Brewers Guild Organizational Manual
A strong and unified state brewers guild serves as an effective voice in promoting the interests
of all brewers in the state. Whether promoting local beer or fighting for favorable laws and lower
excise tax rates, the collective effort of a state trade association has far more impact than that
of an individual brewery business alone.
The goal of this guide is to lend insights on organizational nonprofit management on a variety of
topics. It is not the authority on guild management. Please consult a lawyer on issues of legal concern.
A strong brewers guild or association can be an effective voice for promoting the interests of all
brewers in a given state or region. Whether promoting local beer or fighting for favorable laws and
lower excise tax rates, the collective voice of a guild can speak louder than that of individual brewers
alone. This guide is broken up into chapters to help you find support for your guild on a variety of
topics.
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Structure
This chapter describes common structural aspects of a
state guild. See examples of the duties taken on by each
role or committee as well as procedures for holding
elections and appointing different roles within the guild.
Fundraising
Funding a guild through membership dues, events and
grants is essential to keep the organization running, and
vital for protecting the state’s brewing community. To help
keep dues reasonable, guilds often pursue multiple
funding sources.
Dues/Membership
Guild dues and membership tiers are set by the board of
directors and the structure can vary from state to state. In
this chapter we explore different guild structures and take
a look at different membership category dues across the
nation to help the guild organize.
Industry Defense
The importance of establishing relationships with state and
federal representatives and their staff cannot be
underestimated. Brewers guilds have a collective voice
that should be heard on state and national issues of
importance to craft brewers.
Promotion
The promotion of a state guild is essential to its success.
Social media and a simple, well-maintained website are a
great start for any guild promotion program. This chapter
also explores traditional media outreach options and
festival participation including the Guilds Pavilion at the
Great American Beer Festival®.
Brewers Guild Management
The Ultimate Brewers Guild Guide
This guide is by no
means the authority
on non-profit
management. There
are associations, law
firms and myriad
resources online
regarding how to start
and manage
nonprofit
organizations.
This is simply a
collection of common
best practices in
brewers guild
management.
All content and
resources originated
from best practices of
guilds across the
country, the
American Society of
Association
Executives , and other
nonprofit support
orgs.
What You’ll Find in this Guide
Organizational Tips n Tricks
Organizational Tips n Tricks
Organizational Tips n Tricks
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Member Education
The rapidly developing craft industry has brought an acute awareness of the need for
industry education. In some states, this has resulted in guild education opportunities,
including technical conferences and seminars for craft beer business professionals. This
chapter outlines opportunities that support the advancement of industry knowledge.
Nonprofit Brewers Guilds
Brewers guilds / associations are registered as nonprofit trade organizations formed to
provide an effective, united voice for protecting and promoting the interests of
brewers in a given state or region. In most cases, they qualify as non-profits under
Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code. In the U.S., all 50 states have some
form of brewers guild. Some states also have regional or city-based guilds, often
501(c)3s for IRS purposes, organized to address local issues and pursue promotional
endeavors.
Guilds partner with the Brewers Association at the front lines of a powerful and
organized movement to promote and successfully implement, protect, and maintain
beer and brewing-related policies at the state and federal levels. They function each
day to ensure the protections necessary to fairly license, regulate, tax, and enforce
the legal sale of beer in a safe and beneficial way within their local communities. A
single, unified state brewers guild is the most effective means to engage on alcohol
beverage issues at the state capitol.
Whether promoting local beer or advocating for favorable laws and lower excise tax
rates, the collective voice of a guild can speak louder than that of individual brewers
alone. Guilds host festivals and city or state beer weeks to bring awareness to
consumers and sponsor educational conferences to provide professional
development and networking opportunities for breweries of all sizes.
For brewery owners, joining the membership ranks of a state brewers guild is essential in
today's rapidly changing world to protect and maintain a brewery business. For
enthusiasts, retailers, wholesalers, and other allied industry partners, joining the state
brewers guild supports important business and community relationships and in turn, the
success of the guild and local independent brewery businesses.
Find each state’s guild contact information using our Find-a-Guild feature on the BA’s
State Guilds page.
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Developed to assist state or regional guilds in formalizing and managing their nonprofit
organization, this guide outlines considerations related to organizational management
and governance.
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Table of Contents
Structure ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Overview of Craft Brewers Guild Roles & Structure ............................................................ 5
Structure, In Detail .................................................................................................................. 6
Fundraising ................................................................................................................................. 9
Dues & Membership ................................................................................................................ 14
Common Membership Tiers ................................................................................................ 15
Membership is the Foundation ........................................................................................... 17
Advocacy ................................................................................................................................ 19
Promotion ................................................................................................................................. 22
Education ................................................................................................................................. 24
Contacts ………………………………………………………………………………………………25
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Structure
Although guild leadership starts with a Board of Directors, where possible, a guild may
seek to hire paid staff, generally starting with an executive director. In other states,
particularly those with a limited number of breweries capable of supporting guild
activities, the guild may engage a management company or other outside
consultant, who can represent the guild’s interests on a contract basis. In either case,
these people report to the board. Roles and responsibilities of board members, paid
staff, and/or outside consultants should be clearly documented and understood
throughout the organization.
Overview of Craft Brewers Guild Roles & Structure
Governance: the guild is governed by the membership through an elected board of
directors and supported by committees and task forces. BoardSource.org has excellent
resources on recommended governance practices.
Members: Defined in the guild’s bylaws, multiple tiers of membership diversify the
organization’s fundraising and knowledge source streams. Voting members are often
defined as breweries, meet specific production criteria, and actually brew beer.
