Brewbound Podcast

Allagash Brewing has launched a pair of recycling programs as part of the Portland, Maine-headquartered craft brewery’s commitment to sustainability. “It’s been part of who we are for some time,” brewmaster and VP of brewing operations Jason Perkins explained during the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. On a special Earth Day edition of the podcast, Perkins details Allagash’s recycling co-op with other Maine breweries, as well as its program that encourages consumers to drop off recyclable items such as PakTech carriers, corks, metal caps and cages, and shipping materials such as bubble wrap and air pillows at the brewery. “We don’t necessarily want to run a recycling program for the next 20 years or whatever it is,” Perkins said. “It works for us now, but we hope to proof-of-concept this, and show that it works, and there is some interest with some local recycling and trash companies, the University of Maine has expressed some possible interest in potentially getting involved. So the long-term goal is for this to get some legs under it and go bigger than what it is now. “ Perkins shares advice for other breweries considering starting their own programs, the work of Allagash’s “Green Team” and how sustainability factors into recipe creation. Brewbound’s Justin Kendall and Jess Infante discuss other Earth Day initiatives, including New Belgium’s Fat Tire Torched Earth Ale, second COVID-19 vaccine shots, pet turkeys and more. Listen to the episode above and on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday. Check Brewbound’s upcoming events schedule for future podcast episodes and streaming video programming. Email [email protected] with questions and feedback.

Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, state guild leaders from California, Oregon and Minnesota discuss their legislative priorities in 2021 and the challenges ahead for their members. Featured guests include: Lori Ajax, the new executive director of the California Craft Brewers Association Leia Ostermann Bailey, associate executive director of the California Craft Brewers Association Lauren Bennett McGinty, executive director of the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild Christina LaRue, executive director of the Oregon Brewers Guild The guild leaders share their key legislative agendas, the challenges of educating public health officials, looming state excise tax battles and more. The Brewbound team also breaks down the latest news stories, including Boston Beer’s Super Bowl ad, Pabst pausing production of Olympia, the legacy of Untappd and much more. Editor’s Note: This podcast was recorded prior to the resignations of executives Jeff Krum and Natalie Gershon from Duvel Moortgat USA and Boulevard Brewing Company and additional accusations of management’s mishandling of workplace and sexual harassment came to light. Listen to the episode above, or find it on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday. Check Brewbound’s upcoming events schedule for future podcast episodes and streaming video programming. Email [email protected] with questions, comments or suggestions for future shows and guests.

