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One of the amazing things about the beer industry diversifying like it has
is that there are so many unique roles that simply didn’t exist before. And
today’s guest has one of them.
Dave Kahle, one of the rare Master Cicerones in the world is a specialist
at Breakthru Beverage, formerly Wirtz beverage, in Chicago. A few years
back, they decided to branch out from wine and spirits, and take on a role
as a craft beer distributor. To do that, they knew their sales force needed
a serious education, and when they went looking for someone to lead that
effort, Dave answered the call.
He works on the sales side, but his primary role is helping his salesforce
understand the ingredients, processes, and context of beer. He does this in
a variety of ways, both big and small, which you’ll hear about.
But he’s also one of the first people you’ll meet at Breakthru if you’re a
new brewery looking for a distribution partner. And that’s where Dave puts
both his palate and his former life as the owner of a popular bar to work.
He has a broad vision, and deep skepticism of many things he sees in the
beer industry today. And he tries his best to put that to work to benefit
the many partners he interacts with.
I like to remind listeners that when you’re talking to someone from the
distribution tier, they often can seem a bit vague sometimes — there’s good
reason for that. They answer to many different people. And it’s not easy
for them to keep everyone happy when there’s so many perspectives at work
in the industry. So don’t be too hard on him — rather, try to glean
something from the insights he’s so generously laying out there for us.
There’s plenty to go around. |