Helltown Brewing – Mt. Pleasant, PA

Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week brought many positive things to not only our attention, but anyone who had the fortune to go and experience the events for themselves.  The most “pleasant” surprise for us, and a good many people I talked to, was the emergence of a brewery in Westmoreland County called Helltown Brewing Company.  Based in Mt. Pleasant, PA they derived their name from the nickname that the community gave the area during the Whiskey Rebellion.  Helltown is the brainchild of a small group of home brewers that turned their hobby into a full functioning brewing company in the spring of 2011.

Shawn Gentry (left) owner of Helltown Brewing Company with John King (right) a volunteer.

Shawn Gentry, owner and brew master of Helltown Brewing Company, is a University of Pittsburgh graduate whose background is in technology.  Shawn brews by a simple credo, “I’m just out to make great beer and hopefully people will like it.”  That’s how it should be.  Simple and concise.  Brewing is something that shouldn’t be done for the majority.  Craft beer companies, if they are good at what they do, can be successful without pandering to the swill gulping masses.

Normally we’re clamoring to get to the social media marketing end of ‘The Buzz,’ but we don’t believe that we have been so excited to talk about the beer prior to the social media in this column before, but we are.  Maybe it’s because we’re part of a very small community that has had the pleasure of drinking their beer, maybe we are rooting for an upstart like ourselves to make it big, or maybe because it’s just that damn good.  We have had a handful of their concoctions, while definitely enjoying and liking them all, one beer stands as a game-changer in southwestern Pennsylvania brewing.  Its name…Idle Hands.  It’s a down right great tasting double IPA, that has an aroma that can only be described as devilish (see what I did there?).    Anyhoo, it tastes as good as it smells and at 8% ABV, it’s no joke.  There aren’t too many double IPA’s that we would put in the Idle Hands category.  The only one’s we can think of right now would be Southern Tier 2XIPA, Dogfish 90 Minute, Stone Ruination, Pliny the Elder, and Bell’s Hopslam.

As you can tell, Helltown is very creative with not only the name of their company, but their beers have some pizazz as well.  “Idle Hands” is joined by the likes of “The Rapture,” “Insidious,” “Mischievious,” and “Devious.”  Combine the names with their logo and you have a winner.  Just seeing these beers on the shelf would make a consumer curious.  Shawn, unlike most beer makers, has a built in marketing campaign with the brilliant decision to name their beer Helltown.  We have no doubt that when the beer “bubble” bursts, Helltown will be left standing amongst the rubble.  How do we know?  They have reeeeeaaallly good beer.  It conquers all.

But how do they go nationwide???

Shawn, social media shall set you free!  Helltown has a relatively small following on Twitter, and an emerging presence on Facebook.  With a cult-like, hip name, people will want to follow just out of intrigue.  Very much like Finch Brewing Company in Chicago, to whom we dedicated a Social Media Buzz to late last year, Helltown has the opportunity to really reach a broad audience by manipulating the hottest thing going today…Social Media.

Follow Helltown to Find Out When They are Filling Growlers at the Brewery

With a few hundred followers on their Twitter feed, they have some work to do.  No worries though, we believe that they have all the correct ingredients for good beer and a thundering Twitter following.  Twitter can be kind to what people consider cool.  And Helltown is cool.  Engaging followers is paramount, and we believe Helltown will make the right decisions to take full advantage.

Facebook has twice the fans, and the same opportunity.  They’re doing a good job of keeping the public informed, and even had a “Name Our ESB Contest.”  It was an effective way to grab their followers by the “horns” (see what I did again?) and make Helltown a place they check daily for some good info.  They decided on “Extra Sinful Bitter” if you were wondering!

As with most businesses we encounter, Helltown is trying to make hay on Twitter and Facebook, but neglect the endless social media outlets available.  We would like to see Helltown branch out and take advantage of the other large social media sites to grow their business.

In just over a year, Helltown has really caught traction in the Pittsburgh area.  I know, that we’ll be shouting their praise from the rooftops and helping any way we can to get the word out.  LinXone Solutions believes that Helltown with be the bright red beacon for craft beer in southwestern Pennsylvania…But only time with tell.  MUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!

There’s something about summer time that puts us in a giving mood. Maybe it’s the birds chirping, maybe it’s the ability to enjoy a tasty craft beer on the porch on a warm spring night, maybe it’s the fact that golf season is about to hit full swing (yes, pun). Whatever it is, we’ve decided to pass on the giving spirit to all of you.

