GUINNESS BREWERY AMBASSADORS

Because the Guinness brand is dedicated to quality and has such a rich history, the company knew it wanted to provide customers with equally rich experiences, so they hired Guinness Brewery Ambassadors (GBAs) to cover various territories throughout the United States. Ryan Wagner, covering five states, had to pivot to direct his attention to the new $90 million brewery in his own backyard. “As a Guinness Brewery Ambassador, it’s my job to understand and protect the brand,” explains Ryan. “But I also consider myself a storyteller–engaging, entertaining, and educating others. It’s a special job, and I consider myself very lucky.”

With the development of the brewery, of course, Ryan’s responsibilities also expanded. “I now handle training for our entire internal staff and have taken the lead on the brewery’s beer quality program.”

If all this sounds a bit daunting for just one man to take on, Ryan has had a bit of help. Enter Micro Matic, a leading global supplier of draft beer and other drink dispense systems for breweries and retailers for over 50 years. “With my role changing so significantly, I’ve been fortunate to work closely with Micro Matic, the preferred equipment supplier of Guinness,” Ryan says.

DESIGN AND INSTALLATION BEGINS

The Guinness Open Gate Brewery’s location was originally called the Maryland Distilling Company. It opened following prohibition in 1933 and was used for distilling and housing barrel-aged and bottled spirits. So, working within the confines of a small 80+ year old building, Micro Matic had their work cut out for them from the beginning. “It was amazing what they did given the small environment they had to work with,” says Ryan.

After months of consultation with the building architects and the team at Guinness, Micro Matic installed a variety of custom towers—two towers in the main event room and a third 20-tap tower on the third floor of the brewery’s restaurant, resulting in an incredible 82 taps. Micro Matic made many of the lines on all three towers draw from a single keg, meaning that the brewery wouldn’t need as much cold room space since they’d be drawing from single kegs. More importantly, they wouldn’t be sitting on beer for any length of time. “The restaurant is only open four days a week, for example,” says Ryan. “So if we were pulling from individual kegs, the restaurant’s beer would have been sitting there for four days. By doing it the way they did, Micro Matic helped assure our customers would only get the freshest, highest-quality beer.”

THE MICRO MATIC AND GBA RELATIONSHIP

​​​​​​​Micro Matic played a significant role in Ryan’s onboarding into the world of Guinness. “The workshops that Micro Matic does at its locations around the country are very immersive. They provide a clear understanding of draft systems and draft components and beer quality.”

This knowledge has proven invaluable, because as Ryan puts it, Guinness is one of the most finicky beers in the world. “We’re constantly looking for ways to improve our delivery system, and there can be challenges. The guys from Micro Matic have all been rock stars at troubleshooting and diagnosing problems. They’re incredible partners—they’ve visited multiple times, and they’re incredibly responsive to questions or concerns.”

To highlight just how extensive Micro Matic’s knowledge of beverage dispense systems is, he recalls a time when a representative pointed out that a location’s height above sea level could affect draft draw systems. “Something as seemingly innocuous as that...” he laughs. “I was struck by how vast their knowledge is.”

STAFF TRAINING AND THE NEXT GBA

A lot of what Ryan learns from Micro Matic can be incorporated into his own training that he now does within the brewery. “Some of the stories I’m really proud of are how we’ve been able to develop members of our staff, like our barbacks. A lot of these guys had minimal experience but have ascended to the level of bartender because they showed the initiative during training.”

One success story is Amelia Youhn, who began as a tour guide shortly after the brewery opened and is currently in the GBA program. “It’s a beautiful—and intense—program, but that just shows how passionate everyone is about the company’s heritage and the beer’s quality,” says Amelia.

David Green, a trainer with the Micro Matic Dispense Institute, was also on hand to pass on some Micro Matic equipment knowledge to the trainees. “I already knew what everything was, what it was called, what it did, and if something was wrong,” Amelia says. “But if something was wrong, I didn’t know how to fix it. He was instrumental in bridging that gap.”

Amelia is also quick to share another story that highlights the overlapping philosophies of Guinness and Micro Matic. “During training, I noticed at Micro Matic that there is a sign that hangs in their Custom Tower Design Center that says, ‘If you can dream it, we can build it.’ And at Guinness, there’s a mural on the keg room wall that says ‘Anything you can dream up, we get to brew up.’ I think it speaks to how both companies are aligned culturally, dedicated to creativity and quality...you can hand Micro Matic the most difficult working environment. They are going to give you a creative, quality system every time.”

“I don’t think it’s an accident that a lot of the senior executives at Micro Matic are former Guinness guys,” adds Ryan.