Members attend applicable meetings, voice opinions, vote on leadership annually and
as allowed by member category, attend and support applicable guild-produced
events, serve on a committee if desired, assist in guild efforts with ideas, connections,
and resources. Read more in the Membership chapter.
Board of Directors: The compass of the organization, the board of directors are the
fiduciaries responsible for directing the guild’s future through sound, sustainable and
legal governance and fiscal management. Board members are volunteers that are also
responsible for ensuring the guild has the proper resources to advance the mission. It is
crucial that all Board members understand that they represent the interests of all guild
members in this leadership capacity and not individual business interests.
The board consists of an executive committee and occasionally directors-at-large.
Read more at CouncilofNonProfits.org.
Executive Committee: The executive committee consists of the officers of the
organization:
• Chair/President – chairs meetings of the Board of Directors, prepares the agendas,
and coordinates the activities of the board; document and check signer; primary
employee manager (where applicable).
• Vice-Chair/President – chairs meetings in the absence of the Chair/President; assists
in the preparation of agendas, and the coordination of board activities.
• Secretary/Treasurer - ensures each Director is provided with written notice of
meetings as provided in the bylaws, ensures the recording and distribution of the
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minutes of the meetings, and oversees the maintenance of required records of all
proceedings of the Board of Directors. The Secretary/Treasurer also keeps an
account of all moneys received and expended and shall make a report on the
financial position of the guild when called upon to do so at the Board of Directors
meetings.
Board Members at Large: Attend all membership and leadership meetings. Main voting
group on applicable initiatives.
Committees: All committees have a board member designated as a board liaison and
a staff liaison within the guild. See common committees below.
Employees: Where a guild hires paid staff, the primary (and often only) position is a
Guild Executive Director or Operations Manager. Additional staff may be hired to
support this position. Paid staff usually have primary responsibility in working to meet the
mission, although board members, other members, and outside consultants often play
important roles as well. Typical duties include developing programs, budgeting, building
the annual calendar, meeting scheduling/reminders/organizing, running meetings,
coordinating outside contractors, basic organizational accounting and bill paying,
communications, membership development and support, fundraising, event
management, lobbying and more. Reports to guild board/leadership.
Other staff and contracted support for guilds may include:
• Deputy/Assistant Director or Operations Manager
• Events & Marketing Manager
• Membership & Communications Manager
• Business Development Manager
• Lobbyist (usually contract)
• Legal Counsel (usually contract)
• Accountant (usually contract)
Structure, In Detail
Board of Directors (BOD) and Officers
The BOD should be elected by a vote of all voting brewery members. The BOD is generally
between 5-9 people and is most often composed of owners, principals, and sometimes
brewers. Because most guilds do not start with a paid staff, the BOD are the people who will
do the bulk of the work in organizing events and programs, at least until a paid staff member is
hired or consultants retained.
Officers, such as chair/president and vice chair/president, are often elected from within the
BOD. You may also want to elect a secretary (responsible for taking meeting minutes and
communicating the BOD’s work to the membership) and a treasurer.
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Beyond the BOD, you may want to consider forming committees to handle programs and
projects like membership recruitment and government affairs. The appropriate number and
types of committees will vary widely, based on the guild’s size and needs.
Executive Directors
To assist guilds that wish to hire an executive director, we’ve created a document (compiled
from the input of several state guild executive directors) that outlines the functions and duties
guilds perform through the year and so representing the typical responsibilities and work
products of an executive director. Hiring paid guild staff imposes additional paperwork
requirements that you will need to learn about by contacting your state’s Department of
Revenue. Some guilds hire executive directors as independent contractors.
The search for an executive director by Its very nature provides the guild’s BOD with a chance
to reassess the guild as a whole and to reevaluate its needs, goals, strengths, and challenges.
Hiring paid staff is one of the most important actions that a guild may take. After hiring, the
board generally must depend on paid staff for day-to-day operations to achieve the guild’s
purposes and objectives within the limitations of its budget. This is not an easy task to
accomplish, year after year!
In addition, the working relationship between the director and the board, owners, brewers,
promoters, affiliate members, sponsors, state associations and other agencies can significantly
influence the guild’s effectiveness and reputation in the community.
Hiring a director is a similar process to hiring a staff member for your brewery. You’ll organize
the hiring committee, create a duties/job description document, outline the profile of your
ideal candidate, advertise the position, qualify your prospects, gather references, interview
candidates, select your finalist, make the offer and start the work.
Numerous guilds have found that they already have an outstanding prospect without going
through a formal search. Keep your eye out for these folks—sometimes they already promote
the festivals you’ve attended or come recommended by someone in the industry.
It is imperative that state guilds remain strong and unified in order to promote and protect the
small brewer interests in each state, and to elevate the greater community of the nation’s
brewers. If you find that important industry or guild opportunities are slipping by, meetings are
no longer being held, or administrative tasks are being neglected within your association,
perhaps it’s time to discuss the hiring of paid staff support or retaining consultants who can
take over vital functions.
Committees
Just as every board is unique, every board’s committee structure is unique too. Thought should
be given to the committee structure and include committees that are most relevant to the
guild and membership with definitive goals and objectives and a regular meeting schedule.
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Organizations should avoid the temptation to form too many committees. To be effective (and
to avoid burnout), board members should generally not serve on more than two committees.
Ideally, committees are chaired by either a member of the board or a non-board member
with expertise in issues falling under the particular committee’s jurisdiction. The bulk of the
board’s work should be done through its standing committees. Examples of standing
committees follows:
Executive: Oversee operations of the board; often acts on behalf of the board during
on-demand activities that occur between meetings, and these acts are later presented
for full board review; comprised of board chair, other officers and/or committee chairs
(or sometimes just the officers, although this might be too small); often performs
evaluation of primary staff person.
