The program that Laffler, and Tom Korder, the former innovation manager now launching Penrose Brewing in Geneva, Illinois, left behind some pretty big shoes to fill. "When Tom and John left," says Siegel, "Brett Porter [Goose Island's Brewmaster] had an opportunity to look at these roles and re-structure a bit." And with the program increasing production at such a high rate, it took a growing team to keep up. "We're trying to rotate in a lot of new guys we've hired. We start a lot of our crew in the barrel work now. Before they get trained in the brewhouse and the cellar, the come in as interns, and the barrel program is our most immediate need. We need guys who can put in 50 pounds of of fruit today, and clean barrels tomorrow. It's a huge effort."

Some of the talent took process knowledge with them. But like any business focused on growth, the processes must iterate as well. "We may have made a great beer before, but it might have been horribly inefficient.," explains Siegel. "So we take it apart, start over, develop a new SOP (standard operating procedure), and try to do it better, more efficiently. We're always critical of the process."

That process came into question this year when the crew had to make the cold-brew coffee for the Bourbon County Coffee Stout for the first time since Laffler's departure. "This year I had to ask myself 'how do we make the coffee?', Siegel recalls. "I don't know, Laffler always made the coffee. But more importantly, how do we make as much as we need this year? It's so much more. So we got some fresh eyes on it, and some fresh thinking, and we made almost forty barrels."

Coordinating the barrel program, with so many different brands and variants being produced, has been the biggest challenge for Siegel and the crew. "This past week, we filled the Madame Rose barrels. Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Brett Brux, Brett Lambicus, sherry strain and Shaerbeek cherries. And the next day we had to get 25 pounds of honey and fresh-cracked white pepper into Gillian barrels. Scheduling and ensuring everything we want to make is even feasible has been the biggest challenge."