Brewbound Podcast: Brewers Association Picks a New CEO, A Brewbound Live Recap & the 2024 Person of the Year

[00:00:00] Justin Kendall: Heading to CBC? Kick things off the day before The Brewbound's meetup at Love City Brewing in Philly, Sunday, April 19th from 5 to 7 p.m. Connect with beer industry leaders, grab a drink, and catch up with The Brewbound Live. It's free to attend and walking distance from the convention center. Head The Brewbound.com slash lovecity.rsvp. And don't forget to catch The Brewbound Live at booth 956 during CBC. Next on The Brewbound podcast, The Brewers Association gets a new CEO and we wrap up The Brewbound Live business conference. Hello and welcome to The Brewbound podcast. I'm Justin Kendall.

[00:00:52] Jessica Fontaine: I'm Jessica Fontaine. And I'm Zoe Licata.

[00:00:55] Justin Kendall: And this week, we are going to wrap The Brewbound Live. As I mentioned, we're going to talk about some big news at The Brewers Association. And we're going to bring you an interview with our person of the year, Leah Wong Ashburn from Highland Brewing. I believe you did that interview, Jess. I did. It is always a delight to chat with Leah. But stay tuned for that. That's coming at the end. But The Brewers Association has finally announced its new CEO, and it's going to be Bart Watson. How shocked are you?

[00:01:28] Jessica Fontaine: Nearly zero out of ten.

[00:01:32] The Brewbound: I would be much more shocked if it were not Bart. Yes.

[00:01:36] Justin Kendall: I think I would be too, to be honest with you. I think this is the correct move. And we've yet to talk to Bart since he's been announced, because it's been less than, what, an hour, maybe two hours? Yeah. That we're recording this, that Bart has been named CEO and president. And he'll be taking over on January 6th. Bob Pease will be retiring on January 3rd. And if my memory serves, Bob told us he was going to retire in like mid June, 2025 or at the end of June.

[00:02:07] The Brewbound: I would say that's the only thing about all of this that surprises me because of exactly what you just said. But I assume Bob probably thought if his successor came from outside, he would need to stay and catch that person up on craft and all sorts of nuances and peccadillos that make this funny little industry run. But he doesn't need to do that with Bart. Bart knows it all.

[00:02:32] Justin Kendall: Yeah, he's pretty well versed in what he's walking into, having been there since 2013. Does that sound right? Mm-hmm. That's what you wrote. That is what I wrote. That's what his LinkedIn said. So, I mean, I was trying to remember that I wrote it the right way. So sometimes I need a refresher.

[00:02:52] The Brewbound: I had 2014 in my head, but I think we go with the LinkedIn number. But yeah, it's basically like a big puffy cloud of white smoke came out of a chimney somewhere in Boulder, Colorado. We know the next craft beer Pope, the next beer trade org dad, and all the other crazy things that I have been saying over the last few weeks about this announcement. This is why you hire Catholic school kids. We say weird things.

[00:03:21] Justin Kendall: Well, Bart's walking into an organization that is facing headwinds. They've restructured in the last month, and I think that that was... Kind of the last move before making this move was redoing the senior management team and reworking the direct reports. And I imagine most of that will hold. I have no idea what will happen to this VP of strategy role if it goes away, if somebody else assumes that role.

[00:03:54] The Brewbound: I told you guys my theory when the whole thing was first announced and I think I'm right. My hunch upon when that news came to be, what was that like a month ago? Yeah. Was that Bart Watson going to be in that role as a placeholder. And then I would think that Dr. J will take it after him.

[00:04:10] Justin Kendall: And that would make a lot of sense since that was his direct report.

[00:04:14] The Brewbound: Yeah. I think you, you need somebody in that role who really knows the membership. I am not at all saying anything about the rest of the staff, but you need somebody that the membership really likes.

[00:04:24] Justin Kendall: And I think that that's going to be the key moving forward is sort of navigating these disparate constituencies because you have the larger brewers and then you have all the smaller brewers and we're talking about a lot of brewers when you've got 9,736 at last count. So I think that that is going to be one of the keys here is how they speak to that group, how they sort of rally them really, and get them on board with the, the BA's mission.

[00:05:02] The Brewbound: Yeah. Well, I mean, we've seen in the BA's annual reports that their membership, revenue from membership declines a lot. I don't mean like in percentage wise, but there are more years lately where it has declined than it has grown. And I'm sure somebody with far more knowledge than I have in European and papal history could tell you a whole story about how we ended up with like two popes for a while and there was a schism in the church. And I think I've, I've taken this way too far, but Bart does have his work cut out for him in terms of being able to, you know, thread the needle and really make sure that the BA is speaking for all of its different membership groups. And I think Bart can do it.