Finance: Oversees development of the budget; ensures accurate
tracking/monitoring/accountability for funds; ensures adequate financial controls; often
led by the board treasurer; reviews major grants and associated terms.
Governance: As a general rule, responsible for board recruitment, orientation of new
board members, board assessment, and board management.
Government Affairs: Monitor and ensure a healthy brewing industry within the state by
developing and articulating to the industry a consensus from within guild membership
as it relates to regulatory, legislative, and other governmental affairs.
Fundraising/Sponsorship: Oversees development and implementation of the
Fundraising Plan; identifies and solicits funds from external sources of support.
Marketing: Oversees development and implementation of the Marketing Plan,
including identifying potential markets, their needs, how to meet those needs with
products/services/programs, and how to promote/sell the programs.
Events: Plans and coordinates major events, such as fundraising, beer weeks, technical
conferences, annual meeting, etc.
Membership: Develops criteria for membership, overseeing elections, and developing
and delivering programs/benefits for the members. Membership Committees usually
keep closely connected to the guild’s membership and work with the staff to identify
and develop programs that meet the changing needs of the membership.
Sustainability: Determine and reduce the environmental footprint of brewing in the
state, engage brewers, share best practices that drive resource efficiency and waste
reduction, create strategic partnerships with state policy makers, identify potential
sources of sustainability-related tax and business credits.
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Diversity: Bring together members of the state's brewing community who are engaged
in diversity outreach initiatives. Establish strategic objectives related to increasing
underrepresented minority participation in all things craft beer. Discuss, communicate
and create collaborations in ongoing and new initiatives and events that support the
goal of enhancing diversity, inclusion and equity across the state's beer industry.
Technical/Safety: Determines and recommends solutions regarding pipeline and/or
safety technical issues specific to the brewing industry.
Nominations: Identifies needed board member skills, suggests potential members and
orients new members; sometimes a subcommittee of the Governance Committee.
Public Relations: Represents the organization to the community; enhances the
organization’s brand and image, including communications with the press.
A board does not always need to add new committees to get its work done, nor must
committee members always be members of the board. A task force can be formed if there is
an objective that can be achieved in a relatively short period of time. Special events planning
or analyzing a proposed merger are examples of work that can be handled by task
forces. Advisory councils assist boards in carrying out their work by providing expertise and
advice in selected areas. Advisory councils do not have any governance responsibilities and
are a good way to include former board members, potential board members, subject matter
experts from outside the brewing industry, and others who may be ineligible for a board seat in
the work of the board. Not every volunteer makes a good board member. Sometimes a task
force or advisory council is a better use of the volunteer’s talent, experience, and time.
If the committee structure has not been revisited in a few years, the board should consider
looking at the current committee structure and what the committees actually do. If there are
overlapping responsibilities or no work being done, then it is time to realign the committee
structure. If you host an annual board retreat, this is a good time to review the committees
and see if any need to be retired or added.
Fundraising
In order to ensure organizational sustainability within an ever-evolving industry, state brewers
guilds must diversify their fundraising portfolio. Reducing reliance on membership dues and
expanding sources of income through new programs, resources, and services can increase
member return on investment (ROI), and boost member engagement.
Raising revenue is one of many incredibly important financial aspects of running any nonprofit.
Equally important are finding savings and cost-efficiencies, managing cashflow, making the
most of little, and managing risk to reduce fiscal threat. This is not to suggest revenue is the
only piece of organizational stability and sustainability. Member-based trade organizations
must increase their bottom line in every possible way in order to deliver on their missions.
Following are resourceful ways to approach increasing revenue.
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We add ideas as they come, and always ask that if you have an idea not represented here,
please share!
Let’s start with the obvious: members are the heart and purpose of the organization, the
reason the guild exists. Read more ideas about engaging in various fundraising activities
through membership in the MEMBERSHIP chapter. The following are all non-dues fundraising
options.
Make sure you are aware of your state laws – some of these options may not be legal in your
state.
Festivals are an important revenue stream for many guilds and should be a part of a strategic
funding plan to cultivate future fundraising and boost the profile of craft beer in your
community.
Once guilds have learned what works and what doesn’t for local event offerings and have
carefully constructed a strong event program, festivals commonly become a guild’s number
one source of funding. Unfortunately, one bad event can raise red flags for craft breweries
and our highly regulated industry. Events involving alcohol of any type must be consciously
planned and executed with the utmost care and attention to detail.
If the guild is not yet established enough to host a festival, consider engaging festival
organizers that are asking for beer donations – request they make a reciprocal donation to the
non-profit guild, through a percentage of ticket sales or profits, etc. Partnering with local
chambers of commerce or other local government entities, or other nonprofits, has also met
with success for guild fundraising.
The checklist of best practices for hosting a major fundraising festival (below) was created by
our award-winning events team and leaders from guilds nationwide. This document is not
meant to be all-encompassing, but it is an excellent starting point to help you execute a guild
event that elevates craft beer in your state, shines positive light on your guild’s brand, and
promotes the guild’s craft brewery member businesses.
Resources: Event planning checklist, Event Compliance Considerations, Hotel Block Tips
Smaller unique events offer contemporary and fun experiences for members and beer
enthusiasts alike. Fundraisers don’t need to be huge to make money. Small events can bring in
significant revenue without the risk of a large-scale festival. Beer and food pairing events are a
common example of such events.
