Key Highlights
- Using BrewersInsight grain-to-glass brewery management software since November 2022
- Improved planning, communication, scheduling, and cost management in all areas of production
- Streamlined processes for 10 employees in its production facility
Lindsay Krahn is the VP of Operations for Dragan Brewing and Wine Company. She manages logistics planning, supplies, distribution, and marketing for the company’s brands, as well as a portfolio of craft beverages produced for other brands. To effectively run multiple areas of the business, Lindsay needs detailed data on everything happening in the brewery as well as high-level insights to guide better business decisions.
A unique craft beverage brand looking to grow
Dragan Brewing and Wine Company is a destination brewery offering a portfolio of its own beverage brands while also brewing for contract customers. As a craft brewery, Dragan Brewing needed streamlined operations to run more efficiently, saving the company time and money as it planned for future growth.
Inefficient processes slowing down a talented team
In the early days of Dragan Brewing’s operations, many of the company’s processes were paper-based or recorded on whiteboards. Little data was collected that could influence future planning or decision-making, and the existing processes weren’t effective for sharing information or tracking data over a longer period of time.
A solution focused on streamlined production
Dragan Brewing has partnered with BrewersInsight, using the system to streamline operations in its facility, collect data to drive better business decisions, cut costs, and increase efficiency across the entire production process. The two companies will continue to work together to ensure the BrewersInsight system meets the needs of this growing craft beverage producer.
“BrewersInsight allows us to work on solutions to problems we knew we had, but didn’t have any way to solve without data.”
Lindsay Krahn, VP of Operations, Dragan Brewing and Wine Company
Small brewery, big vision
Dragan Brewing and Wine Company is a St. Catherine’s, Ontario-based craft beverage producer brewing its own brands and contract brewing for a portfolio of customers.
Dragan Brewing operates out of a building acquired in 2020, with 10 staff, including a head brewer. The company has a significant local customer base and believes strongly in community involvement.
A new business with a relatively small staff, Dragan Brewing has big plans to grow while staying true to its vision of being a company that strives to do better and make a difference.
Crafting consistent quality
Crafting its own beverage brands while managing production for contract brewing customers quickly created a need for streamlined operations and careful data tracking at Dragan Brewing and Wine Company. As the company grew, it realized it needed to avoid common pitfalls of inventory errors, inaccurate costing, overlapping brewing schedules, and supply shortages.
“We were looking for a software solution to keep our inventory updated, to get a better idea of our costs, as well as organize our brewing schedule and ordering,” says Lindsay.
To hone its expertise in crafting its own brands and those of its contract customers, Dragan Brewing needed a solution that could support the company in managing production data. Doing so would help keep the brewery running efficiently, saving time and money.
Finding a partner to support its vision
When Dragan Brewing and Wine Company first discovered BrewersInsight, the company was looking for a solution that could make a measurable impact on its production and cost management.
Meeting with BrewersInsight, Dragan Brewing realized what it could gain with insights that accurately reflect everything from production to costs to brewing schedules. It was clear BrewersInsight was focused on streamlining production that could empower Dragan Brewing to make better decisions on costs and planning.
“BrewersInsight hit all the bases of what we were trying to set up and organize more efficiently through our team,” Lindsay says.
An accessible price point also made BrewersInsight an appealing option for Dragan Brewing, as the company could see how the system would drive cost savings through data. With a robust onboarding process and full support from BrewersInsight, it was easy for Dragan Brewing to confidently implement the system.
Valuable insights into every area of planning
BrewersInsight offers Dragan Brewing and Wine Company more effective ways to manage the production of the brewery’s own brands and the products of its contract customers.
“With BrewersInsight, we can get a quick snapshot of what’s happening in all aspects of the business through the same software,” says Lindsay.
Refining planning with accurate data allows Dragan Brewing to benefit from an iterative process with recipes and production steps, ensuring all trials are recorded and success is repeatable.
Streamlined processes and a more efficient schedule enable the company to decrease production times and identify opportunities to decrease the waste of resources. Valuable data insights regarding costs allow for better planning and greater savings.
“Communication is now more efficient for planning and scheduling, and having brewers, operations, and logistics work together,” Lindsay says.
Dragan Brewing also relies on BrewersInsight for data management for its own brands plus those of its contract customers. From tracking recipe versions to quality control, costing, and CFIA traceability, BrewersInsight is vital to Dragan Brewing’s ability to manage production data efficiently and streamline brewing operations.
Dragan Brewing now trusts BrewersInsight brewery management software with data collection during every step of the brewing cycle, recipes for every brew that goes through its production facility, inventory management, and costs.
Future growth on a solid foundation
With a quickly growing production facility, Dragan Brewing and Wine Company is already expanding its capacity to tackle a variety of new projects.
The company plans to use BrewersInsight to grow its capacity while driving more efficiency and stability in its production process. Keeping costs down allows Dragan Brewing to deliver consistent product quality while planning for future growth.
“We’re looking forward to using BrewersInsight for all the new projects we have coming down the line, as we increase the efficiency and stability of our whole process to make it more predictable,” says Lindsay.
The data insights offered by BrewersInsight will be valuable as the brewery continues to expand its product line, giving the company more confidence in its final products and inventory.
With BrewersInsight, Dragan Brewing is saving time on its full brew cycle and keeping operations running quickly and efficiently. The company looks forward to taking advantage of future cost savings as it continues to benefit from the system.