Episode 19 - Adam Vavrick - Beer on the Wall

🎙️Welcome to episode nineteen of Liquid Liner Notes! On this episode I chat with Adam Vavrick (@Adam.Vavrick), the Corporate Buyer and Business Development Manager for Beer on the Wall (@WeHaveGreatBeerEH).We start with how he became interested in craft beer, eventually working at Sam’s Wines & Spirits and then @BinnysBev after the purchase. We discuss being the beer manager at one of the largest beer shops in the Midwest during the time of exponential craft-growth. During his time at Binny’s he also oversaw the initial Goose Island bourbon county Black Friday release, with several to follow.Next Adam moved to Waunakee, Wisconsin, to become the Director of Sales & Marketing for @DrinkOctopi, a state of the art contract brewery. Missing Chicago, Adam moved back to the city, taking the Beer Director role at @PublicanChicago. Working at Publican gave Adam his first experience in a restaurant, further developing his love of the experiential side of beer. While there Adam got to collab on beers with the likes of @FirestoneWalker, help open the O’hare location, and be named one of @WineEnthusiast’s Top 40 Under 40 in 2017.Next Adam decided to go into the distribution business, founding Do Right Distribution Company in 2019. A boutique craft beer and cider distributor that focused on local Chicago breweries, as well as great European breweries from the defunct Shelton Brother’s portfolio. We talk about the adversity (physical, emotional, & financial) he faced during this venture, including a global pandemic. We also talk about finding his place in the industry again after closing the business.After picking up bartending shifts at Revolution for a short time, Adam joined Beer on the Wall as Corporate Buyer and Head of Business Development. Beer on the Wall is a boutique craft beer, wine, and spirits store with three suburban locations in Chicagoland. We chat about building a beer program across multiple locations, and what it means for him to be back in customer facing side of beer.Adam is also involved extracurriculars in the beer world, including being on the Board of Directors for the @BeerCultureCenter_, tasting with the Beverage Institute, and judging multiple global competitions.Additionally, we talk about Adam’s love of music and synths. Be it creating and documenting sounds, working as a project manager at @WaxTraxChixago, or flying to help reconfigure synths for TOOL.