Technical Brewing and Production conferences and specialist seminars supported by
innovative and pioneering industry leaders undoubtedly stimulate development and success.
Interesting and informative perspectives pollinate across the state’s expanding craft
community, bringing about positive evolution to our great industry. Numerous states now host
great technical conferences.
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For a guild conference, run various pricing models to find profit vs. break even vs. loss in order
to offer more flexibility.
• Conference organizers know badge sharing exists. Attendees sometimes do not have the
time to attend the whole conference or are interested in attending certain portions and not
others. If the guild normally charges a base rate for one person, consider offering a structure
where one badge costs incrementally more for two people and just slightly higher than that
for three people (and all three share that one badge, so only one can gain access to the
conference at a time). These individuals may have previously passed their badge back and
forth, but now it’s at least sanctioned and earning money.
• Another possibility would be to offer a brewery business registration. Instead of forgoing the
purchase of multiple individual registrations, employees of the brewery can share a certain
number of badges as their conference priorities vary, and their attendance shifts from
employee to employee.
• Offer just expo/trade show passes, which can boost your trade show income and vendor
ROI.
• Instead of early bird + regular + on-site pricing, start low, and then increase the cost by some
small increment every single week. Offer further incremental increases, giving more incentive
to make the decision to register sooner rather than later. For example, the first fifty people
get one price, the next fifty get the next higher price increment, etc.
• Offer registration flash sales over a certain targeted easy-to-remember holiday, with the
lowest possible price. This can drum up all the individuals that have to pay on their own, or
larger group registrations.
• Offer an “Alumni” rate for both attendees and trade show vendors. Start marketing and
selling conference registration for next year on the last day of this year’s conference and sell
registration at a discount AT the conference. It’s possible this strategy will leave money on
the table because these people may be coming anyway, but to overcome that, perhaps
offer a “bring a colleague” package.
Grants: Potential sources of grants range from state government agencies (e.g., departments
of tourism and agriculture) to small business development centers. Grant amounts can also
vary greatly by state. Guilds have secured grants for significant amounts from Chambers of
Commerce and state governmental agencies. Caution: many state grant programs come
with significant strings. Most importantly, there may be prohibitions on the funds being used to
lobby.
One of the fundamental keys to a guild soliciting and receiving a grant is to demonstrate the
economic impact of the state’s craft beer industry. For example, departments of tourism are
often interested in the impact from breweries, and guilds have found success by
demonstrating how much additional income local beer weeks or events bring into local hotels
and the region. More information on economic impact resources available through the BA
can be found in this manual in the Advocacy section (page 19) below.
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After obtaining any grant, it will be necessary to show an ROI, which can be accomplished
through attendee surveying on site or through the ticket purchasing platform.
Guild Merchandise: Selling merchandise is resource intensive due to a constant need to order,
maintain and process inventory, but “merch” can bring in fair margins! This is typically more
relevant for advanced guilds with many members & festivals and can be great for promotion
and income. Guilds often turn to 3
rd
party organizations for fulfillment of the merchandise store.
“Meet the Brewer” events: Brewers are local heroes! Consider offering brewer
dinners/tours/etc. events within the brewery, to engage the enthusiast communities,
sometimes including food or branded schwag.
Advertising & Sponsorship
Advertisements in social media, e-newsletters, event programs, the guild website or mobile
apps offer greater outreach for allied industry suppliers retailing goods and service solutions to
brewery businesses.
Tailor various sponsorship packages with customized options for the unique needs of service
and goods providers in allied industries.
People love an exclusive experience. If possible, offer VIP experiences at an upcharge from
the base rate for attendees and/or sponsors at events. Secure sponsorship for those (and all
specialty areas) too.
Allied trade service providers appreciate the opportunity to mingle with both potential and
current brewery business customers. They’ll often sponsor the opportunity to give brief
presentations at conferences/meetings, or a dinner or reception.
Caution: While sponsorship may be a successful source for bolstering fiscal support, it’s important
not to let a sponsor appropriate an event. A sponsorship should not change the tone of the event
or have excessive influence. The most important aspect of a guild/sponsor partnership at events is
to ensure each party realizes a return on investment.
Collaboration Beers: Guild members can come together to brew a beer at one member’s
brewery, source donations for packaging and ingredients, then sell for on- and off-premise
consumption at retail outlets throughout the state. Alternately, agree to source one main
ingredient or brew a certain style, but have member brewers create their own rendition of this
unique Guild Beer, then offer at festivals and sell in tap rooms with a portion of the proceeds
going to the guild. Always ensure compliance with federal and state laws.
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Check out
Louisiana’s
collaboration
beer, with a
portion from
each pack
going back to
the Guild.
Sporty Tournaments: People LOVE to win. Dart throws, golf tournaments (mini golf in a
production brewery with extra space or regular golf on a real course), beer-related Olympics
(NO drinking competitions!), chili cook-offs, dunk tanks, keg tosses, you name it. Creativity is
your strength; the world of competition is your oyster.
Beer competitions or taste-offs: New Mexico Brewers Guild’s annual IPA Challenge is extremely
popular. The Guild collects an IPA from all participating brewers and then, through a regional
tour, breweries host the challenge by offering flights for purchase and consumers vote for
“best in show. ” Virginia Craft Brewers Guild offers their Brewers Cup each year.
Caveat: some guilds specifically avoid this in order to not pit members (and their consumers)
against each other.
