Pilot Project Adds Industry Veteran Todd Haug to C-Suite Team
Chicago-based brewery incubator Pilot Project has hired Todd Haug as its first chief innovation officer (CIO).
Haug has more than three decades of industry experience, a decade of which was spent as head of brewing operations for Twin Cities-based Surly Brewing Co. He shocked many in 2016 when he resigned from the company to pursue “other opportunities and challenges in the industry,” later joining Three Floyds Brewing Co. in Munster, Indiana.
Prior to Surly, Haug had brewing stints at Summit Brewing (St. Paul, Minnesota) and Rock Bottom Minneapolis – along with home brewing – and opened a restaurant with his wife Linda Alvey, according to a press release.
In his new role at Pilot Project, Haug will work with chief product officer and head brewer Glenn Allen and production manager Damian Padilla to “lead process and production innovation” and support launch and growth strategy for the company’s incubated brands, helping the company “stay proactive in both disrupting [the] industry and making better products,” according to the release.
“Our team has been a massive supporter of Todd’s work and influence in our industry over the years,” Pilot Project co-founder Dan Abel said in the release. “As an incubator, it’s vital Pilot Project builds a place for itself at the helm of all things experimentation and innovation.”
Pilot Project advises partner breweries on recipe adjustments, production scaling, distribution expansion, marketing and more. Since its founding in 2019, the company has helped launch more than 13 brands, including women-founded Luna Bay Booch Co. hard kombucha, Indian-led Azadi Brewing and Black-owned Funkytown Brewing (winner of Brewbound’s 2021 Pitch Slam).
Last month, Pilot Project announced it was taking over the long-term lease and acquiring the facility assets of the former Milwaukee Brewing Company (MKE) production facility in Wisconsin. The move was helped by the closure of an $8 million seed round, led by the Chicago investment group InvestBev.
The addition of the 70,000 sq. ft. facility adds up to 75,000 barrels in annual capacity (per MKE’s sale listing) for Pilot Project’s partner brewers, freeing up space at its maxed-out Chicago brewery. Pilot Project is retaining many of MKE’s staff members and plans to reopen the space by the end of the year.
The extra space from the MKE facility also gives Pilot Project more flexibility to experiment with small-batch and limited-time offerings, creating a “playground” of innovation for Haug and Allen, Abel told Brewbound.
“When you spend an hour with Todd, you know he’s a tinkerer,” Abel said. “So this is exactly what he needs. It’s a great space for him to be.”
Abel and Allen spoke with Brewbound for an upcoming Brewbound Podcast episode, discussing Haug’s hiring, the new MKE space, and plans for the future. The episode will be available on Brewbound.com and popular podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple, on October 26.
Former Karl Strauss VP Marc Martin Named CEO of Thorn Brewing
Marc Martin has been appointed CEO of San Diego-based Thorn Brewing, taking over the leadership hole created by the departure of the brewery’s general manager, Thomas Kiely.
Kiely, who spent more than eight years at Thorn Brewing, including four years as GM, departed the company earlier this year to return to the East Coast, according to a press release.
Martin brings more than 15 years of industry experience, including 13 years at Karl Strauss Brewing as VP of beer, where he “oversaw sales, marketing, production, distribution, operations, quality control and warehouse responsibilities” for the San Diego brewery, according to the release. After Karl Strauss, he started his own consulting firm, where he worked with breweries including Rincon Reservation Road Brewery, Second Chance Brewing Co. and Westbrew.
“When we started looking for a new leader at Thorn, the first person I thought of was Marc,” Thorn’s head of production Shawn Steele, who previously worked with Martin at Karl Strauss, said in the release. “Working with him for 10 years earlier in both of our careers, I thought he would be a great fit and addition to our team.”
“I am truly fortunate to join the Thorn Brewing Co. team and am confident we will achieve great things together,” Martin said in the release. “Thorn’s production brewery, neighborhood-focused tasting rooms, and co-manufacturing capabilities all help to differentiate them and provide plenty of opportunity ahead. Thorn is already one of San Diego’s finest breweries and our plan moving forward is to focus on quality and becoming a top regional iconic brand.”
