mentioned a few posts ago, relationships are a very precious component of the business to us, and we feel that demonstrating our support to the brewing community through our actions and not just our words or information packets is another thing that sets TagaBrew apart from other trails. At this event alone, we were able to meet and sign up at least three new breweries to the trail (keep your eyes peeled)!

Images courtesy of Carmone Macfarlane, The Phoenix Brewing Company, Mansfield, Ohio

As a former teacher, I have attended numerous conferences and professional trainings over the years. NONE of them were as fun as this! During the down time between sessions, not only did we network with new partners, we also go to hang out and catch up a bit during the day with some of our current partners – some of them meeting us for the first time face to face ( I LOVE THAT!). One of the things I discovered last year is that folks wear the attire from their own breweries, and so if you wear someone else’s swag, it is assumed that you are from that brewery. I tried to keep my shenanigans to a minimum while wearing my Phoenix gear, lest they be accused of hiring weird hooligans from Michigan. LOL! (Not everyone can be as cool as Duncan and me… ) I think next year I will wear as many different breweries at one time as I can, you know to see if I can break anybody’s brain. Hee hee…

In the evenings, there are optional social events that allow us to come together for some fun and after hours relaxation after the presentations and trade show work. Shuttles were provided on the second evening to safely transport folks around Toledo and Sylvania if they chose to utilize them. We had some fun rides with shenanigans that shall remain in our memories (what happens on the bus, stays… yeah I think I’ll stop here). I never thought I would have so many friends in the brewing industry, and I am so blessed to know each and every one of them. #relationshipsmatter

This is the second time that we have attended the OCBA annual conference, and I know it won’t be our last. We also attended the Indiana Brewers Guild conference last November, making connections that have allowed us to grow the Indiana trail with some new, amazing stops. The guild conferences allow us to meet and greet actual owners and brewers versus trying to do so at festivals, where there are often volunteers pouring the beers who might not even be from the breweries.

Going to these events means that we are traveling on the road from time to time, taking us away from home and the fulfillment center. While we do have someone who comes over to help fill brewery reorders, there are still things that we have to be present to do. Hence the reason why sometimes TagaBrew Out and other orders take a stitch longer at times to arrive than others (and the “up to 4-6 weeks” disclaimer on the ordering site). There are only two of us – Russ and I who are running a trail of over 560 breweries on it, and we do as much and be as many places as we can. Thank you to those of you who may be reading this for your patience – I appreciate it more than you could ever know! We will NEVER stop trying to make this trail the best possible trail for you all to follow and make memories on.

CHEERS!