Host an Auction or Raffle at events, meetings, conferences, or fests. Hire an artist to pair with a
brewery at a festival to create an original work of art for auction at the conclusion. Other
auction items of interest include beer/guild schwag-filled gift baskets, fest tickets, special beer
releases, guild & brewery merchandise. As always, be sure to verify with an attorney or the
state ABC that state laws allow for these types of giveaways.
Add-On Fundraising Program: Similar to programs for other organizations promoted through
grocery stores, retail outlets and the web, where a modest donation is added to the
customer’s retail bill, this program can build brand awareness for participating guild members,
the craft beer industry, and the Guild. Check applicable state law.
State Fair: Many guilds participate in their state fairs, with a guild member pavilion featuring
independent brewers and their craft beers. Some guilds offer a guild collaboration beer for
their state fair. Proceeds from beer sales are shared between the guild and the fair.
Beer Week: for the city or state, beer weeks bring together breweries in the region for a
celebration of the beer industry, and each brewery member can offer whatever sort of
fundraising activity they do best. This can be another massive undertaking, with dozens or
hundreds of events and countless organizations involved, but portions of the profits from each
event can benefit the guild. Pro tip: if there is a major impact from the beer week on the local
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economy, the local department of tourism may be interested in providing grant funding
support.
Partner with Allied Businesses: Cultivate partnerships that address brewery business challenges.
What keeps brewery owners up at night?
Conduct guild membership needs assessment surveys to better understand what these
businesses need to be successful and develop partnerships to address those goals. Examples
include group insurance & employee benefit programs, and mobile apps with regional or
state brewery tours.
Ensure Program Success
Once a new program is offered, a strong educational campaign is crucial to ensure adoption
of the new benefit.
Prior to a guild-wide launch, consider a limited release that can provide a forum for feedback
and program refinement, as well as a community of core participants that spread the word
when introduced to the wider membership.
And finally, don’t be afraid to pull the plug or sunset programs. A misaligned funding program
can chip away at the mission with too many strings attached or expectations that take the
organization off course. If a program is performing poorly, and everything was done to
increase awareness, cut it or streamline the benefits to only provide what is most valuable to
members.
Guilds must have an innovative approach toward realizing creative and diverse fundraising
opportunities. Fortunately, we work in an industry overflowing with entrepreneurial spirit. Don’t
fear failure, be prepared for success, remain innovative, and evolve alongside brewery
member businesses. Nonprofits can survive the test of time and a fluctuating industry
environment through building a varied portfolio of resources that increase the bottom line.
Dues & Membership
Fundraising for a guild often starts with multiple levels of membership and dues. Dues for each
class of membership are a subject of great debate among many guilds. Dues need to be high
enough to fund the activities of the organization, but not so high as to discourage
membership.
Remember, the more brewers involved in your guild, the stronger the collective voice will be.
In a state where most breweries are more or less the same size, a flat rate works and
discourages isolating one or two larger brewers. But, in a state where businesses range from
small brewpubs to large regional breweries, a sliding scale based on production is often used.
Likewise, associate, retail and enthusiast level dues should be set to encourage participation.
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Common Membership Tiers
Core/Voting Members (Brewery)
The Brewers Association bylaws define this class as follows:
[a] Packaging Brewers shall be classified as those professional brewing members that
sell 75 percent or more of their product outside of the brewery and are producing six
million barrels or less annually.
[b] Taproom Brewers shall be classified as those professional brewing members that sell
more than 25 percent of their beer on site, do not operate significant food services, and
are producing six million barrels or less annually.
[c] Pub Brewers shall be classified as those professional brewing members that sell more
than 25 percent of their beer on site, operate significant food services, and are
producing six million barrels or less annually.
Associate/Allied Trade
Beer industry partners (businesses providing goods and services to the brewing industry,
wholesalers, retailers, non-voting breweries) who sponsor the guild/guild events in return
for exposure, networking, advertising, and increased business relations with breweries.
Most generally used bylaws definition: Tradespeople and suppliers doing business with
the brewing industry or any individual, partnership or corporation in an allied industry or
endeavor may be admitted as a non-voting Associate member. An Associate will pay
minimum dues as set by the Board of Directors. An associate is eligible to be elected to
the Board of Directors but may not serve as an officer of the Association.
Guild benefits of allied trade members:
● A valuable supplier/vendor directory could be crafted with membership
information and provided to brewery members as a benefit.
● Breweries could organize co-operative supply purchasing of ingredients, tanks,
glass, etc. If a guild wishes to explore such arrangements, obtaining legal advice
to avoid possible pitfalls is essential.
● Suppliers could be given the option to pay to present product demonstrations at
guild meetings. These funds could be used to put on more professional meetings.
Additional allied trade benefits below. These could also possibly be keyed to the level
of sponsorship (financial investment).
● Listing/link on guild website.
● Usage of guild logo for promoting local craft beer.
● Discounts on guild merchandise.
● Opportunity to advertise on guild website.
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● Discounted conference registration.
● Complimentary festival tickets, and/or early entry.
● Participation in the process to identify retail accounts receiving complementary
festival tickets, where permitted.
● Logo placement on festival programs.
● Brewery hospitality sponsor at guild events.
Enthusiast Members
This membership tier allows craft beer enthusiasts to stay more connected to the
developments of the organization. This can also be an excellent source of foundational
funds as brewery members can provide benefits to these members.
There are no voting rights for enthusiast members, and they are not eligible to be
elected to the board of directors.
Perks for enthusiast members may include:
● T-shirt
● Newsletter
● Pint of beer (caution: some states don’t permit this)
● Pint glass
● Early festival entry or VIP hour (it’s not recommended to offer festival tickets)
● Discounts at breweries
● VIP tours and tastings
● Addition to a distribution list or forum
● On-line platform for promoting events similar to CraftBeer.com
● Notice of legislative alerts (similar to the Support Your Local Brewery program).