For the entire month of May, we’ve decided to up the anty. In two ways.

1) Any business that partners with LinXone Solutions for their online presence and Social Media Marketing needs will receive their first month FREE, regardless of the investment we negotiate! Just pay start-up costs. Contact us for more details!

2) REFERRAL BONUS HAS DOUBLED FOR MAY! That’s right, if you know any business owners or managers who are looking to amplify their web presence, send them our way and when they partner with us, we’ll ship you $100!!! That’s double our normal referral bonus. Be sure that anyone you refer to us mentions your name so we can hook you up with a Benjamin!

These bonuses are valid May 1st – May 31st.

In January 2012, the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford called upon myself and Jason Collins to provide some insight on how Social Media can be utilized for job searches and professional advancement. We produced the video below and it was shown as part of UPB’s Backpack to Briefcase event. We were extremely happy to partake in the event and look forward to contributing more in the future!

Enjoy the information and please contact us if you have any questions regarding how to leverage Social Media to your advantage!

BEHOLD! The video that is making business owners rethink their entire marketing strategy!

In this brief video, you will learn exactly why your business can’t grow if you’re not focusing your marketing spend on building a presence where your customers can find you. You’ll also discover why print-based mediums are suffering a quick death and rapidly being replaced by more superior options that reach people when they want to be reached, as well as connect with those people where they are spending their most time.

*NOTE: The Conspiracy Against Your Advertising Dollar is the first video series produced by LinXone Solutions at the launch of our company. Please ignore the next-to-last slide in Part 2 asking you to click on the website below.

Instead, opt-in to the box to your right for a FREE copy of “How to Increase Profits Using Inbound Marketing and Social Media” and get exclusive access to special LinXone Solutions offers and other fun stuff!

And now, enjoy your Feature Presentation!

With Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week in full swing, there’s been a lot of elements that have gone into making this 9-day event so popular and successful. Truly, the individuals behind organizing the entire scene deserve a massive ‘CHEERS’ for all the hard work and dedication they put into getting PCBW off the ground. The different brewing companies also have played a major role, making themselves available for tastings, promotions, and discussions at venues all over the city. Speaking of venues, PCBW could not have been successful if it weren’t for those places getting behind the craft beer movement and opening their doors to various events throughout the week.

Another great element of this event, and a prime example of the power of Social Media, has been what four little letters and a # symbol have done to amplify Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week and put it on the map.

#PCBW, the hashtag designated for tweets revolving around Craft Beer Week, has enabled fans, organizers, brewers, and attendees of the events to keep tabs on the happenings within the craft beer scene. By tagging a tweet with #pcbw, everyone, no matter what event they’re at, gets to share in the fun and excitement. In essence, one simple hashtag has pulled together numerous events and turned them into one enormous party!

Social Media was influential in the preparation of PCBW and has been just as vital as the week has drawn on. The planning committee had a great Facebook group set up that allowed constant interaction as the week took shape. Excellent publicity has come from the happenings and has been easily shared, tweeted and retweeted across Facebook and Twitter. And, as explained above, #pcbw has become a phrase that’s gained a stranglehold on our Twitter accounts, yours truly included.

With all the fantastic beers flowing and tastings going down daily, how does one keep track of all these consumables so they can be enjoyed again down the road? Yep, you guessed it…Social Media has the answer.

In an article I wrote earlier this week for Craft Beer Week, I mentioned Untappd, a smartphone app that allows you to follow breweries, bars, and restaurants, as well as “check-in” to the beer you are currently consuming. This app not only allows you to keep a running list of all the beers you’ve sampled, it lets you post comments, rate your beer’s quality, post a picture, and earn badges. Untappd even offers a badge for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week, which I delightfully earned last night…

If you’re like me and like to sample all the great craft beers out there, this app is perfect for keeping your libations in order so you can enjoy them again at a future time.

The buzz coming from Craft Beer Week has been nothing short of fantastic. Owners and bartenders of establishments we’ve frequented have said this week has been tremendous, with packed houses every night. Without question, the spotlight has been shined brightly on the craft beer culture of Pittsburgh, and one can only hope that popularity continues to grow at a rapid pace. Thanks to all the hard work of those involved in this week, and the awesome use of Social Media to pour additional, real-time buzz into PCBW, it’s safe to say Craft Beer Week is an event here to stay!

Next project: Craft Beer Month?!

