The CMC loves sponsoring Club Career Treks!! We are excited to post this great recap of the Brewers Guild Trek to an AB InBev brewery in Fairfield written by Samantha Shiells!
On Wednesday, November 7, 2012, 4 MBA1s and 4 MBA2s traveled to the AB InBev brewery in Fairfield, CA to meet with its brewmaster, Scott Ungermann. This Career Trek was co-sponsored by the Brewers Guild and the CMC and was designed to enable participants to learn more about the “business of brewing”.
While touring the facility, the students asked questions of Scott, who provided insight into the brewery’s operations and processes. They observed all steps of the brewing process, from the raw ingredients through bottling, and gained insight into the impact of technological advancement in ensuring a quality, consistent product. After the tour, participants had the opportunity to sample some of the beers at various stages of production, experiencing first-hand the different flavor profiles produced by the processes described to them on the tour.
They also had the opportunity to discuss the brewing industry at a high level as well as AB InBev’s strategy in the marketplace. AB InBev maintains multiple brands across multiple different markets — domestically and internationally. This presents a host of challenges, from maintaining consistency in flavor at dozens of distributed breweries to managing shifting demand patterns across markets. However, AB InBev’s size is also a strength, as it gives it flexibility that smaller brewers lack; for example, to make up for temporary deficits in one production area with product shipped in from another.
The contrasts between small and large breweries were numerous. Aside from the sheer scale of the operation, one other notable difference was the level of technology used in the production and packaging processes. AB InBev’s brewery had a control room staffed by four people with computers monitoring every phase of the brewing process. Though we were surprised to learn that, even at Fairfield, some steps are still performed manually, much of the process is automated. Smaller breweries often lack this level of sophistication — partly because it is expensive and partly because it is not strictly necessary when producing smaller batch sizes. Finally, Scott shared his personal career path from student to AB InBev brewmaster.
After the trek, participants left with better understanding both of the brewing industry from a global perspective as well as of the operations of an individual brewery. Those students who had also participated in other Brewers Guild treks were able to contrast the AB InBev experience to what they had seen at smaller, craft breweries, gaining a fuller picture of the differences and similarities between breweries of various types.
The CMC can help provide funding for career-related club treks. If you are interested in learning more, please click here. Trek proposals can be submitted via this form.