Ryan Burk, head cider maker for Boston Beer and Angry Orchard Hard Cider, has left the company, effective April 30.
Burk worked at Angry Orchard for more than seven years. No announcement has been made about where Burk will go next, but he plans to “return to his roots in craft cider,” according to an internal memo written by David Grinnell, Boston Beer VP of brewing & quality, and shared with Brewbound.
“Ryan is a world-class cider maker who has elevated the Angry Orchard brand during his tenure, while producing gold medal ciders and winning best-in-show awards at some of the world’s most prestigious competitions including Bath & West, Hereford, and the International Cider Awards,” Grinnell wrote. “From an industry standpoint, Ryan is also a leading voice of the Cider Association of America, through which his contributions have helped bolster cider development in this country, nearly doubling the number of local and regional cider players in the United States.”
Burk was also “instrumental” in the development of Angry Orchard’s national launches during his tenure, including the launch of Rosé Cider, “one of top innovations in the industry in 2018,” Grinnell said.
Before being tapped to lead Angry Orchard, Burk was a cider maker at Fennville, Michigan-based Virtue Cider before Anheuser-Busch InBev acquired it in 2017.
The Angry Orchard team will be “left in the good hands” of assistant cider maker Joe Gaynor, according to the memo.
Angry Orchard is the No.1 hard cider brand in measured off-premise channels, with a 48% share of the segment through Q1 2022, according to Boston Beer CEO Dave Burwick, in an earnings call with investors last month.
Boston Beer shipments declined -25.1% year-over-year (YOY) in Q1 2022, to approximately 1.7 million barrels. Burwick credited the decline in part to a decrease in Angry Orchard shipments compared to Q1 2021, as well as shipments of Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer and Dogfish Head brands. However, Burwick noted that while Angry Orchard has been “a drag” in the past, the band has seen “momentum” in the last 12 months, and the company is “pretty confident” hard cider “won’t be a drag” going forward in 2022.
Former Upland Brewing CEO David Bower Named Wildpack VP of Sales
David Bower, former president and CEO of Bloomington, Indiana-based Upland Brewing Co., has been named VP of Sales for Wildpack Beverage, a national beverage co-packer and packaging supplier.
Bower spent nearly six years at Upland Brewing, following a nearly two-year stint as director of sales for Indianapolis, Indiana-based Sun King Brewing Co.
“This is an exciting time to join Wildpack and the beverage canning industry,” Bower said in a press release. “Speaking from experience, during this inflection point in the ever-evolving beverage business, companies need innovative and nimble solutions that bring their vision to market and Wildpack is uniquely positioned to do just that.”
Wildpack operates six manufacturing locations – Sacramento, California; Longmont, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada; Marietta, Georgia; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Baltimore, Maryland – four of which opened in 2021. The company has “strong plans” to continue to grow in 2022, with more locations to come, as well as the addition of in-house label printing this year, Chuck Zadlo, Wildpack COO, told Brewbound in December.
Wildpack reported nearly $28.3 million in total revenue in 2021, according to its fiscal year earnings report. The company is projecting revenue to increase to between $75-85 million in 2022.