Thorn produced an estimated 8,000 barrels of beer in 2021, a +45% increase year-over-year after a -31% decline in 2020 to 5,500 barrels, according to the Brewers Association (BA) in the May/June issue of the New Brewer Magazine. Its offerings are distributed in California, Arizona and Las Vegas.
Pabst Brewing Names Thomas Tulfer CFO, Promotes Eric Tis to CFO of Blue Ribbon Partners
Pabst Brewing Company has named Thomas “Tim” Tulfer chief financial officer, effective October 3.
Tulfer takes over for Eric Tis, who held the position since 2018. Tis has been promoted to CFO of Blue Ribbon Partners, LLC, an investment platform and Pabst’s parent company. He will temporarily stay on at Pabst to “ensure a smooth transition” before joining Blue Ribbon later this fall, according to a press release.
Tulfer joins Pabst after more than six years as senior VP and chief financial officer for Heineken USA. He held various leadership positions in his more than 20 years at Heineken, including regional CFO for Caribbean and export markets and CFO of Heineken Portugal.
“Tim is a beer expert and strong financial leader and we are thrilled to welcome him to Pabst,” Pabst CEO Paul Chibe said in the release. “He brings deep financial expertise and a proven track record of delivering impressive financial results and top-line growth, while displaying strong leadership skills in developing and inspiring talent across functions. He has a sincere appreciation for the industry and he will fit right in with the rest of our team.”
RationAle Adds Former BevZero CEO Debbie Novograd as a Strategic Advisor
Debbie Novograd, former CEO and vice chairman of the board at BevZero – a low- and no-alc beverage insights and solutions company – has joined the non-alcoholic craft beer brand RationAle Brewing as a strategic advisor.
Novograd led BevZero – originally a wine dealcoholization company – in its rebrand to become a total non-alc (NA) adult beverage service and equipment provider, and helped advise wineries, breweries and distilleries on the development of NA products, according to a press release. In September, she joined the NA wine company Starla Wines as advisor and chief strategy officer, Wine Industry Advisor reported.
At RationAle, Novograd will help the San Diego-based brewery navigate the “rapid growth” it has experienced since it was founded in 2021, “while staying true” to the company’s purpose of “radically crushing society’s drinking rules,” RationAle founder Jamie Fay said in the release.
“When I first met Jamie, he was crystal clear on his vision to create something unique and high quality in a category that primed for innovation, never settling for mediocre at any point along the way,” Novograd said in the release. “It’s this passion, unwavering commitment to quality, and the exceptional taste RationAle offers that has drawn me to want to be a part of this brand. RationAle offers more than being the best-tasting non-alcoholic beer, it delivers on an image and a promise of what a consumer aspires to be.”
RationAle’s offerings are available direct-to-consumer nationwide (where permitted), and distributed throughout California and Colorado.
Elysian Announces Several Promotions, Including Head Brewer and Assistant Head Brewer
Former brewing supervisor Austin Niestrom has rejoined Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Elysian Brewing as head brewer.
Niestrom announced the news on LinkedIn earlier this month. He previously spent more than two years at Elysian, but departed in April to be lead brewer at Fremont Brewing Company, another Seattle-based brewery, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to his first stint at Elysian, Niestrom spent more than six years at Goose Island, Elysian’s sister brand in A-B’s Brewers Collective craft division, in various brewing roles.
Joining Niestrom is Ben Davidson, who also announced his promotion to assistant head brewer earlier this month. Davidson has spent more than a decade at Elysian as third brewer.
And former fellow Elysian brewer Alan Wilkins has been promoted to wholesale supply coordinator at the Seattle brewery. Wilkins announced his position change on LinkedIn last month. He has worked as a brewer for Elysian since October 2019.
A-B acquired Elysian Brewing in 2015. The company produced an estimated 330,000 barrels in 2021, a +10% increase year-over-year, tying Tempe, Arizona-based Four Peaks Brewing for the second-largest production volume increase in A-B’s craft portfolio after Asheville, North Carolina-based Wicked Weed (+39% YoY), according to the BA.