A word with Steel Toad Brewing’s COO Richard Goodine

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See our coverage of Tap & Barrel’s January 2018 acquisition of Steel Toad Brewing, by Lynn McIlwee

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On July 27, 2017, I sat down with Steel Toad Brewing’s COO Richard Goodine during preparation for the photo shoot we held there for our Fall 2017 magazine cover. Below is some of the audio from our interview. Given how close that date was to the timing when Steel Toad’s broker was apparently looking for a buyer, the conversation is quite interesting in hindsight.

What’s Brewing is grateful to Richard for the time he afforded us that evening, for his insightful discussion, and for kindly hosting our photo shoot. Steel Toad Brewing was a fantastic place to shoot our magazine cover, and the staff and management demonstrated excellent hospitality.

 

A word with Steel Toad Brewing’s COO Richard Goodine: listen now

Topics discussed:

• What it’s like running a brewpub with a large seating area and a clientèle that’s looking for variety
• Comparing with neighbours Tap & Barrel and Craft Beer Market
• Why Steel Toad has prominently featured other beers alongside its own brewhouse’s output
• A candid note about traffic vs. capacity
• New initiatives that were planned and coming down the pipe as of Summer 2017 [launching their  first packaged product via Faculty Brewing, and their Brewmaster Series]

Key Quotes:

• “We take a bit broader approach. We recognize, yeah, we’re making beer, but we’re also a 250-seat restaurant.”
• “The objective is to have [people] taste our beer and love it, but also, if you go to a place on a regular basis, maybe sometimes you just want something a little bit different”.
• “We can expand the beer selection in such a way that people walk in the door and go, ‘you have what?'”
• “I feel that our beer…is good enough that we’re not afraid to have somebody else’s beer here on tap”.
• “If this room is at maximum capacity–whichit’s not, if I’m going to be really honest–we wouldn’t be able to keep up” [by supplying beer only from the brewhouse on site]
• “There is really good chatter [about beer in the craft beer enthusiast community], and it’s serious and intelligent, and really passionate when it comes to beer”.

 

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