The Brewers Association announced the results of its board of directors election today.
Three candidates were elected to serve three-year terms starting February 2025, including:
- Bill Butcher, president at Port City Brewing Co. (packaging class);
- Leah Cheston, owner of Right Proper Brewing Co. (brewpub class);
- Tomme Arthur, co-founder and COO at The Lost Abbey (taproom class).
Elections closed November 13, with 18 candidates vying for the three seats.
The BA initially advertised four open board seats – two for packaging brewers, one for pub brewers and one for taproom brewers.
However, the organization acknowledged the error in today’s announcement, writing: “Due to an error on our part, we indicated that there were two open board seats in the packaging class when only one was available. Two candidates were tied in the running for this nonexistent seat. During the board meeting on Dec. 12, 2024, they will be considered for appointment to at-large positions.”
The error was due to an oversight of changes made earlier this year to the board’s bylaws, which included the reduction of its size to 18 in 2024 and to 17 in 2025. With the changes, the packaging brewers board was reduced from seven to six seats.
“This new detail was overlooked for this current election cycle, and due to an error on our part, we indicated that there were two open board seats in the packaging class when only one was available,” a spokesperson shared with Brewbound.
Beyond Butcher, nine candidates were up for the packaging brewer position:
- Luke Bauer, sales, marketing and business development director at Snake River Brewing;
- Colby Cox, brewer and owner of Roadhouse Brewing and Melvin Brewing;
- Johanna Denne, founder of Colorful Beverage;
- Jared Fischer, president of Guilford Hall Brewery;
- Daniel Robles, lead/shift brewer at Alamo Beer Company;
- Josh Schwaiger, founder and president of Paradigm Brewing;
- Christina Thomas, founder of Brown Girl’s Brew;
- John Walker, co-founder and COO of Athletic Brewing;
- And Ken Wilson, director of sales at Lumberyard Brewing.
The BA did not share which two candidates tied for the “nonexistent seat.”
Cheston is also BA board chair, starting her term earlier this year. 2025 will be her third three-year term as a member of the BA board. After the upcoming term, she will have to spend at least one year off the board before she can run again.
Other candidates who ran for the pub brewers position included:
- Erika Barnett, co-owner and COO of Salish Sea Brewing;
- Jeff Frederick, co-founder of Brew Republic Bierwerks;
- And Dale Sakschewski, head brewer of Feather Falls Brewing.
Arthur previously served as a packaging brewer representative, and ran as a taproom brewer this year due to changes in The Lost Abbey’s business model.
Three other candidates ran for the taproom position, including:
- Tracy Cryder, owner and co-founder of Southern Tail Brewing;
- Chris Nicholson, general manager of Roadmap Brewing;
- And Veronica Zamora Espinoza, co-owner and accountant at Turkey Forrest Brewing.
The BA defines packaging brewers as those who sell 75% or more of their volume off-site, while taproom and pub brewers sell 25% or more of their beer on-site, with the latter also offering food service.
In addition to the bylaw changes, the board also recently expanded the BA’s voting membership to include outfits that “control the intellectual property for one or more brands of beer, have that brand or brands brewed for it in the United States, and have as its primary business purpose the resale of the brand or brands it controls,” adding contract-brewed beer companies as voting members.
Among other changes at the BA, the trade group announced a restructuring of its leadership team last week, which resulted in the elimination of six positions.
The BA cited several reasons for the move, including maximizing “support to our members,” realizing “greater efficiencies,” adapting to “evolving industry dynamics” and setting up the organization for the next CEO, following the retirement of president and CEO Bob Pease in June 2025.
Pease joined the Brewbound Podcast following his retirement announcement to reflect on his more than three decades with the BA, and what’s on deck for his successor.