[00:05:40] Justin Kendall: And I think there will be a bit of navigating. who is in that membership going into the future, because I've heard some things, you know, and I've been in some places before, like taxi cabs with people who are having conversations. So I would say, you know, hopefully he's approaching this with an open mind.

[00:06:01] The Brewbound: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see because, I mean, in a world where a brewery owned by say a very large energy drink making company or a very large Canadian cannabis company in a world where The Brewers can be considered BA members, but say, Belgium or New Belgium can't, it'll be interesting. I think now is probably as good a time as any to revisit what that definition of a craft brewer is.

[00:06:26] Justin Kendall: Well, in The Brewers Association news, they dropped their year in beer report and craft is expected to be down more than 2%, which was the mid-year survey number. And I think Bart had previously forecasted negative two to negative four. And closures outpaced openings for the first time since the early 2000s. And Bart Watson not sunshine pumping in the last week. He dropped this line, Kraft has been going through a painful period of rationalization. There's more to that quote. And there is a bit of a bright side that he drops in there, but He's definitely, you know, eyes wide open coming into this.

[00:07:07] Jessica Fontaine: Well, he's also been like warning everybody that this was coming for a while. He's kind of been preparing folks for this to happen. I feel like in the past couple of years, whenever he's had his big like data presentation at CBC or something, he said, you know, this is a very normal trajectory that we should expect to see happen. And we finally hit that point. So it's, I mean, we have 10,000. He's like, at some point, something has to give.

[00:07:33] Justin Kendall: Absolutely.

[00:07:34] Jessica Fontaine: Yeah.

[00:07:35] The Brewbound: You can't just be growing gangbusters forever, particularly through what the entire hospitality industry has been through lately.

[00:07:43] Justin Kendall: A pandemic and inflationary costs and whatnot. Anyway, congratulations to Bart on the new role. We're looking forward to speaking with him and sort of getting his vision for where he wants to take the organization. And yeah, we're really looking forward to that.

[00:08:01] Bart Watson: This episode is brought to you by the Craft Brewers Conference, where big ideas, bold beers, and brutally honest shop talk collide. Join thousands of industry pros leveling up their game. Don't miss it. Register now at CraftBrewersConference.com.

[00:08:21] Justin Kendall: Let's get into The Brewbound Live highlights. And I am so excited that I don't have to plug Brewbound Live, that we can talk about it in the past tense and share videos and stories The Brewbound.com, which those will be coming in the next couple of weeks. But I want to get from both of you as sort of your highlights The Brewbound Live, other than being done.

[00:08:46] Jessica Fontaine: I'm kind of sad that it's over, to be honest. It went by really fast and there were no hiccups. It felt like real hiccups this year. I don't know, it felt really good this year and there was so much positive feedback during the event and after the event. Particularly one of the biggest things I think which we added new this year was these one-to-one meetings with wholesalers and retailers. Those seem to go really, really well and people were super stoked to be able to have those on both sides of the table, have those opportunities for the brands to meet with some of these folks and for the wholesalers and retailers to meet with some of these brands. It was really exciting to have that and give that to folks this year.

[00:09:29] The Brewbound: I'm not gonna lie, I was a little bit skeptic when we first started talking about it last year, and I'm really glad we did it, and I'm really glad it worked out.

[00:09:37] Justin Kendall: I completely agree. That is one of the things that I heard was a highlight for folks, and I think one of the things that we have to navigate is figuring out how we have those meetings set up in a way that people can attend the talks that we do and the presentations as well. We'll figure it out because I know like some of the people who were taking those meetings wanted to be in the room and couldn't be at certain times, but they also made some great connections as well. So we had a whole lot going on this year.

[00:10:08] The Brewbound: a lot going on, which I mean, honestly, that people wanted to be in the room to see the stage content is like such a huge compliment. So I hope you guys feel good about that because I do.

[00:10:19] Jessica Fontaine: And like kudos to our like the attendees too, because we've got compliments from our other like colleagues that The Brewbound attendees or some of the most like engaged attendees that come to these sorts of events. You guys are asking questions, you're in the room for conversations. It's really cool that we've kind of built this little community of folks that, not even little, it's a big community at this point of folks that are coming in and are really looking forward to this event and taking full advantage of it every time.

[00:10:48] The Brewbound: And another thing that our BevNET team mates tell us always about the Brewman Live attendees is that they're all super nice.

