Rodney Woodard – A Changemaker in the Craft Beer Brewing Industry
By Mary Hendriksen
April 11, 2024
“Changemaker.”
That is the word Rodney Woodard, a field sales representative based in Connecticut for the Allagash Brewing Company, chooses to best describe himself.
Pre-pandemic, Rodney was working in finance and sales in the Houston, Texas area. He had a fascination, though, with the craft beer industry—particularly the unique “story” and taste that each maker brings to their brew and the community created by craft beer aficionados.
Like many people, he appreciated the fact that craft beers are made with natural ingredients without the additives or preservatives that are often found in mass-produced beers. He liked the localness and independence of small breweries and the great pride that each company takes in its product.
He did his research, he visited breweries, but he simply couldn’t get the “in” to become a craft beer industry professional himself.
Then, Rodney discovered the brewing certificate program at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut. A three-semester graduate course of study, it is designed as a gateway to the brewing industry for students from a variety of professions and backgrounds.
Sacred Heart administrators, along with John Rehm, Director of the Brewing Science and Distillation Program at the University and Director of Operations at Two Roads Brewing, had made a commitment to diversifying their innovative program by–with the help of generous donors–establishing scholarships for African American and women students. By extension, this represented a commitment to diversifying the craft beer industry itself.
Accepted to the Sacred Heart program, Rodney entered with a full scholarship that made it all possible—the Sacred Heart University Brewers Scholarship funded by the Athletic Brewing Company. Independently, he was admitted into the Brewers Association Mentorship Program.
He joined a class with students with backgrounds that ranged from finance to medicine to law to education. He worked hard—and, fortunately, found that following his passion was as rewarding as he had hoped.
“Sacred Heart’s program provided me with the resources to learn many roles in the craft beer industry–from entrepreneurship to cellar person, quality assurance technician, quality control technician, laboratory technician, sensory analysis program manager, taproom manager, brand representative, and more. Most importantly, it has helped me to see the changes that are reinventing the craft beer industry and that I, too, can be a visionary in this burgeoning field.”
Professor and Director John Rehm says: "As the craft brewing industry has grown exponentially, there have been two critical missing factors that demand our attention. First, craft beer needs more people who have a fundamental education in the science and art of making beer and running a business. Just as importantly, we must create more opportunities for inclusion amongst black and brown people and others who are not sufficiently represented. Our business and craft is multi-dimensional, and that must be reflected in our people. We have so much to gain by shared experiences. The Brewing and Distillation Science program at Sacred Heart is a great avenue through which we can achieve our collective goals and elevate the whole industry."
An interesting note: Sacred Heart University has long run a study-abroad program in Dingle, Ireland. With brewing and distilling such a pillar of Irish culture, plans are underway to begin a distillation science program there. With the new distilling science certificate program at the Fairfield campus, the opportunities for students on both sides of the Atlantic would be immense.
After graduation in May 2023, Rodney joined the Allagash Brewing Company, an award-winning company founded by Rob Tod in 1995. Based in Portland, Maine, the company’s flagship Belgian-style wheat beer has won seven gold medals from prestigious competitions like the Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup, and European Beer Star Awards.
He began his career with Allagash in Brooklyn, New York, but then transferred to Connecticut. As Allagash’s representative, Rodney visits clients throughout all eight counties in the state and sets up tastings at festivals and stores—sharing his enthusiasm about the Allagash brew and story.
“Coming from a long line of changemakers,” he says, “I have so much more to live up to. ‘Excellence first’ has always been my motto. My abilities will help create an opportunity for someone else.”
Planning to create those opportunities in a variety of ways, Rodney is determined to mentor others in the brewing industry as he himself has been mentored.
One plan is to become a mentor in the same Brewers Association Mentorship Program that offered so many “intangibles” to him.
“The secret sauce to life is mentorship,” he says, and continues: “The Brewers Association Mentorship Program was an invaluable complement to my formal brewing education at Sacred Heart. The access to experienced mentors in the craft beer industry provided me with real-world insights and networking opportunities that enhanced my educational experience and helped me clarify my career path in the industry.”