Golden Gate BrewTours: 2011 Year in Review

They always tell you to pick a job where you do what you love.  Well, if I can get paid money to drink beer I think I’m doing it right.

A year ago, Ryan and I were preparing for our first tour, not sure what to expect for 2011.  Having received the first Innovative Start-Up Business award from a group of Claremont McKenna College alumni we were excited to take this opportunity and put it towards something that we love to do.

With about a year of planning behind us, we couldn’t wait to see how the first tour would turn out.  From young to old, everyone enjoyed the day’s adventures of new beers, meeting the brewers, and seeing huge barrels and mash tuns at all the breweries.  The tour was a success and we knew we would be putting on more.

First Tour - at Lagunitas

With the first tour past us, we offered public tours once or twice a month, continuing to make the tour a better experience every time.  We were fortunate enough to be featured on Thrillist in February, resulting in us selling out our next 2 breweries very quickly.  Not much time after, we were also featured on KGO Saturday morning talk radio, with Rich Walcoff.

CMC Alumni Tour

The rest of 2011 flew by, hosting birthday parties, alumni tours, and expanding to visit more breweries in SF as well as the North Bay.  We have also added more BrewTours souvenirs now including T-shirts, Brewtours bottle openers, magnets and pint glasses.

BrewTours Pint Glass

Below are some 2011 BrewTours stats:

• 2,535 – number of beer tastings provided in 2011
• Texas, Arizona, Washington, and Colorado – not all of our customers are local, many are tourists!
• 51 – different beers tasted over 2011 on our tours
• Breweries visited: Marin Brew Co, Lagunitas, Moylan’s, Rogue Ales, Triple Voodoo, Thirsty Bear, Speakeasy

Tim the Brewer @ MarinBrewCo

So, what’s to come for 2012?

• A special event for SF Beer Week.
• More beer festivals
• A few super secret projects…expect an announcement in January/February.
• Hiring beer tour guides!  Email eric@goldengatebrewtours.com if you’re interested.
• Exclusive Golden Gate BrewTours beer packages
• Lots more public and private tours

Thanks for all your support! If you’ve been on our tours share your photos with us and spread the word to your friends.  Here’s to drinking more good beers in 2012!

Cheers!

Eric and Ryan