You can also use this enthusiast member list as a grassroots network for legislative
issues. They are your foot soldiers and will often contact their elected officials if
needed.
Example guild enthusiast programs:
● Illinois Craft Brewers Guild ImBIBE
● Michigan Brewers Guild Beer Nuts
● Montana Brewers Guild Brew Crew
● North Carolina Friends of NC Beer
Other Categories
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● Wholesaler/Distributor Partners
● Festival Sponsors
● Retailers
● Homebrew Clubs
● Breweries In-planning
Membership is the Foundation
As already noted, members are the heart and purpose of the organization, the reason the
guild exists.
While maintaining current members is important, organizations cannot retain their way to
growth. Guilds must strive to keep the members they have while also attracting new members.
Association members will forever come and go, and there will always be non-joiners, but as
members are the primary customer of the guild, member recruitment is the never-ending
project for brewers guild leadership.
Ideas to keep and increase membership:
• Conduct a listening tour and survey. Identify member needs and offer the resources or
solutions in the precise way they are needed. Survey, develop new resources, evaluate
these resources for value, repeat.
• Increase interactions. The more personal and frequent interactions a prospective or
current member receives, the more likely they are to feel served. Deepen their
involvement by empowering engagement at the committee and board levels.
• Give the marketing of guild membership a fair shake. Track efforts by total response.
Sunset programs that don’t work and build those that do.
• Reevaluate your dues.
o The value of a dollar decreases every year, so freezing dues slowly but inexorably
erodes the financial position of a guild.
o It may be time to increase or decrease dues. Depending on structure and roll
out, either could increase the bottom line, through additional dues, or additional
joiners. A more complex structure change from flat rate to per barrel may offer a
more level playing field for dues costs while increasing the total sum.
o Capture new dues with new membership categories within or outside of the
voting tier.
o Consider monthly or quarterly auto-debit payment plans.
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o Ensure the smallest member businesses have an attainable (read: affordable)
opportunity to be involved from the very start. They may grow and become
more substantial contributors to the guild through non-dues means (like hosting
fundraiser events or brewing beers for the guild’s benefit).
o Add an additional donation option to the various tiers of dues payments already
included with the transaction, and then offer an opt-out option for the donation.
Directly asking for donations has proven effective for guilds. If the transaction is
packaged up neatly, people appreciate the opportunity of simplicity and often
won’t opt out.
• Recruit active members and the guild board as ambassadors to campaign for guild
membership. Make it easy by offering talking points or an email to forward to
prospective members (these non-members are, after all, their peers and colleagues
within the industry).
• Enhance the member experience through modernizing communication, service
delivery, and program offerings. Offer automatic membership renewal. Make joining
the guild, conferences or events frictionless transactions – people want self-service
check out. If the guild does not take advantage of technology trends like frictionless
transactions, it’s going to be increasingly difficult to compete.
• Improve and increase networking opportunities and offerings for professional
development. Many guilds offer regional and monthly gatherings, annual conferences,
educational seminars at guild meetings and mentor programs.
• Promote members individually through recognition in publications or events.
• Incentivize membership. Offer member discounts for conference registration, make fest
booth participation exclusive to members, restrict online resources, member forum,
email distribution list, and valuable content to members-only. Some guilds offer a
discount to current members who recruit new members.
Generally, the larger the brewers guild, member base, and operating budget, the more time
can be dedicated to non-dues revenue sources, and the lower the reliance on membership
dues. There’s always time and resources necessary for implementation of any program, and it
is often more than expected – but the ROI can yield a higher than expected return.
Why Invest in the State Guild?
Why do breweries join their state’s brewers guild? The motives behind investing in guild
membership transcend just supporting the cause these days. With an increasingly challenging
market for selling craft beer, brewers join their guilds to change laws, defend against legal and
regulatory threats, network, gain professional experience, and increase business exposure –
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these motives have become increasingly more important. And all these reasons offer
opportunities for non-dues revenue development.
Expanding the outreach of fundraising programs outside traditional sources (dues,
conferences, festivals) has the potential to drive revenue far beyond the dues and beer
donations small business owners can afford out of their own bottom line.
Advocacy
BA Guild Leader Hill Climb
Industry defense is a key focus of the Brewers Association (BA). Each year, the BA organizes a
Hill Climb, where guild leaders, brewers, and allied trades are invited to attend pre-arranged
meetings with their states’ elected officials in Washington, DC.
The importance of establishing relationships with Congressional representatives and their staff
cannot be underestimated. Brewers guilds have a collective voice which should be heard on
national issues of craft brewing importance.
Guild presence in Washington D.C. is also essential for helping advance the interests of small
and independent breweries—the focus is to educate legislators on the economic, social, and
cultural contributions that small breweries provide to their communities.
Outreach to Legislators
● State legislature Hill Climb: Annual visits to elected officials in their state capitol offices
to educate them on the contributions of the small brewing industry and advocate for
small brewer interests.
● Grassroots Support: Consumer engagement wiht legislators through email/calling
campagins can be effective when promoting or opposing specific legislative proposals.
● Attend legislative committee hearings: Brewery owners telling their stories and testifying
on bills of interest can make a massive difference in the outcome of a legislative
proposal.
● Legislative tastings: Legislative receptions held at the state Capitol are a great way to
meet with a brewery’s home district legislators and staff, offering a place to talk in a
more candid, personal fashion.