[00:10:58] Justin Kendall: I appreciate it. I love this industry. And I love that we get to do what we do in this industry. And those two days, the build up to it are the most stressful, but they are also like the most rewarding of the year. And just getting to hang out with everybody and you know, jam it pack into Juneshine the day before. Maybe we've got to figure out, you know, what the overflow situation is there because it's just so crowded in there. And then, you know, you really get to see how big this conference is when everybody's at Firestone Walker for the official party after night one. And then everybody's jamming into Shay J. And, you know, thanks to our friends at Three Tier Beverages for dinner that night. Very generous and quite the party there.

[00:11:49] The Brewbound: Always a great time at Shay J. I'm just glad they have Alligash White back on tap so we don't all have to keep asking for it like a bunch of lunatics.

[00:11:57] Justin Kendall: I told you both what my goal is for 2025. And we got to get a certain person's picture on the wall of Shay J.

[00:12:04] The Brewbound: We will work on that.

[00:12:06] Justin Kendall: So let's talk a little bit about the stage content, and there was a lot. And kudos to our friends at Beer Marketers Insights for covering it, and Beer Business Daily. Beer Marketers went all in on covering it, which is such a great compliment to the three of us, I think, in what we were able to achieve on stage. And some of it I black out for.

[00:12:30] The Brewbound: Oh, for sure. But what's so funny about how well our beer marketer's buds covered this is that senior editor Chris Shepard was in the room with us, and it's always a delight to see Chris. But his teammates, David and I assume Jason too, were covering the event live. They handled it in a bunch of different ways, which is just crazy to me, but good for them. Those guys are machines. They churn out news like there's no tomorrow.

[00:12:58] Justin Kendall: Well, some of the things that stood out to me, themes that we saw, you know, focus. We keep talking about focus. We had the panel on focus, and I believe BK from Bump Williams Consulting called it the word of the conference.

[00:13:13] The Brewbound: BK had a tally going. He told me the morning before your panel, Zoe, he was like, I've been counting how many times somebody says focus from the stage. So we should ask him what that final number is.

[00:13:23] Jessica Fontaine: I want to know what the final number is. Because yeah, the conversation that we had that BK was a part of was kicked off day two. And it was kind of nice because there were a bunch of conversations on that first day where it was already kind of being discussed. And then we had this conversation with BK from Bump Williams, Mary Guyver from Whole Foods, and Peter Scherbeck from Deschutes. And that really was a perfect way to start day two because so many of our conversations after that were just talking about either what brands are doing to focus, what other partners are looking for from brands and what they need to do to focus. really important conversation, especially, you know, I thought it was great that Mary Guyver pointed out that, you know, beer isn't just competing with alcohol these days, especially on shelves. You're competing with everything that is out there. every beverage you could think of. Even milk is taking shelf space, which is so funny. Not necessarily hard milk, but who knows these days. But it's extremely competitive out there. So just being able to keep the shelf space that you have is super difficult, let alone try to get more shelf space on there, try to introduce new brands. So, being really focused in the amount of things that you have out there that you're trying to push out there is vital to just be able to keep what you already have.

[00:14:45] The Brewbound: That was a wild conversation because I think maybe this is worth a chat with our BevNET colleagues, but milk, I feel like people were down on milk for quite some time. And now that I'm saying this out loud, I realize I don't remember if Mary specified if it was like regular cow milk. or all of the other various and sundry milks?

[00:15:04] Jessica Fontaine: Nicole Pantaleo I think she said all, but there is a resurgence of just traditional cow's milk coming back. I think oat milk has had a bit of a bad rep in the past few weeks. It's gotten some folks pointing out ingredients that are in a lot of different oat milks. So yeah, cow's milk having its resurgence.

[00:15:23] The Brewbound: I like oat milk, but back when I had the gestational diabetes, it was spiking me. But now that I have a toddler who doesn't drink formula, now I drink it. I don't drink, but now I buy a ton of cow milk. So I just feel very keyed in to the milks of the world. And then there was some pondering from the stage whether or not it's worth looking into making hard milk. So perhaps it is an idea whose time has come.

[00:15:47] Justin Kendall: Every time someone says hard milk, you know Dave Infante gets his wings.

[00:15:51] The Brewbound: He really does. Dave probably has like at least three dozen sets of wings right now because this has been mentioned a lot lately.

[00:15:59] Justin Kendall: And then I shared the stage with Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head. Everybody in attendance got to try their new year round beer. It's a Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale, 5.3% ABV at 9.30 in the morning. Fantastic. Year round and going to be in the sphere and apparently sort of on tour with the dead. What's left of the dead.

