Beerburg Brewing founder Trevor Nearburg is a Texas Hill Country native whose love of local flora inspires much of what he and his brewery do. And while some things like hops just don’t grow in Texas, all the other ingredients Trevor and his team use do come from the Lone Star State.
Beerburg has taken its love of local to the next level and participates in Beers Made by Walking, a get-to-know-your-local-ecosystem program inspiring an understanding and use of native plants. The program has grown in its 10-plus years and now benefits nonprofits near the participating breweries. This year, Beerburg went all-in and hosted its own Beers Made by Walking festival.
It’s no strange thing that Beerburg is hosting. Give their beer list a glance: a citrusy-spicy IPA brewed with horehound, mugwort, juniper, and beebalm; a golden ale infused with mugwort and sage for a smoky-lemony brew; a Mexican lager built from blue corn that takes on a deep, coppery hue and that has a bright sweetness to it. Wild stuff!
Want to get people talking? Help them make memories
Anymore, customers want memorable experiences. Businesses that cater to that desire stand to create culture and drive repeat business. To that point, Beerburg Director of Operations Stephen Wagner says the organic buzz leading up to the Beers Made by Walking Festival was palpable. The participating brewers, ticket holders — they couldn't wait for the day to come.
"They all got that feeling of not only are we making something really unique with flavors we never considered with ingredients we never considered, but it's all from here,” Stephen says. “That's honestly why it was a success — the buy-in from the community and like learning and discovering together is what made everybody really realize there's a 'thing' here."
When asked for his advice — what he would tell other breweries looking to create a draw — Stephen cuts right to it: Go hyper local.
"Be part of a community," he insists, matter-of-factly. "Don't fight for shelf space, even though, yeah, it's a little about shelf space. Grow together and learn together and support where you live and try to be more than just another IPA or pilsner factory."
Beerburg, Grandstand, and a commitment to real, local, goodness
Beerburg leaned way into the merchandising side of the festival with a commemorative glass and T-shirt, and they did what Grandstand always advises customers to do: Go with something more than just a logo! Both the shirt and glass were a hit with festival goers and will drive brand recognition and bring back good memories for a long time to come.
And, well before the festival took shape, Grandstand partnered with Beerburg to plan out and stock a merch area, and that addition has had a noticeable impact on the brewery’s bottom line.
“It's been huge,” Stephen says. “We've just seen a huge jump in merch sales since we got that up.”
When asked what sells best, he says it depends on the purchaser. Hats and T-shirts do well with first-time customers or customers passing through town. Regulars, though, tend to gravitate to more specialized items — disc golf discs, CamelBaks, specialty promotional items like openers, etc.
“We did a little bit of a spray-and-pray approach,” Stephen says of their first big merch order, laughing. “We got a lot of stuff all at once. It was a little overwhelming, but we've seen very clearly what people like and what they want.”
(Stephen had his Grandstand cart open during the interview, in fact, and was building another order.)
Grandstand is in it with you
Just as Beerburg leaned into the local angle and unique merch, Grandstand has leaned in, too. We were happy to be a sponsor of Beerburg’s Beers Made by Walking Festival. It’s a no brainer — we want our customers to thrive, and their passions are ours.
So, check out Beerburg’s inspiring social pages — especially their Instagram — and check back here for posts about Grandstand partners who are doing some truly amazing things.