● Legislator tours at breweries: Building relationships and personal connections with your
elected officials is arguably the most important government relations function your guild
can perform as a member of the craft brewing community.
Resource: Connect with Elected Officials
● Fundraising: Assisting members with fundraisers for elected officials.
Hiring a Lobbyist
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There’s a wide cost range for a lobbyist - some guilds pay $5,000 a month, while some pay
$5,000 a year—depending on what issues arise and the amount of required action. It’s an
expensive but important option.
Here are the comments of one state guild leader about the lobbyist on retainer for the guild:
“We have a lot of alcohol beverage legislation every year—about five to 10 different bills on
average. Our lobbyist and his firm identify each of those bills as they are introduced and track
them through the eight-month annual session. Each time any one of those bills is amended,
the firm identifies the amendments and we analyze together for threat analysis. The process of
identifying and tracking bills alone is a valuable service.
More importantly, our lobbyist is at the Capitol virtually every day (he has seven other clients in
addition to us). He is our eyes and ears in the hallways and gleans a huge amount of “intel”
talking with legislators, policymakers, staffers and other lobbyists. All of the state legislators
know him on a first name basis and know that he represents the craft brewing industry.
As much time as I spend at the Capitol working with legislators and staffers myself—there is no
way we could accomplish what we do without a lobbyist. There are many, many stories of
where having a lobbyist has paid off. In essence, the craft brewing industry in our state would
look very different if a lobbyist was not part of our effort.”
This is what another state guild President recommends when looking for a lobbyist:
“I can tell you that it has made an incredible difference having somebody who is looking out
for our interests at the Capitol, as well as giving us some much-needed guidance in our first
few years of being more actively involved legislatively. We feel there has been a huge
advantage being able to rely on someone who’s office (with taproom, by the way) is two
blocks from the Capitol building!
If I can offer one piece of advice, look for a lobbyist who is a beer geek…one who shares your
passion for craft beer! Ours was a big fan before we started working with him, and I have to
assume that there are others just like him in other states.”
This guild executive director was a former legislative official and caucus attorney. He chimes in
with these final thoughts on the importance of lobbyists:
“I know that lobbyists are seen by many as sleazy glad handers with big expense accounts
and few scruples. In my experience, that is not the case at the state level. The lobbyists I saw in
the halls of the State House were hard-working, honest people, building and maintaining
relationships with legislators. Get a good lobbyist, a professional with established relationships.
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Caveat: Make sure you have a specific understanding up front regarding fees and billing. If
you have a $10,000 lobbying budget, you might be surprised to receive a $30,000 bill after
session wraps.
Tip: If your lobbyist lobbies for several clients, that could be good news for you. Much of the
travel time and sit-around time (there’s lots of that!) would typically be split among the clients
but be sure to negotiate on this point up front.”
Economic Impact of Small Brewers
An economic impact study is one of many data points that may be helpful in telling your story,
along with production data, employment data, and other data related to craft brewing and
its economic effects. Guilds can use economic impact studies and economic data whenever
they are up against tax hikes and legislative bills that affect craft breweries, or more broadly as
part of telling the story of the craft brewing industry to legislators and the media. As a resource,
the Brewers Association produces data on the impact of the national craft beer industry on
individual states. These state numbers are based on industry-leading input-output software
IMPLAN. You can see the compiled economic impact data for each state and learn more
about the Brewers Association annual data here.
For many states, the Brewers Association numbers will be sufficient to demonstrate to elected
officials the importance of craft brewing businesses in the state. In certain cases, guilds may
want to partner with a state university or other organization to produce their own report.
Funding for a stand-alone report can come from state agencies such as economic
development boards or legislative committees. Advantages of a stand-alone state report
might be highlighting unique aspects of a state economy, or the ties that craft brewing has to
a particular industry of interest (tourism or agriculture for example). More about your state's
economic impact can be found here, and the Brewers Association is happy to be a resource
as you examine how to best tell your economic story.
National Guild Meetings
The Brewers Association affords guilds several opportunities to meet and network with
colleagues and BA staff and leadership.
At the annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC), the BA provides several guild-focused
educational sessions, open forum discussions, and space for individual state guilds to meet
during the conference. If your guild has a strong contingent of CBC participants, contact the
BA to arrange for a space to gather as a state.
The BA has also offered Guilds Leadership Summits biannually, giving guild leaders a retreat-
type space for networking and professional development. Contact the BA for more
information.
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Regional Guild Meetings
Regional guild gatherings also occur throughout the country, originally started by leadership
within the Midwest guilds.
Anywhere there’s an opportunity for multiple states’ brewers to descend upon one place for a
fest or event, these are great opportunities to also come together with the guild leadership
community.
These meetings are great opportunities for guild leaders to connect, network and share best
practices with their neighboring state associations. We’d like to see this level of
communication occurring more frequently across the nation.
Contact the Brewers Association if we can be of support in gathering your region’s guilds
together!
Promotion
Website
Promotion of a guild’s website is fundamental to communicating with membership and the
public about association activities and the importance of the state’s beer industry to the local
economy. Websites also provide a space for advertising sponsorships from associate
members, and to promote members’ beers and breweries to beer lovers within and from
outside your state.
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms help announce events, solicit need for
legislative support, receive member feedback, etc. You want to encourage all your members
to follow the guild and to retweet/repost all of your announcements.
Traditional Media
In partnership between the Brewers Association’s Craft Beer Program and the BA’s outside
media firm, we annually prepare the media outlet contacts databases for each state,
available upon request by a guild.
This database includes key contacts in general media, business media, and legislative affairs.