[00:16:24] The Brewbound: There was a great beer. I really enjoyed it. And I enjoyed your chat with Sam. I remember you, you know, I think I had to go on stage right after, so my brain was a little swimmy, but I remember you asking him what his legacy would be. And I think those are the questions that we need to start asking that generation of craft leaders. But Sam said it's not for him to decide.

[00:16:45] Justin Kendall: Yep. And he said that he has never really had another job and doesn't plan to get one. And for what he sold Dogfish Head, I don't think he'll, he'll really need one, but that's okay. And they're projecting growth for beer and cocktails in 25. So they're bullish and which is exciting. And it's funny, we had the focus talk and then, you know, they had released their 2025 calendar and it was just, room, you know, like a bunch of like, it's their 30th anniversary. So they're bringing back some favorites, you know, they're doing this in their core mid Atlantic market. But it's funny to get those different perspectives. But he's like, we're doing this in a focused way, or as focused as you can be. And one of the things, it was just a small thing, but he was talking about Ron Jeffries from Jolly Pumpkin. And I was very glad that he shouted out Ron and we're just, you know, just keeping his memory alive.

[00:17:46] The Brewbound: Yeah, absolutely. A visionary in terms of flavor and innovation and all of that. So that was very nice.

[00:17:55] Justin Kendall: How much whiskey did you have from the Suntory bar, by the way?

[00:17:59] The Brewbound: I didn't even see this on Dory Bar.

[00:18:01] Justin Kendall: I did. I did not have whiskey because... Well, that was a mess. Well, maybe we can figure out a way of scheduling it where we don't have to work. That too.

[00:18:11] The Brewbound: Yeah. Day one, I feel like for me, I always need to do lunch in our staff room just to like marshal my own thoughts. And then by day one, I'm sorry, day one, I need staff room lunch. Day two, I can, you know, I feel a little bit more at ease and I'm happy to get out amongst the people. And Zoe and Justin had a really fun girls' lunch with some of our attendees on the second day.

[00:18:33] Justin Kendall: Nice. Yeah, I was kind of hitting the tables or at least, you know, talking to folks.

[00:18:39] The Brewbound: Yeah, it's like your wedding. You got to go table to table, make sure you see all the people, say hello, make your rounds.

[00:18:45] Justin Kendall: Try some Moro High, you know, the new FMB from Suntory, which they they went all out. Like it really was something to be seen. It was kind of, you know, we talk about experiences and we sort of had this experiential lunch thanks to Suntory. So that's very cool. That's hitting California in mid-January via Reyes. So keep an eye out for that. But one of the things that sort of came up and was, you know, super quotable was your panel at Wrapping Up Brewbound Live. And that was with a bunch of folks, but you know, Dave Bracey from Barrel and Flow and Craig Bowers from the People's Republic of South Central. They both had some really key points. And one, Craig brought up supporting people who are at the early stage of The Brewers because they're going to be the most capable of reaching new audiences. And I thought that was just so on point.

[00:19:42] The Brewbound: Yeah, absolutely. It's funny. Craig said that and then I heard a little yelp of support from the audience and looked out and it was Kevin Asato from the National Black Brewers Association who I hadn't seen prior. So that was exciting. But yeah, that conversation was really about what people in the industry are doing to bring in new and different drinkers and like specifically what they are doing and different avenues to do that. I wanted it to be as nuts and bolts as possible because we have conversations like this a lot, but sometimes I think the audience can walk away feeling like things are a little bit more theoretical than they are practical. So that conversation had, you know, Craig, who is a co-founder and CEO of the People's Republic of South Central, which won the Pitch Slam last year. Day is the founder of Barrel and Flow, which is a multi-day festival every August in Pittsburgh that celebrates black brewers, but black artists and creators, and really has really cemented itself as the premier beer festival of the year. And I know we say this all the time, but we really need to go. And we also had Karen Hertz, who's the founder of Holla Daily, which is a certified gluten-free craft brewery. Karen's been able to bring either lapsed craft drinkers who have left for health reasons or people who can't have gluten. She's been able to bring those people into the fold. And then Simon Chen, who Justin, you and I met at the California Craft Beer Summit earlier in the year. He's the founder of Matchpoint Brewing. They're a Bay Area craft brewery where he and his co-founder, Johnny, are... I love their story. They're high school tennis doubles partners, but they're both Asian American and the descendants of immigrants. And they really use their heritage flavors and ingredients in their beer. And they also host events in their chat room, like Mahjong Social Night. So there's a bunch of people who are doing a bunch of different things to get different people into the craft tent, because the people who you stereotypically think of as being in the craft tent are either leaving or drinking less craft, or they're just a little distracted. But yeah, it was a great talk. And I really hope we can circle back with Craig soon to talk about what he was telling me about the liquor license situation in their neighborhood. I think that's like a structural issue that's been really a big barrier to them in getting started. So it'd be really great to dig in on that with him soon.

