Colleen Quinn Promoted to CEO of Greater Good
Colleen Quinn, former chief commercial officer (CCO) for Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company, has been promoted to CEO of the Worcester, Massachusetts-based brewery, effective July 1.
Quinn acted as a consultant to Greater Good in 2021 through her company Second Sip Beverage Consulting, before becoming CCO of the brewery in January 2022. Prior to co-founding Second Sip, Quinn spent nearly five years at Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) in various roles. In 2020, CBA was bought by Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B), and Quinn was appointed director of strategy for the company’s Brewers Collective craft business unit.
“When I started working for Greater Good, I was blown away by the conviction — both of the team and the brand,” Quinn said in a press release. “This was a brewery that was doing something truly differentiated, and owning our position as America’s first and only all-imperial brewery continues to be both our primary focus and a big point of pride. As we look towards the future, we’ll turn that differentiation into more growth, aspiring to gain a 50% share of the imperial, high-ABV market.”
Paul Wengender founded Greater Good as an all-imperial brewery in 2016, beer’s with an ABV of 7.5% and above. The brewery produced 11,800 barrels in 2021, after a +58% increase to 11,200 barrels in 2020, according to estimates from the Brewers Association in The New Brewer Magazine.
Matt Bruhn hired as CEO at Craft Standard
The next chapter for Matt Bruhn, former Pabst president and general manager, will be in beyond beer. Bruhn has been appointed CEO of the keg cocktail mix-maker Craft Standard.
Bruhn departed Pabst on May 14 after nearly four years with the company. He has served as a board advisor for Craft Standard since June 2021, according to his LinkedIn page.
Craft Standard’s ready-to-drink (just add spirits) keg mixes, which launched in 2021, are available through more than 70 distributors, with more than 700 accounts across 30 states, including at the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park and New York Giants MetLife Stadium, according to a press release.
Molson Coors and SABMiller Alum Andrew ‘Max’ Walker Named CMO of FIFCO USA
Andrew “Max” Walker, former VP of above premium beer at Molson Coors Beverage Company, has been named CMO of Rochester, New York-headquartered FIFCO USA.
FIFCO’s portfolio includes Labatt, Genesee Brewing Co., Seagram’s Escapes (including Seagram’s Escapes Spiked), Magic Hat Brewing Co., and Pyramid Brewing Co. The company also imports Imperial Beer to the U.S. from Costa Rica.
Walker takes over for former CMO and fellow SABMiller-alum Piotr Jurjewicz, who was promoted to CEO in May. In his new role, Walker will oversee “portfolio strategy and brand marketing, consumer insights and data strategy” and marketing operations, according to a press release.
Walker will also work closely with Jurjewicz, as well as chief sales officer Dan Hennessy and Seagram’s Escapes brand director Chuck Buckingham, to grow “FIFCO’s beyond beer business,” strengthen the “share and premiumization of Labatt and Genesee in their core markets,” and focus “innovation and partnerships to drive the overall business,” according to the release.
Walker has more than 15 years experience in beverage alcohol, nearly a decade of which was spent at SABMiller in various roles, including global brands director for Asia Pacific and later Latin America. After a couple years of private consulting after leaving SABMiller, Walker joined Molson Coors as a strategy consultant for Asia Pacific and Africa.
DISCUS Appoints Andy Deloney VP of State Public Policy
Andy Deloney has been appointed VP of state public policy at the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS).
Deloney previously served as VP of external affairs for Johnson Brothers Liquor Co., a St. Paul, Minnesota-based beer, wine and spirits wholesaler. Prior to that, he spent more than eight years as VP of public affairs at the Michigan Restaurant Association, followed by more than eight years as chairman of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, according to his LinkedIn profile.
In his new role at DISCUS, Deloney will be responsible for coordinating government relations in control states, “advocating for policies that create a more level playing field for distilled spirits and increased convenience and choice for adult spirits consumers,” according to a press release.
“Andy is the perfect fit to lead our control state initiatives during this time of rapid evolution in the spirits industry,” Chris Swonger, DISCUS President and CEOsaid in the release. “His leadership and experience in working with control state officials, combined with his reputation for relationship and consensus building will help us as we partner with control states to address issues impacting the spirits sector and its consumers.”
Ohio Craft Brewers Association Announces 2022 Board of Directors
Five representatives were elected onto the Ohio Craft Brewers Associations’ board of directors this week. Each of the members will serve a two-year term, though August 2024.
Ali Hovan, co-founder of Cuyahoga Falls-based HiHO Brewing Co., was elected vice president, beginning her third term on the board. Hovan takes the seat from Jimmy Stockwell, co-owner of Athens-based Little Fish Brewing Co., who served on the board for six years, four of which were as vice president. Stockwell leaves the board, having reached the term limit.
Adam Benner, co-founder of Columbus-based Land-Grant Brewing Co., was also re-elected to the board, and will begin his second term as treasurer.
Three members were elected to their first term: Steve Forman, pub brewer at Cleveland-based Great Lakes Brewing Company; Jason Moore, owner of Springboro-based Crooked Handle Brewing; and Jamey Ratcliff, co-owner of Jackson-based Sixth Sense Brewing.
Two other members have stepped down due to term limits: John Haggerty, co-founder of Dayton-based Warped Wing Brewing and Mark Hunger, brewmaster at Great Lakes Brewing Company.
BeatBox Promotes 2 to Sales Leadership Roles
Party punch-maker BeatBox Beverages has promoted Phil Jamison to VP of sales for North America and Mark White as VP of national accounts.
Industry veterans Jamison and White both joined BeatBox a year ago, with Jamison serving the company’s western division VP and White serving as its eastern division VP.
Heretic Brewing Co-Founder Jamil Zainasheff Announces Departure From Company
Jamil Zainasheff, who co-founded Fairfield, California-based Heretic Brewing in 2011 and served as its brewmaster, announced his departure from the company in a tweet on June 20.
“The new owners of @HereticBrew have terminated my employment to ‘save money,’” he wrote. “I no longer have any involvement with what they produce or how the business is run.”
Last November, Zainasheff announced that he and his wife, Liz, sold the company to “a group that is working on building a joint cooperative of breweries in the west,” but planned to stay on with the new owners. Craft Beverage Cooperative lists Heretic and Moab Brewery as part of its stable of craft breweries.
According to Zainassheff’s LinkedIn, he’s begun working as a consultant.