Craftsworks’ beer sales are calculated at between 15 percent and 20 percent of the company’s overall sales.2013 AWARDS:* Gold – Robust Porter – Rock Bottom La Jolla, Calif.* Silver – Baltic-Style Porter – Rock Bottom King of Prussia, Penn.* Silver – Czech Pilsner – Gordon Biersch Rockville, Md.* Bronze – English-Style Brown Ale – Rock Bottom La Jolla, Calif.* Bronze – Irish-Style Red Ale – Rock Bottom La Jolla, Calif.Source: CraftworksBig River awards:* Big River – Rocket Red Ale – Gold award in 2003 from the Great American Beer Festival* Big River – Sweet Magnolia Brown Ale – Gold award in 1998 from the Great American Beer Festival* Big River – South Side Pilsner – Silver award in 2007 from Great American Beer Festival* Big River – Iron Horse Stout – Silver award in 1998, 2002 and 2004 from World Beer Cup, Bronze in 2000 from Great American Beer Festival* Big River – Rocket Red – Bronze award in 2011 from Great American Beer Festival* Big River – Espresso Stout – Bronze award in 2004 from World Beer Cup
Chattanooga-based Craftworks’ cup is running over, as the brand prepares to stuff a handful of awards into its already packed trophy case.
The company, which went home with five medals at the Great American Beer Festival, also saw its Rock Bottom brand winning recognition as the Brewpub Group of the Year as well as Group Brewer of the Year. But the awards represent more than just a pat on the back for its network of brewers. As a business that depends on craft beer sales to bolster its bottom line, awards are a key part of each restaurant’s recipe for return customers.
“If you think about it, we are one of the largest, if not the largest company-hiring brewers in the entire country,” said Stuart Melia, vice president of beverage for Craftworks. “If you go to some of the largest craft organizations, as big as they are, they’ll have just a master brewer and some brewers, but we have 75 full-time brewers on staff across the country brewing beer.”
That’s an expensive proposition, Melia acknowledges, but it’s worth it. The company’s research shows that customers prefer fresh-cooked food and fresh-brewed beer to the alternative, even if it costs a little more to create. Plus, the network of brewers across the country allows Craftworks to come up with homegrown beer, some varieties of which turn out to be award-winners.