With just a few days remaining in what has turned out to be a great week, it’s time to get out there and join the fun if you haven’t already done so! Check out the Craft Beer Week website to learn more about events you can attend. And, of course, for those actively tweeting and consuming, don’t forget to use the #pcbw tag on all your updates!

Cheers!

All Saints Brewing Company -  Greensburg, PA

This #PCBW Social Media Buzz takes us to Greensburg, Pennsylvania to a fledgling brewing company named All Saints.  Westmoreland County, PA is rich in beer history.  Boniface Wimmer who founded St. Vincent Seminary (now St. Vincent College) in the 1800’s, was known for brewing his Bavarian concoctions in the depths of the monastery.  William “Stoney” Jones, a welsh immigrant, founded Stoney’s Brewing Company in 1881, settling in Smithton, Pa in 1907.  Their “old world” brewing really hits a chord with the blue collar crowd located in southwestern Pennsylvania.  They recreated immigrant style brewing with their offerings, and still operate in Smithton to this day.  Most notably, Latrobe Brewing Company began in 1939 with the iconic Rolling Rock brand in Latrobe, Pa.  Latrobe Brewing Company was sold in 2006 to Anheuser Busch, where it is being horribly utilized and exiled.  Great job as usual A.B.!

To commemorate Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week, we wanted to feature a local brewing company that is looking to take full advantage of the inaugural event.  If you are planning on attending any of the events slated for this week, you’ll probably run into this craft brew company on more than one occasion.  This leads us to the latest offering from Greensburg, Pa…All Saints Brewing Company.  Jeff Guidos, who began his Westmoreland beer stint with a chemistry degree from St. Vincent College and then with Red Star Brewing in Greensburg (now closed), is the head brewer there.  Jeff has won awards for his beer and looks to make the same impression with All Saints.  They currently provide 8 offerings, from IPA to barleywine, filling most of the predominant beer categories.  Their beer can be found at many local establishments in the Pittsburgh Metro area, including two of the areas favorites, Mad Mex and The Headkeeper.  The founders of LinXone Solutions had the privilege of encountering All Saints at the private beer tasting just yesterday at Dive Bar and Grille in Wexford.  We encourage you to go out, especially this week (Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week) and give their beer a try.

All Saints at Dive Bar and Grille #PCBW

I know!  I know! The beer isn’t the only reason we’re here.  How do they stack up online???  How’s their social media presence?  What’s their website like?  Let’s do this!  Let’s start with the website.  http://www.allsaintscraftbrewing.com For a fledgling beer company, their website is, well, awesome!  The appearance fits a brewing company called All Saints perfectly.  The tabs at the top carry a halo that hovers over whichever one your mouse is on.  There are beer and religious icons located at the top of the page and the text is old English style print.  It all fits.  We dig it!

Now on to social media, All Saints is just getting off the ground in their social media quest, so we’ll go easy on ‘em.  They feature the ‘big two’ social media outlets on their website Facebook and Twitter.  Hopefully they will expand that in the future…Youtube, Pinterest, etc… Their Twitter feed is young, which is understandable, but my biggest complaint (which is an easy fix) is that as nice as their website is, they have no background art on their Twitter page.  Any company should have professional background art on their page, not a Twitter default, especially when the website is as attractive as theirs is.  Beth Vreeland is their Twitter guru, and has been doing a pretty good job at keeping up with their followers.  She answered LinXone Solutions back very quickly, and was professional and precise in our conversation.  Thanks again, Beth.  I do hope you’re prepared for when it really takes off though, and All Saints has thousands of followers.  We hope you have your typing fingers ready!

Let’s check out Facebook.  All Saints has created a quick, respectable following on Facebook.  It is being used nicely with pictures and precise updates.  Unlike Twitter, it has branding with their cover picture and profile picture.  Even though they don’t have a brew pub, they definitely promote their hours of operation for tastings and growler fillings on Facebook.  Overall, they’re doing a nice job on there…Keep up the good work!

Going forward, we’ll be interested to see how All Saints branches out with other social media outlets.  Producing some goofy spots on Youtube and getting active with Pinterest may be some ideas for the future.  They’ve done a good job at creating some activity with their young company.  We wish them the best as they go forward.

Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week #PCBW should really help them get their beer noticed and appreciated.  We hope that all the local brewers will benefit from this inaugural event and annually for years to come.

If you are a friend, fan, follower, or acquaintance of us here at LinXone Solutions, you know we are passionate about three things: Sports, Social Media, and Craft Beer. Today, we want to shine the spotlight on two of those passions and how they’ve come together in celebration for the next nine days. Unless you consider drinking craft beer a sport (and no one would blame you if you did)…then we’ll be discussing all three.

