Welcome to our Team: Craig Lanzillotti
A hearty cheers as Craig Lanzillotti joins the Maine Brew Bus team as our very first Road Team lead. Find out more about his important role in promoting our tours throughout New England.
But first, some background…
We learned very early on how important it was to market our business out of state. With so many people coming across state lines simply for the great Maine beer and other craft alcohol, it only made sense to travel to where they live and let them know about tours on The Maine Brew Bus.
Over the past couple of years we have attended dozens of beer festivals, travel shows, and food and beverage events in all New England states. We haven’t ignored Maine either, appearing in 10 different events all over our home state.
Our Road Team with our display at an outdoor festival last year.
A beer festival is our version of a trade show that other industries rely on for leads and sales. The participants that attend these festivals often pick the ones close to their homes, but other times they are traveling some distance and perhaps even staying overnight in that community to be safe. They are spending money to attend these events for the ability to enjoy a variety of great craft beer from New England and beyond.
Our focus at these events is to set up a professional display booth and promote the idea of visiting Maine and specifically Portland. And if these people can be convinced to come to Portland for weekend or longer, we want them to also consider taking a ride on the #1 TripAdvisor Tour and Activity in Portland.
It was not uncommon to find Maine summer residents enjoying the fall Cape Cod Brew Fest, or graduate students from Yale in New Haven, CT who were planning to be in Portland in a couple of weeks. It really seems that most people already have a connection or an interest in Maine.
Our plan is to participate in even more of these events this year, especially in Massachusetts. Often these events are occurring simultaneously on a Saturday, so we needed to find a way to have us literally in two places promoting while we are running our six daily tours in Southern Maine at the same time.
We have formed a Road Team, a group of interested fans, family members, and past guests who will assist us in setting up our display booth and talking about our tours to future guests at these events.
And we are pleased to announce we have appointed Craig Lanzillotti, RN, BSN as Road Team Lead to help us to coordinate these efforts.
Craig is from the Boston area, and is already immersed in the craft beer scene there. He is a founding member of The Kilted Beer Men, two guys that enjoy good beer. Along with his cousin Bart, the KBM crew of two helps to support small and medium size breweries with extra staffing at tastings and events throughout Southern New England.
Craig has been a guest on two different tours of ours. He also supported us at two events last year, the Maine Brewers’ Guild Summer Beer Festival and the Craft Brew Races Cape Cod. And he will be visiting Portland this weekend, riding along on yet another tour and traveling around the area with me getting to know some of the other players in our craft beer scene.
Craig running our Wheel of Brew Trivia at the Cape Cod Brew Fest in Falmouth, MA.
He has completed nursing school, and also he has recently passed his board certification to become a Registered Nurse.
Get to know Craig a little bit as he tells you more about himself in his own words…
“Born and raised in Boston, MA, I have spent many years exploring the best beer and beer experiences New England has to offer.
While I was introduced to micro brews at a young age, I truly started my love of beer in college at Johnson & Wales in Providence where I was perusing a degree in culinary arts. Part of the program included how to brew beer and learning the different styles. I went on to graduate with a bachelors in nutrition and worked as an inpatient nutritionist for many years, always enjoying craft beer and trying to keep up with the quickly growing beer industry.
When I decided to change careers and become a nurse, I started managing a restaurant that only served New England craft beer. My love for beer quickly became a passion and when I left to start school fulltime I knew I needed to find a way to stay in the industry. My cousin and I started The Kilted Beer Men soon after and we haven’t looked back.
“Know better beer” has become my motto and the Maine Brew Bus really is the epitome of that. Helping people enjoy new beer while teaching them about the industry, brewing process, and history is the essence of what the Kilted Beer Men try to do.
While the path has not been direct, I have enjoyed the journey that has lead me to working for the Maine Brew Bus and to be able to turn my passion and hobby into a fun career.”
Join Zach and me in welcoming Craig to The Maine Brew Bus team! We are very happy to have him join us in this important capacity. Follow Craig on Twitter: @KiltedBeerMen
Craig slinging beers for Woodstock Inn and Brewery at the Beer Summit Winter Jubilee last year in Boston. Photo by FestPics.com
And if you see me around town with a man in a brand new kilt this weekend, please be sure to grab a beer with us and say hi. Cheers!
Don Littlefield is the Assistant Principal of The Maine Brew Bus, and he is very pleased that Craig accepted this assignment. He enjoyed a Foundation Brewing Company Epiphany Maine IPA while writing this post. Twitter: @BeerinME