Two of the legendary figures in craft brewing are beginning to take a step back from the industry they helped build. In October 2018, Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman quietly handed off the CEO role to Jeff White. The transition at the top of the 40-year-old Chico, California-headquartered craft brewery occurred so quietly that it wasn’t reported until January 2019. Also in January 2019, Odell Brewing’s three founders — Wynne, Doug and Corkie Odell — informed their employees that they’d be exiting the daily operations of the 30-year-old Fort Collins, Colorado-based craft brewery at the end of 2019. The transition plans were also kept under wraps until the company publicly announced that the Odells would retire and Eric “Smitty” Smith, a 25-year employee of the brewery, would assume the CEO role in 2020. If these two quiet transitions sound familiar, it was by design. Wynne Odell told Brewbound that she admired the way that Grossman handed off his chief executive role, and wanted to mirror that “very organic transition.” In Episode 4 of the Brewbound Podcast’s second season, Odell shared with Brewbound editor Justin Kendall what she anticipates it will be like to wake up on January 1, and no longer be involved in the day-to-day operations of Odell Brewing. She also discusses why Odell Brewing’s co-founders didn’t want to “die with their boots on,” and why she’s now an evangelist for succession planning, even for founders who aren’t yet ready to step away from their businesses. Meanwhile, in a separate interview recorded during the Great American Beer Festival, Grossman discussed his own decade of delegation that led to White eventually taking the reins, reveals what he plans to do with his free time, and looks back on a transformational year for Sierra Nevada. Listen to Episode 4 above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published Thursdays. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Although Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing has scaled production to about 100,000 barrels annually over the last 13 years, the company’s growth and expansion strategy has remained rather modest compared to some other U.S. craft breweries. It never chased a national distribution footprint. It never attempted to build a brewery on the opposite coast. And it never took on too much debt to grow. “In retrospect, ‘thanks former self’ for being at least somewhat moderate in scope and decision-making,” Ninkasi co-founder Nikos Ridge joked during a recent interview for the Brewbound Podcast. Ridge — referring to his company’s tactic of selling 85 percent of its beer across three states (it has distribution in 12) and not growing too quickly — said Ninkasi always had a vision of becoming a “super-regional” craft brewery that didn’t need to rely on 20 percent year-over-year growth to service a larger chunk of debt. “Having gone through the process of negotiating a lot of the debt through our expansion, there were a lot of models that we passed on that would have been heavily impactful,” he said. “I can’t imagine what it’s like to try to manage 50 states of distribution where you’re thin and not really relevant across a giant territory,” he added. That’s not to say Ninkasi didn’t tap into bank financing to fund its expanded operations. In fact, the company completed a $24 million expansion in 2014, the last year it grew by double-digits. In 2015, the company’s growth slowed to 5 percent. Over the next two years, production declined 1 percent and 8 percent, respectively. Nevertheless, Ridge said Ninkasi’s decision not to expand beyond its means allowed the company to explore a variety of options when it came time to determine its next move. Ultimately, Ninkasi opted to sell a majority stake to Legacy Breweries, an upstart venture led by former Yakima Chief CEO Don Bryant that aims to acquire U.S. craft breweries. “Certainly, de-levering as a result of this partnership and putting ourselves in a position to be making investments again – in terms of potential acquisitions and other partnership discussions – is a great result, and part of why we did it, but it wasn’t driven by the need to de-lever.” In episode 34 of the Brewbound Podcast, Ridge shares his vision for the Legacy Breweries platform and explains some of the transaction options that are available to brewery owners. He also discusses how the proliferation of smaller craft breweries is impacting regional breweries, Ninkasi’s new hard seltzer offering, and how he sees the better-for-you alcohol space developing. Listen to episode 34 of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 35, which features an interview with Lawson’s Finest Liquids owner Sean Lawson, will be released on Thursday, May 9. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected]. Show Notes: 0:00 – 20:48: Furnari and Kendall introduce episode 34 and discuss the latest news 20:48 – 58:30: Furnari interview Nikos Ridge 58:30 – 1:21:31: Furnari and Kendall share their takeaways from the interview and rundown segments

When Monday Night Brewing co-founder Jeff Heck is looking to hire a new employee, he doesn’t just sit a candidate down and run through a list of the 15 most common interview questions. “It’s a painful process to go through for people that want to get a job with us,” he said, noting that the company asks applicants to actually perform the job they are applying for as part of the assessment. When the company was trying to identify its next wood cellar manager, the executive team and other key brewing and operations personnel spent an hour-and-a-half tasting 15 different beers the candidate had produced and asked him dozens of questions about each one. “We just want to see – how does he think about the beer? What would he do differently? Is he able to talk about the mistakes he’s made? Is he able to talk about how he would take learnings from one beer and apply it to another?” Heck said. Similarly, when the company was looking for a new marketing manager, it asked candidates, who had already passed an initial round of interviews, to create a mock social media calendar, which helped the hiring team narrow its search. “It’s a great screening tool,” he said. In episode 26 of the Brewbound Podcast, Heck discusses the company’s recruiting and hiring processes, interviewing and onboarding new employees, the company’s culture, and how the executive team encourages employees to take ownership over certain aspects of the brewery’s operations. Listen to episode 26 of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 27, featuring Fort Point Beer Company founder and CEO Justin Catalana, will be released on Thursday, March 14. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].