EP-079 Lisa Zimmer of MillerCoors

Today’s guest is one of those people that many industry folks know and love, and drinkers, depending on who you rub elbows with online, maybe have encountered on Twitter from time to time. She has a job that only really exists in a large brewery — at one time it was called, the “digital and consumer outreach specialist” for example — but her influence is so much broader than the title implies. In Chicago, she’s known as the woman who started the Brewers Unleashed event series where brewers from across the MillerCoors family of breweries come together downtown in the Miller Coors headquarters bar overlooking the city, and share some of their latest and most interesting beers. She’s used that event as a way to bring in beer geeks, brewers, and other professionals together for a good time. She’s known as one of the most visible personalities on what beer fans call “beer twitter” — where she converses with colleagues and competitors, makes fun of the more absurd parts of beer culture, and generally tries to keep everybody looking up the it’s just so damn easy to get down. And in larger industry circles, she’s known as an innovator for the unique ways in which she’s helped shape the culture at Tenth & Blake, MillerCoors import and craft division. She has a key role there in helping the team stay connected and engaged in craft beer, in all beer really, thorough education, hands-on home brewing challenges, and ensuring they get out into the world and experience the ruckus of craft beer first hand. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know a number of folks that Lisa has brought in to the beer-loving fold. And about a year ago Lisa was named on of 26 innovators making a difference in beer by All About Beer magazine, alongside people like Ray Daniels of Cicerone, Mariah Calagione of Dogfishhead, Bob Pease who is now President of the Brewers Association and many others. So while Lisa has been a friend for some time now - we had yet to dig in and record an interview. As she transitions from her current role at Tenth & Blake into a new role at MillerCoors, this seemed like the perfect time to look back on a greta start in a new industry for her, and what she’ll be up to next.