EPISODE · Apr 23, 2026 · 41 MIN
#92 Ralph Mandarino: Necromantic Beers in a Gluten Filled World
from Serves You Right · host Andrew Roy
If you're thinking about starting a craft brewery, or you've been in one for years, you may want to rethink the conventional playbook. Most founders assume great beer builds a great business. The real game is experience design, distribution strategy, and building a category others have written off. Ralph Mandarino of Necromantic Brewing Co. figured this out the hard way, launching a dedicated gluten-free, horror-themed craft brewery on Long Island during COVID with no roadmap, no precedent, and no room for error. This episode is the missing insight for anyone in the beverage industry who thinks differentiation starts and ends with what's in the glass.Expect to Learn:Why there are only about 20 dedicated gluten-free breweries in the entire world...and what that gap means for someone willing to fill itThe single mindset shift that separates breweries still standing from the ones that closed after 8–10 years in businessHow Ralph discovered that his actual job has almost nothing to do with brewing beerThe counterintuitive location strategy that turns a competitor's wait line into your walk-in trafficWhy distributors resist gluten-free products, and the self-distribution move Ralph is using to build leverage before they come knockingLinks:InstagramNecromantic's Eventbrite Service starts now.Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTubeI talk to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in bars. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess that can be a life working in bars, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!Classic Episodes You May Like:Doug Frost MW MSJeffrey MorgenthalerET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on IntoxicationAndrew Hurley of Vegas.WineChris Tunstall of A Bar AboveTony Abou-GanimBobby "G" GleasonAs always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.Cheers
What this episode covers
If you're thinking about starting a craft brewery, or you've been in one for years, you may want to rethink the conventional playbook. Most founders assume great beer builds a great business. The real game is experience design, distribution strategy, and building a category others have written off. Ralph Mandarino of Necromantic Brewing Co. figured this out the hard way, launching a dedicated gluten-free, horror-themed craft brewery on Long Island during COVID with no roadmap, no precedent, and no room for error. This episode is the missing insight for anyone in the beverage industry who thinks differentiation starts and ends with what's in the glass.Expect to Learn:Why there are only about 20 dedicated gluten-free breweries in the entire world...and what that gap means for someone willing to fill itThe single mindset shift that separates breweries still standing from the ones that closed after 8–10 years in businessHow Ralph discovered that his actual job has almost nothing to do with brewing beerThe counterintuitive location strategy that turns a competitor's wait line into your walk-in trafficWhy distributors resist gluten-free products, and the self-distribution move Ralph is using to build leverage before they come knockingLinks:InstagramNecromantic's Eventbrite Service starts now.Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTubeI talk to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in bars. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess that can be a life working in bars, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!Classic Episodes You May Like:Doug Frost MW MSJeffrey MorgenthalerET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on IntoxicationAndrew Hurley of Vegas.WineChris Tunstall of A Bar AboveTony Abou-GanimBobby "G" GleasonAs always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.Cheers
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#92 Ralph Mandarino: Necromantic Beers in a Gluten Filled World
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