These lists have proven to be a valuable resource for guild efforts, whether it be in promoting
guild and guild member activities or educating the press on issues of importance to a state’s
brewing industry. The media can bring a wider awareness of potential legislative change
affecting a state’s brewers and the brewing community. Journalists and policy makers both
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appreciate coverage when a State Representative tours or hosts a town hall meeting at a
local brewery. Members of the media appreciate being included in your events and are often
eager to bring positive press to your brewers guild fundraisers. Got a new brewery opening
soon? Your state’s brewers win big at a local or national competition? Let the press know!
Print Material: Creating a statewide presence through print material like a brewery trail map is
helpful, and beer lovers love a tangible passport to carry around. That said, more guilds are
now employing digital assets:
Mobile Apps: Ohio, Vermont, New York
Guild Ale Trails: Maine, Vermont, Montana
Digital magazines: Michigan, Ohio on Tap
Guild merchandise: The old standbys: shirts, hats, mugs, etc.
Brand standards: When promoting a state’s beer and its breweries, a guild’s logo comes to be
recognized as a trusted representation of an important local association.
Guilds and supporting member breweries build the brand by placing it on festival banners,
case packs, and other promotional materials. The logo helps breweries to identify their beer as
made locally, creating local jobs, and supporting the local and state economies.
The Washington Beer Commission has made an outstanding guide for utilizing their logo: the
Washington Beer Brand Standards Guide. The guide was created to help state breweries most
effectively use the Washington Beer logo, determine best colors and fonts for their materials,
and keep consistent usage of the Washington Beer brand with all participating breweries.
From Eric Radovich, WA Beer Commission Executive Director: “With it, we hope to make it
easier for each of you [member breweries] to promote your product as a Washington-made
beer, attracting customers who value buying local, as well as building awareness of the high
quality ingredients, taste and production standards of our state’s great breweries.”
Blogs
Share the successes and challenges of your state’s brewing community with a wide-ranging
audience. Check out these examples of guild blogs:
California Craft Brewers Association
New York State Brewers Association
State, City and National Beer Weeks
This is a large undertaking, but when done successfully, can be a huge fundraising source and
promotional outreach for guilds.
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Has your state declared by proclamation a state craft beer week or passed a resolution
designating a beer month? This is often a great project that guilds can work on to develop
trust and build relationships within the association. As an example, in June 2023 the Michigan
Senate adopted Senate Resolution 66 designating July 2023 as Michigan Beer Month.
Great American Beer Festival® Guilds Pavilion
Each year at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF), guilds participate and pour unique
beers at the Guilds Pavilion. This pavilion provides a promotional and educational opportunity
for guilds to bring information on their state guild, state beer trail maps, and most importantly,
serve member brewery beers not otherwise available on the festival floor, to tens of thousands
of beer enthusiasts.
There are not many opportunities for brewers guilds to share about their initiatives and share
their members’ beers with 60,000 craft beer lovers.
Having a booth at GABF is also a benefit of membership brewery members—for participating
breweries it’s another beer they can pour that’s not at their booth, another chance to talk to
consumers. This pavilion is an immense opportunity for very small and resource-challenged
breweries that can’t make it to the festival with their own booth.
Education
The rapidly developing craft industry has brought an acute awareness of the need for industry
education. In some states, this has resulted in guild education opportunities, including
technical conferences and seminars for craft beer business professionals. These opportunities
support industry knowledge advancement.
What do you do to ensure your guild members comprehend the critical nature of speaking
with one voice?
How do you ensure these brewers recognize they are part of something bigger than
themselves, and act accordingly? Comprehensive and consistent education is crucial.
Actionable education and recruitment activities include:
● Hosting the state’s pioneer brewers or key industry rock stars to speak at meetings or
conferences about their experience opening breweries decades ago, and their
motives for staying unified throughout history.
● Inviting state regulators/alcohol beverage control agency reps/etc. to address current
state laws, the history of those laws, their purpose, and regulatory implementation. Q&A
is important here.
● Inviting state legislators to guild meetings/conferences
● Regular conference calls with a guild attorney for live Q&A
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● Offering regional guild meetings (guild road show!)
● Visiting new members in person
● Direct calls from guild board members to new members
● Newsletters (often with “Common Q&As”)
● Leveraging allied trade members
● Disseminating a “new brewery member guidebook”
Technical Brewing and Production Conferences
● Provide a forum for marketing, sales and technical issues affecting the craft beer
industry.
● Consider elements of good practice in the brewery and in the business.
● Highlight the importance of experience, mentorship, and further education.
Technical conferences offer an excellent opportunity for fundraising for the guild and are an
excellent opportunity for community education and networking. Offering membership
discounts provides a tangible benefit to the breweries in the state, which in turn helps boost
membership to the guild.
Specialty seminars supported by innovative and pioneering industry leaders undoubtedly
stimulate development and success. Interesting and informative perspectives pollinate across
the state’s craft community, bringing about positive evolution to our great industry.
Successful guild technical conferences consistently produce a beneficial contribution to the
guild’s membership and considerable value to the state’s entire craft industry.
As the organizer of the Craft Brewers Conference, the Brewers Association finds great value in
offering opportunities for our industry to network, collaborate, learn and advance. These local
offerings are affordable, immensely valuable events for our community.
Contacts
Your primary Brewers Association contacts for guild issues:
Pete Johnson, State & Regulatory Affairs Manager – general inquiries
P: 720-473-7661 E: [email protected]
Sam DeWitt, State Government Affairs Manager – legislative inquiries
P: 720-837-6935 E: [email protected]