Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Clark.
Hi Amanda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up here in Staunton, VA, born and raised, but it took moving away for me to really appreciate how wonderful our small city is! I left a year out of high school and moved down to Orlando, FL to go to film school, Full Sail University. I graduated 13 months later and then trucked it on out to Los Angeles, CA. Lived out there for 10 1/2 years working as a Post Production Supervisor on various TV shows like Fox’s 24, CW’s Gossip Girl, and HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. After feeling like I accomplished my goals out in “Hollywood” and finding myself more and more homesick every day, I finally decided to move back home. I hated being so far away from my family and the majority of my family were all still in VA. I moved back home in April of 2013 and Redbeard Brewing first opened its doors in June of that same year. I had worked part-time at various wineries out in CA and my first job back home was as the Events Coordinator at Bluestone Vineyard. But I had always liked beer and the craft beer world was really starting to boom here in VA. I wanted to see what it all was about. So found it perfect timing when Redbeard opened shortly after I moved back home. I got a part-time job here that December of the same year (2013) while still working at Bluestone, but then decided to take the leap and make beer my full-time job. Redbeard wasn’t hiring full-time at that time, so I took a “nine month hiatus” from Redbeard I like to call it, and worked full-time at Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton. I had always expressed interest though in wanting to come back to Redbeard once they were hiring full-time. Well, nine months later, I got a call from my boss, Jonathan Wright, saying they were now hiring full-time, and wondering if I was still interested. Ten years later I am still his full time manager today! I started out as just the Taproom Manager, but as my job evolved and I was involved in a little bit of all aspects of the business, I got promoted to General Manager. Now, a little over a decade later, I am still loving the craft beer world, love being a part of the amazing community that is downtown Staunton, VA, and love all things Redbeard! I am really proud of the quality beer that Jon makes, the amazing business that Redbeard has become, and all the giving we have been able to do through the various events we have had here over the years and continue to do!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It honestly was a pretty smooth road overall transitioning from LA back to here in Staunton. There were a few bumps in the road here and there, but overall everything just kind of fell into place. I was nervous at first, because my degree was so specific, film and video production, and the job I had in LA doesn’t exist here. So I was nervous about a job and the career path I would take. Lucky for me though, I was able to turn my love of craft beer and the whole brewery process into a full-time job! And it has been absolutely wonderful being back home with my family and I found my husband shortly after moving back home as well!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I wear many hats here at Redbeard, but one of my favorite parts of the job is the marketing aspect/graphic design. I run the majority of our socials, Facebook, Instagram, etc. I get to create the majority of our posters/flyers for our events, I get to help with the formatting all of our labels, after local artist, Craig Snodgrass, has finished the artwork. I take the artwork he gives us and I format it into the labels you see on all of our cans and our merch. I also love the event planning and am especially proud of our Groovin’ in the Garden Concert series. I get to book local bands (we have so many amazing local bands/musicians in this area!) that play outside in our Beer Garden during the warmer months, and we raise money for the Staunton City Schools. We have raised over $30,000 since this concert series started back in 2021!
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Buy our beer! LOL 🙂
We are always happy to help the community in any way we can, whether donating merch to various silent auctions, sponsoring various events, etc. We are also happy to host fundraisers and other various events here at the Taproom! We also started distributing our beer within the whole state of VA and Washington D.C.!
Pricing:
- Happy Hour Mon-Fri 6-8p = Half Price Pints!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.redbeardbrews.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redbeardbrews/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Redbeard.Brewing/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RedbeardBrewing
- Other: https://linktr.ee/redbeardbrewing