April 20th thru 28th marks the inaugural Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week in the Steel City, a town well-known for its blue-collar work ethic, unwavering devotion to sports, and soon, unequivocal love of craft beer.

Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week was an idea born to raise awareness of craft beer in the Pittsburgh area. According to the Craft Beer Week website, this 9-day event will highlight the Pittsburgh region’s craft beer culture, expanding the reach of craft beer through education, collaboration, cooperation and responsible libation.

Over the past several years, the popularity of craft beer has risen to dizzying heights thanks to consumer demand for an alternative to yellow, fizzy bitterness. There comes a time in every person’s life when they must demand more from their beer. Eventually, silly gimmicks like bottles with spiraled necks and color-changing mountains lose their luster when the product they house is boring, watered-down, and flavorless.

Craft beer drinkers seek that perfect blend of flavor, hops, smoothness, and overall satisfaction when they tap into an India Pale Ale (IPA), Porter, Bock, Stout, Lager, etc. Think of how avid wine aficionados sample different wines in an effort to find their next favorite. It’s the same with a good craft beer, but only a fool would spit a chocolate stout into a metal bucket.

Ever wonder how much goes down in the Social Mediasphere in a single minute?

Wonder no more! Check this out…it’s a little ridiculous!

*infographic courtesy of Social Jumpstart

I was watching an episode of ‘The Sopranos’ last weekend and I looked on as Meadow pulled up a gangster website to show Anthony Jr. Tony’s “other family.” I had to laugh. It made me remember what the Internet used to be and how far its come in such a short time. It’s impossible to even draw a parallel.

Today, the World Wide Web is social...in every aspect of the word. Everything from managing a brand’s reputation to supplying elite customer service to commenting on the release of a new movie are all intertwined and share the same common denominator: conversation.

The following infographic is a superb illustration of the absolute force the Internet has become.

I love a good blog post as much as the next guy. But there’s something to be said about the rise of visual satiation on today’s World Wide Web.

In an on-demand, on-the-go world, there’s only so many minutes in a day for us to consume and absorb all the information and entertainment we crave. Therefore, if we can take in that info in half the time, why wouldn’t we take advantage?

You’ve seen video take over the ‘net, with YouTube ruling the realm. Now, images, pictures, and infographics are just as big, if not bigger, of a phenomenon.

That’s right, the world’s gone ‘pin-sane!’ I don’t think anyone can deny that Pinterest has hit the Social Media world with as much impact as both Twitter and Facebook, and its popularity is rapidly spreading to online enthusiasts/junkies in epic proportions.

Pinterest is smart. It’s innovative. It’s easy. It allows its users to share and organize photos they find across the Internet on a particular board they set up and enables easy access at a later time. It’s the perfect site for those planning a party or big event, redecorating their home, looking for the next great recipe, planning their next destination vacation, getting an infographic in front of thousands of viewers, sharing a fantastic sports play, and much more.

Are you a business wondering how to leverage the power of this uber-popular network? Why not create an visual product catalog of your goods and services that gives Pinterest users an eye-popping view of how you can help them? Or tease a new product launch? Or share pictures from your latest trade show? The possibilities are limitless.

Check out these stats!

Here’s 5 more reasons Pinterest is so damn popular:

1. Temporary Exclusivity - With a user-base growing rapidly by the minute, Pinterest is still a network in which you need an invite to join. Or, you can sign up and wait until you receive notification saying you’re “in the club.”

2. Great Place to Meet the Ladies - As shown in the infographic above, women outnumber men 68.2% to 31.8% on Pinterest. I was even asked once by one of my female friends, “MEN use Pinterest too?!” Yes we do…and that percentage is sure to shift and most likely pull closer to even when more males realize the benefits of Pinterest.

3. Ability to Create Online Digital Product Catalogs for Businesses - As I mentioned before, putting together an visual product catalog for your customer base on Pinterest is a great new way to show off the goods.

4. Takes Planning to a Brand New Level - No matter what the event or occasion, you can rest assured Pinterest has your back when it comes to organizing creative ideas you find during your web browsing.

5. There’s Something for Everyone – When you consider the popularity of social networks, the biggest common thread is the ability to satisfy everyone in some way, shape, or form. No matter what you’re into, you can personalize your pin boards, gather, and share what you’re most passionate about.

Come Pin With Us! Check out LinXone Solutions on Pinterest