[00:22:06] Justin Kendall: I mean, we had so many different things going on and you'll be able to read all of this or see these videos at brewbam.com. You know, the NIQ three tier panel, Lindsay Kunkel's presentation on multiple generations. And there were so many little things in that one that just hit you right in the feels because it's like realizing there's this loneliness epidemic going on. And, you know, in the post pandemic world, that's something that not just generation Z is feeling, you know, like, That's something a lot of us are feeling. And, you know, she does a great job of bringing it back to Bev Alk.

[00:22:43] The Brewbound: Lindsey's so insightful.

[00:22:44] Jessica Fontaine: A really important point that she pointed out was, you know, particularly younger folks are also really concerned about money and costs right now, but it's not stopping them from going out and doing things. They're just doing things that, you know, they're getting a bang for their buck. They want these experiences to address that kind of loneliness or wanting to interact with folks while they're doing something like having a drink or getting food. And so that's why you're seeing some of these new creative on-premise things like, you know, playing games while you're having some beers. So yeah, she does a really great job of acknowledging some of the things that are happening across many different demographics and age groups and even the older generation and how they're different than previous older generations and how beer can really, or any Bevelle can really capitalize on what's happening there.

[00:23:34] Justin Kendall: Grey divorces was a thing I did not have, you know, on my radar for Brewbound Live. And it's just a reminder to, you know, step up your game and not get complacent, I guess.

[00:23:45] Jessica Fontaine: Yeah, the divorce rate was it's like 30 something percent now for older folks up from it was like single digits like 30 years ago. So folks are ready to do new things with their lives in their older years. And that could mean also trying new beverages.

[00:24:04] The Brewbound: I was getting microphones, so I missed this part of Lindsay's talk, but that's sad, but also fascinating. And also I hope all of those people are happier in their new lives.

[00:24:14] Justin Kendall: And Zoe, you did a fantastic job with the intoxicating hemp panel. It served as a primer, but it went deeper than that.

[00:24:22] Jessica Fontaine: Yeah, it was a really great conversation where we could kind of, I feel like we've been talking about intoxicating hem, but it's still a very kind of vague topic or like, what are we even talking about? And we got to lay the land of clay. This is what it actually is. And here are some folks that are participating in it, doing it in a way that they're trying to set themselves up for success without putting themselves at too much risk and really laying the groundwork for like, how can we do this in a way that is safe for consumers and safe for businesses and really emphasize like, we're going to do this in a similar way that we do things with beer. Like this is going to be regulated. It's going to speak to consumers that may have gone away from beer, but they still want to be in similar locations as their friends who are drinking beer. Like it was a really educational conversation, but also a fun conversation of like, this isn't a super scary thing. This could potentially be a really helpful thing for some businesses.

[00:25:19] Justin Kendall: And it was really cool the way that these conversations sort of dovetail through each other, whether it's like, you know, Lester and Jennifer Hawk giving the draft presentation and how that sort of weaved through the distributor panel. But then the distributor panel also touched on the intoxicating hemp portion. You know, they, of course, you know, they're the, the middle tier, they, they touch everything, but it's great to see just some of those themes reinforced throughout these multiple panels.

[00:25:47] The Brewbound: Yeah, it's almost like we planned that.

[00:25:50] Justin Kendall: I mean, we kind of did. A little bit. One more thing that we'll touch on and we'll get out of here and on to our featured interview is the Pitch Slam competition. And the winner was Hurray's Girl Beer. That was a cool competition. And it was a lot of beer in that competition this year.

[00:26:11] The Brewbound: Yeah, a lot of beer flavored beer. I also think everybody looked super polished. We don't always see that. Like all of those, like at least with all the finalists who got to show some slides and stuff, like their stuff is on point and it looks great.

[00:26:29] Jessica Fontaine: They were doing things beyond just having good liquid. They were doing things like setting up communities that were based around their brand, setting up events beyond just the product they're selling. Everyone had some really great stories about how they are making their presence in wherever they are, even though there's still many of them at the beginning of their journey. It was like they knew how important it is to be a brand beyond just a product, and that was really cool to see.

[00:26:59] Justin Kendall: You know, we talk about reaching underrepresented communities. A lot of these presenters were doing that. They were filling a need, essentially, within the category.

