In the latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – Katy McBrady, president of Molson Coors-owned Atwater Brewery, dives into the importance of leveraging beer as a conduit to connect with your community, as the Detroit-based craft brewery has done through D Light and limited releases such as Miggy 3000, a pale ale brewed to celebrate Miguel Cabrera’s retirement from the MLB’s Detroit Tigers.
McBrady joined Atwater in 2022, following the departure of former owner Mark Rieth, who guided the brewery through a sale to Molson Coors’ craft division Tenth and Blake.
You’ve been leading Atwater as president for more than two years. What has the journey been like so far?
Leading Atwater for the last two years has been the most gratifying journey of my career. It is a dream to wake up every day and do what I love, in the city I love, with a team worth its weight in gold. In two years, we have completed so much, including the launch of more than 10 beers at retail, a complete overhaul of our canning, packaging and keg lines, as well as a complete remodel of our Detroit taproom that includes a Prohibition-style speakeasy that puts our spirit portfolio – we make vodka, bourbon and gin – front and center.
It is energizing to be surrounded by a team, and a community that sees how much we have going on and continues to say, “We want more.” We are proud of what we’ve accomplished in the last two years and look forward to showing off what’s yet to come.
What challenges do you face in leading an acquired craft brewery after the founder steps away from the business?
The biggest challenge of taking over an established brand is finding the balance between what built the business and what the business needs to do to move forward. We are striking that balance by leaning into what customers tell us works: committing to Vanilla Java Porter, expanding the Dirty Blonde franchise and finding thoughtful and authentic ways to compete in growing categories such as imperial IPAs and low-cal lagers.
My Detroit roots help me understand this market and forge connections that need to be made, whether with distributors and retailers or business and community leaders.
What’s keeping you up at night?
I am sure the same things that keep everyone else up at night in this industry these days – the rising cost of goods, the economic environment and industry trends. That said, I am very confident that we are built for sustained success with excellent beer and a dedicated team of hard-working men and women who are fully committed to our mission of being Detroit’s craft brewery.
Michigan has played an enormous role in the development of the craft beer industry. What has changed since you moved away in 2013? What’s the craft beer scene like in Detroit now?
Even during nearly a decade of working on the West Coast, I have always been an avid supporter of the beers coming out of my home state. Michigan has long been a tremendous source of craft beer, but one big change I’ve observed since moving away in 2013 is the rise in Detroit-based breweries making great beer.
A lot of the most innovative beer was happening for years on the west side of the state, but these days metro Detroit can more than hold its own. While we consider Atwater to be part of the early craft beer movement in the city alongside brands like Motor City Brew Works and Detroit Beer Co., we are also proud to see our community growing with innovators like Eastern Market Brewing, Batch Brewing, Nain Rouge and Brewery Faisan. While it is common to hear about the challenges in the craft category, the life I see in Detroit’s beer community is both inspiring and refreshing.
This year Atwater expanded D Light to retail after previously selling the brand exclusively at Comerica Park, the home of the Detroit Tigers. Is this finally the year of the lager that some in craft believe/hope it is?
D Light is off to an exciting start for us with strong retailer and consumer feedback – some of these strongest I’ve ever seen. We actually have consumers emailing our marketing department, telling us they have changed their drinking habits since discovering D Light – that’s huge! So, I don’t know about “the year of the lager,” but I do think lager plays a crucial role in a craft lineup and consumers are still in the process of gravitating to it.
What makes D Light so special is that it is truly the full package – delicious, low-cal, low-carb, and still hits 4.5% ABV. It’s priced to compete with high-end light beers, and of course, the packaging features the iconic Detroit “D,” which is a badge of pride for Detroiters near and far.
Your beer career has included time at North American Breweries, Boston Beer and Classic Distributing. What did each of those stops teach you about the industry?
In a relatively short amount of time, I have been able to work in many corners of the industry, and I am infinitely grateful for the opportunities and the mentorship I have received along the way. The lessons have varied. They have included the power of having a winning mindset and competing hard no matter the resources at hand. In short – you can’t win if you don’t play.
I’ve also learned the power of sales and the art of distribution. I was six months into my role at Classic when COVID hit and still learning the ins and outs of the job. Even with the world largely shut down, we weren’t given the opportunity to stop. We simply had to keep going and figure it out. The problem solving I witnessed daily remains inspiring to me.
Although the lessons I learned each step of the way were a little different, one thread remains the same: If someone hadn’t taken a chance on me in each of these roles, I wouldn’t be equipped to lead Atwater today. This is a lesson that I try to keep in mind when hiring – hiring not just for today, but for the total potential of the individual.
What’s working well for Atwater?
Two things are working well for us, and they operate hand-in-hand. The first is a renewed focus on quality. The second is a repositioning as Detroit’s brand.
From a quality perspective, I firmly believe that we are producing the best beer that Atwater has made in its more than 25-year history. Our enhanced focus on quality is something that has become embedded in our culture, and it is worn as a badge of pride across all three of our facilities in Michigan. When we say “quality,” we obviously are talking about our beer, but we are also talking about the total Atwater experience. If you haven’t had the opportunity to stop into one of our taprooms (in Detroit, Grosse Pointe Park and Grand Rapids), we’d love to invite you in to show what we mean.
We have also been positioning ourselves as Detroit’s beer. Think about what Abita means to New Orleans or what Boulevard means to Kansas City; that is the relationship we want consumers to draw between Atwater and Detroit. Through partnerships, sampling, and good old-fashioned relationship building with our local hospitality industry, we are starting to see this notion gain traction. As Detroit continues its renaissance, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to be the beer that comes along for the ride.
Have you had any recent wins that surprised you?
We’ve had a handful of wins that have made me incredibly proud of our team. Here are my personal top three. The common link between them all: great beer.
Local publication The Gander reported that our Double IPA Release, Detroit Hustles Harder, was a Top 5 2023 Michigan beer release as voted by Michigan Untappd drinkers. In a market like Michigan where we are surrounded by breweries with serious craft credentials, it was humbling for one of our new releases, supported with strong commercial distribution, to receive this type of accolade.
Our launch of AI IPA – the first beer in the U.S. using AI technology – received far more coverage and social media pickup than I could have guessed. With more than 300 million media impressions globally, our ability to act quickly resulted in a beer that was lighthearted, fun, delicious and got consumers from coast to coast talking about Detroit beer.
Finally, to celebrate Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera’s retirement in 2023, we brewed a beer in his honor, Miggy 3000. This beer was an LTO available only at the ballpark. It sold through immediately, and demand was so high that consumers were actually selling empty cans on eBay for up to $27 at one point. I was incredibly proud of this team for identifying an important cultural moment in our city and then engaging with it in a way that felt both celebratory and authentic.