Jennifer Hahn: Crunching the numbers for craft brewers

On a standard brewery tour, guests will explore production facilities and get a behind-the-scenes look at how their beer is made. This is not the case for Jenny Hahn.

Jenny Hahn has been an accountant for 20 years, distinctly specializing in craft breweries. For many accountants, there’s a niche. Hahn excels with smaller businesses, and when she and her business partner uncovered a need for bookkeeping among craft breweries, Uncanny Bookkeeping was born.

Jenny Hahn’s bookkeeping work stems from enthusiasm for both numbers and craft beer. Walking through any brewery, she sizes up the operation and matches it with a list of regulations in her head. She’ll note the attached restaurant and acknowledge the increase in transactions and payroll the business would manage.

“It’s not always everyone’s passions to do the accounting work and the bookkeeping and the day-to-day tedious numbers, number-crunching, but it’s my passion,” Hahn explains, “so that’s where I can help craft breweries succeed.”

Hahn’s own personal hobby of homebrewing only enhances her perspective. After a single class taken during a trip visiting her sister, Hahn discovered her own zeal for the process, which she has now been practicing for three years. IPAs are her favorite.

“It’s very scientific but it’s also fun. It’s something I can focus on and then come out with a product that I can enjoy and share with my family and friends,” she raves.

Even with her expertise, the ever-evolving regulations and the level of care in the craft-beer community surprised Hahn. With each brewer making the pursuit their own, she finds the learning endless.

Hahn holds but one critique: “You know what I would like to see in this industry? More women! More women brewers. We need more women homebrewers and more women craft brewers, and so come on, women! Let’s get out there!”

Hahn delights that many women are stumbling upon passions for craft beer the same way she did, and cherishes her experience with all beermakers.

“They’re my favorite type of client that I’ve worked with. They’re great people, they’re generous, they love what they do. They don’t necessarily love the parts that I do,” she laughs. “So that works out well for everyone.”