[00:27:11] The Brewbound: Girl Beer is, you know, we've kind of like had our eye on them on social for a few months now. And it's really, like, I'm really glad they entered. And it's been really interesting to watch because they are doing something that I think is really difficult, which is taking like a tongue in cheek and like wry sense of humor to speaking to women in a pretty male dominated space. And that's hard to do, but they're pulling it off. And their beer's really good.

[00:27:37] Justin Kendall: I was just going to mention that. It was the Pineapple Uzu and what was it? Was it Blueberry Lavender?

[00:27:45] The Brewbound: Blueberry Lavender.

[00:27:46] Justin Kendall: Yeah. And they were both very good. After we were done, I made sure that I found like the two cans that we had left of it so we could all try it. And thank you for that.

[00:27:57] The Brewbound: Yeah. I remember seeing them. They first caught my eye on Instagram and I remember thinking like, oh, here we go again. product that's targeting women, blah, blah, blah. But it works. And when you hear Ray, the founder, describe it all, you get it.

[00:28:11] Jessica Fontaine: So... Yeah. I love that they had... Their inspiration for a lot of their imagery marketing is liquid death, where it's almost like this really loud, out there, a bit ridiculous type of imagery. And it's not... Some of the times when you see some of these brands that are being very direct with who their consumer is, they almost lean into stereotypes a little bit as a way to be like, yes, we acknowledge this happening and we're embracing this. And this was almost like, we're going to do this in a completely different way where we're just going to like call out some ridiculous things that are happening and how we are completely going to, it felt almost like, I'm trying not to use any like cheesy words here, but it felt very rebellious almost and exciting and energized and that was really cool to see.

[00:29:00] The Brewbound: Yeah, and we'll have a conversation with Ray in the coming weeks about her win and her brand and all of that. But I'm really glad she brought up in her presentation the ridiculousness that was Bic for women. I feel like I spent half of my classes in grad school talking about this. Basically, some odd years ago, Bic created a pen, but for women, which is like, okay, it's pink and it's got a soft grip on it. Who needs this and why? She pointed out as being an example of the way that pandering to women can fail. And it did, it was completely laughed out of the marketplace. She is doing the opposite.

[00:29:39] Justin Kendall: And very much looking forward to that conversation. And, you know, if you're a Connor, I guess you shouldn't listen to that conversation.

[00:29:47] The Brewbound: No, you know what you did, Connor.

[00:29:49] Justin Kendall: I'll give an honorable mention to dad strength because that's definitely hitting the need for me, which is 2.9% IPA.

[00:29:58] Jessica Fontaine: There's a market out there.

[00:30:00] Justin Kendall: There is. I wouldn't have said that eight years ago.

[00:30:06] The Brewbound: No, you would not.

[00:30:08] Justin Kendall: Yeah. Well, anything else The Brewbound Live before we head to our featured interview?

[00:30:14] Jessica Fontaine: I'm really happy with how it went, got to see some awesome people. And definitely if you missed anything, like even if you're in person and you were at one of those one-to-one meetings or something, all of those videos are available The Brewbound.com. So you can revisit them, catch anything you missed. They're really great conversations, every single one of them.

[00:30:34] The Brewbound: And they will be available The Brewbound.com in perpetuity if you join us as The Brewbound Insider.

[00:30:40] Justin Kendall: Yep. That's right. And if we didn't connect in a Marina Del Rey reach out, that's the one thing that I always feel bad about is like you're running around doing so many different things and you, you know, you see somebody and you just never get the chance to like say, Hey, you know, so hopefully, you know, we can turn that around. But with that, let's get to our featured interview with the The Brewbound person of the year. Leah Wong Ashburn.

[00:31:10] The Brewbound: Next up on The Brewbound Live livestream, it's a conversation The Brewbound's Person of the Year, who will be very quick to tell you that she'd prefer the award to be called Team of the Year. I am so excited to be joined by Leah Wong Ashburn, the president of Highland Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina. Leah, how you doing?

[00:31:28] Brewers Association: We are doing so much better, so much better. It's a study in contrast with the areas that are kind of just fine right now and super eager to have all of our tourists back. and places where you still can't even drive through them and people are really suffering.

