John Hensley Joins Lift Bridge Brewing Co. as Director of Operations

Lift Bridge Brewing Company, one of Minnesota’s largest craft breweries, announces the hiring of industry expert John Hensley, former Master Brewer at Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, as Director of Operations.

Lift Bridge Brewing Company, one of the original craft breweries in the state of Minnesota, continues to grow and innovate in both beer and beyond beer products, is excited to announce the hiring of John Hensley as the Director of Operations. John will sit on the Lift Bridge leadership team, and play an integral role in overseeing brewery operations, quality, packaging, and the continued development of innovative and high quality beverages.

“We are thrilled to have John join our team as we continue to successfully navigate the ever-changing landscape of the craft beverage industry with our award-winning beers and extensive portfolio of beyond beer products. With John’s highly accomplished background, we are poised to rapidly scale our growth and expansion plans to meet the demand of our internal brands and our contract production clients around the country.”

— Igor Barabash · CEO

John joins Lift Bridge after over a decade of experience at Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Chippewa Falls, as part of Molson Coors, the second largest brewer in the country. During his time there, John led all brewing and quality operations as master brewer, and oversaw the implementation of all capital improvement projects.

“I am really excited at this opportunity to join the Lift Bridge team.  Having been an admirer of theirs for years, I have always been impressed by their innovation in the craft beer space and beyond. I hope to further enhance that reputation with my skills and experience.”

— John Hensley · Director of Operations

John’s addition to the Lift Bridge team reinforces their continued momentum as a leader in an industry that’s seen increased volatility in recent years. They are developing bold new products and investing in scalable growth strategies that are setting them apart from peers. John’s deep expertise and forward-thinking approach will help build on that foundation, maintaining and elevating a reputation for excellence. With his guidance, Lift Bridge will continue to push boundaries while staying true to their roots: crafting the highest quality beverages possible, with an unwavering commitment to flavor, creativity, and consistency.

“From the inception of our company, our mission has been to produce the highest quality beverages possible to share with everyone, which takes the highest quality people to do.  John is just that, a proven master in the art of brewing and beverage production who will advance Lift Bridge into a new chapter of growth and quality.  I couldn’t be more excited.”  

— Brad Glynn · Co-Founder · Creative Director

Recent innovations from Lift Bridge include new products in both beer and the beyond beer space, including new core beers to the year-round lineup, seasonal and limited releases, premium flavored malt beverages, sodas, hemp-based beverages and gummies, and non-alcoholic mocktails. Using Lift Bridge’s best-in-class malt base, the wildly popular lineup of flavored malt beverages is now certified as “crafted to remove gluten”. Through investment in a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis nano-filter and proprietary process, microscopic particles like gluten can be effectively captured, resulting in the cleanest fermented alcohol available on the market and ensuring that the gluten level is below what the FDA considers gluten-free. 

As Lift Bridge enters its 17th year, the company is in the final stages of fundraising for a physical expansion with a new facility that will allow for insourcing all production and increasing its diverse co-packing capabilities.  

About Lift Bridge Brewing:

Throughout its history, Lift Bridge has been dedicated to developing innovative, yet approachable products.  Starting with high quality craft beers, then extending the product line to include sodas, hard seltzers, flavored malt beverages, spirit based ready-to-drink cocktails, non-alcoholic mocktails, functional beverages, and a full line of hemp based products.  Lift Bridge Brewing Company truly has something for everyone.

The Lift Bridge brand portfolio can be found throughout the northern Midwest region. Currently, Lift Bridge operates two production facilities and Taprooms in Stillwater, Minn. and New Richmond, Wisc. and also consults and collaborates on various beverage projects, both locally and nationally.

Our mission is simple:

Elevating experiences with every sip.