[00:31:43] The Brewbound: Yeah, it's quite a time you guys are living through. So for the folks at home who maybe need a little refresher, we have been so impressed with Leah's grit, grace, and leadership as she guides her company through the recovery process in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which waged a trail of devastation across the Southeast, but was particularly gutting for Highland's hometown of Asheville. All of that happened earlier this fall. It's been quite a journey to get to where we are right now. But along the way, Highland has really cemented itself as a beacon in the community and is sharing its sprawling hilltop campus with nearly 10 relief groups, even an outdoor zoo. You've really helped people come together and you're sharing all the resources that you have available, which we're so, so, so impressed with. But Leah, when we last checked in, Highland had just gotten potable water back, which makes brewing beer so much easier. So tell us how the team was getting it done before that happened.

[00:32:37] Brewers Association: Before that happened, when we didn't have water, we couldn't brew for five and a half weeks, and there were so many needs in our community. So we let the goats run loose on the property. We collected water totes. We had supplies coming in from a ton of North Carolina brewers, but also brewers and people from all over the place. I mean, like many states away driving in. We were relief centers for a lot of organizations. World Central Kitchen stored food once we had power in our coolers and freezers. And, um, Oh my gosh, so many other things that we have. We still have pet food here for the humane society. We had supplies for the North Carolina state troopers. I just went on and on. And the biggest organization is beloved Asheville there. They have an organization down the street, but it flooded and they needed space right away. We had a warehouse that we had not leased out and just said, come on up. So we're still running operations with them. It's been well over two months. Two of our folks are down there and they have flexed from two very different jobs. One is our seller leader, new product development. Another is a high-end hospitality leader. And they're both down there like driving forklifts, organizing warehouse, welcoming people who need items or are willing to drive items out to people who need them. So it's been like this amazing turn. I hate to say pivot yet again, but good Lord, we did it again. And it was really led by my husband. So I'm super proud of Brock Ashburn. He is our facilities manager. And so he was just kind of like pointing in all directions and getting people to go where they could fit and where would suit them best. You know, Maybe we had a forklift driver and maybe they needed a dock, a shipping dock. So whatever they needed, we tried to accommodate and just do the most good we could with what we had.

[00:34:38] The Brewbound: Well, I mean, you are absolutely doing that. And I think that gives us a great place to, sorry, but pivot into some new news that you've got to share with us today. So tell us about what you guys have going on.

[00:34:51] Brewers Association: Thank you, Jess. I would love to. We've been looking for over a year at what our brand badge is. So it's kind of like a mission, but squished together into fewer words. Like the reason that people buy our beer, believe in Highland. And when we boiled it all down, it's a thirst for good. So we've been part of this community for 30 years. We've brewed good beer, we've done good things. And so this thirst for good sort of entrenches and embodies why we're here what we intend to keep doing. It has a dual meaning. So a thirst for good is a thirst, an instinctual need to do good, to benefit the community. And it also means a thirst for good, as in for the long haul, as in always. So we're always going to pursue this thing. So really happy about that and the way that's going to show up for real. The first time is with Highland Haze. So that's a beer being released in February of 2025. And every keg sold is going to trigger a donation. And that's going to go to the North Carolina Hospitality Workers Relief Fund. So that is something done through the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. And we can earmark it for Western North Carolina specifically. So we're really excited to have a chance to help on a longer term basis. And Skyland Distributing is going to match our donations dollar for dollar, our local distributor. So that's really fantastic. We'll make more of an impact that way. And retailers can also jump in if they want to. but we're very excited to have a lasting impact. Our unemployment went from the lowest in the state to the highest when this storm happened. So we'll be able to kind of help some of those longer-term needs with Highland Haze.

[00:36:42] The Brewbound: That's amazing. Now, where can drinkers expect to find Highland Haze?

[00:36:47] Brewers Association: Well, hopefully all over North Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, because that's where we sell beer. So it would be available to everyone. It'll be draft only in the spring of 2025. So we want to pull people back into places where they're communing with other folks. And maybe if that goes great, then we'll introduce it in package in the fall.

[00:37:09] The Brewbound: No, I can imagine what a beer that has haze in its name is, but can you tell us a little bit about The Brewers itself?

[00:37:14] Brewers Association: Oh, well, The Brewers have gone nuts. We have tasted it together and it is, it has the flowable hot product that they're super excited about. So just, it's so fruity. It is, it's bright and delicious. And this went over in our long-term planning meeting, like a round of applause for this beer. So can't wait, 7.4% and yeah, draft only again. So we've never done that before and really excited to have this out.

[00:37:45] The Brewbound: That's awesome. Well, congrats to the team on really coming up with something that's absolutely going to embody this new brand badge that you've come up with, which I love. I think it makes so much sense. I get all the meetings. It's multifaceted. I think it's perfect for you guys. So great work on that.

[00:38:01] Brewers Association: Thank you. Yeah, it's really going to drive how we frame our promotion, how we talk about ourselves. It already guides the decisions we make. We've just never said it in so few words. So it's nice to have this clarity.

[00:38:15] The Brewbound: Brevity is always the best.

[00:38:17] Brewers Association: Brevity is always good.

[00:38:19] The Brewbound: One thing, you and I have had a bunch of conversations over the past couple of weeks and I've been so impressed with your leadership and how evident it is that you care so greatly for your team. They are really what makes The Brewers run and what makes everything possible. What have you learned about yourself as a leader in guiding everybody through this whole ordeal?

[00:38:40] Brewers Association: I've learned a lot. I am a vulnerable leader. That's just my style. So I will tell people if I'm struggling with something, how hard something is. I also want my messages, especially in times of crisis, to focus on the staff. So every message I sent out during the hardest times started with, what affects my team? Like, you was usually the first word in any of my communications. You can expect. I know you are feeling these things. You have experienced just focusing on what we were doing for them, that we had them in mind first, because As you said, like this whole team effort has been everything from wellness checks to delivering supplies to doing a completely different job from what they were hired for. So I am super grateful for that. And I want everybody to know that.

[00:39:37] The Brewbound: In addition to all of that, you also are still so calm and collected, and I think you probably have a lot of wisdom to share with any The Brewers leaders that unfortunately will find themselves in the same position somewhere down the road. Maybe it's not a hurricane, but maybe it's some other kind of disaster or any other thing that ultimately totally affects not only your team, but your area. What advice would you have for people who might need to figure out how to really pick up the charge and carry on?

[00:40:04] Brewers Association: Right. Well, one thing I know is that one person can't do everything. So while Brock was directing traffic and accommodating organizations here, I was thinking about team communication. There were so many pieces that had to be covered. So don't try to do it yourself. You know, find your teammates, like your closest circle that are really going to stick by and dig in with you. The second thing I've learned is that insurance does not cover what you think it does. We have $15 million in insurance coverage. Very little of that is kicking in to the point of four figures right now. I mean, it has been such a lesson. What you think you are covered for, brewers, I am talking to every single one of you, you're not covered. It depends on how things happen, where they happen, whether you have flood insurance or not can make a difference, but it doesn't make all the difference. We have business continuation, business interruption insurance, and it is not kicking in because of something that happens off our property that had to do with water. And it's just the amount of things that cut off what you can be covered for is a lot. So have a better understanding of your insurance policy, something I would, I would pass on to all brewers.

[00:41:24] The Brewbound: Leah, as always, you are such a font of knowledge and wisdom for your fellow brewery leaders, but what do you see as being next on the horizon for Asheville?

[00:41:35] Brewers Association: Oh, Asheville and really all of Western North Carolina. and Eastern Tennessee has so much recovery to go through. So right now, these contrasts, as I mentioned earlier, are the toughest part. We are desperate for tourists to come back to support our hospitality workers, our restaurants, bars, artists, musicians, like we need everybody back right now. I want them back. And at the same time, there are areas of the city and the region that you cannot go through We don't want tourists that are just, you know, seeing the damage because they're getting in the way. So going to the right places, go to the places that are ready and continue to come. So moving forward, we're still going to need lots of tourism money here. And that kind of caring, you know, voluntourism, maybe that's our saving grace. That could be an incredible way for us to move forward. So if you have a heart for Western North Carolina, an emotional connection like so many people do, you're part of our future. Come visit, spend money, and help us be part of this recovery. It's gonna be, I mean, I don't know, the financial damage even for us when we had no physical damage, is going to take, I don't know, a couple of years to dig out of. So there are others in far worse situations, and we would all love support.

[00:43:00] The Brewbound: Amazing. So drink beer, come visit if you can, and if you are coming, plan to help a little bit.

[00:43:07] Brewers Association: That's right. Yeah, kick dry January out of your vernacular. That is done.

[00:43:11] The Brewbound: Amazing. Well, like you and I have said, Asheville has been on my list for a long time. hopefully in the future, but we are so, it's been so lovely to get to know you and the team throughout all of this. And I'm just sad that it took this horrific disaster to make that happen, but we are so, so proud of everything you've been able to do so far. And we can't wait to see where you guys continue to go because I'm sure the future is super bright. Thank you so much for being with us to have this chat today.

[00:43:40] Brewers Association: Thank you so much for the honor. I appreciate everybody The Brewbound.

[00:43:44] Justin Kendall: And that's our show for this week. Thanks to Jess and Zoe for all they do and all they did The Brewbound Live. Thanks to our AV team for putting this together. And thanks to all of you for listening. We'll be back next week.