Brewbound 2023 Craft Brewery of the Year: Lawson’s Finest Liquids

Justin Fonte [00:12] Welcome back to the Brewbound Live live stream. I'm Justin Fonte, Brewbound managing editor, and I am so honored to be able to have this next conversation. We are so excited, uh, to share some, some big news. So, You know, our guests today are from Lawson's Finest Liquids up in Vermont. They've had a big year. Uh, the brewery achieved B Corp status. The social impact program crossed the threshold of $1.5 million raised. Adeline Drewart joined as CEO, which marks the passing of the torch. And for all of these reasons and more, we are so excited to name Wakesfield, Vermont's own Lawson's Finest Liquids, Brewbound's Craft brewery of the Year. So, Adeline, Shawn, welcome. Congratulations. How are you both?

Speaker 2 [00:56] Great, thank you so much. Yeah, we're so thrilled to receive this honor. It's, it's huge.

Justin Fonte [01:04] Good. Well, you guys very much deserve it, and I believe this marks the 2nd year in a row, in a row for a Vermont brewer. Last year we had named, uh, Fiddlehead Craft Brewer of the Year. So you guys are clearly doing something right up there in the Green Mountain State.

Speaker 3 [01:18] We sure do.

Speaker 2 [01:19] I call it, a little sprinkle of magic goes into every beer.

Justin Fonte [01:24] It's a, I would believe that for sure. So, we've got so much to talk about and I think it's just kind of important to, to kind of look at Look at the journey a little bit and personally for me, you know, I fondly remember the days of visiting Burlington for various weekend trips, lining up at the beverage warehouse in Menuskie to grab a sip of sunshine to bring home to Massachusetts, but I am now equally pleased to be able to find it right here at home. So, Sean, what was the journey like for you to bring this brand up to wider distribution?

Speaker 2 [01:57] Uh, it's been a pretty amazing journey. It's been 15 years since I started the brewery. Um, my wife joined a few years and Karen and I have, uh, started as a mom and pop, stewarded the business through our early stages of growth, uh, expanded the brewery that started right next to the house in Warren, Vermont, and then as demand really grew and Uh, popularized kind of a cult following that we had at Lawson's Finest. People driving like yourself from all over the Northeast to come to Vermont to buy Double Sunshine, uh, our maple beers and some of our other creations looked at what the next step was, and that was in 2014 when Uh, I launched Sip of Sunshine down at Two Rhodes Brewing in, in Connecticut, and that really enabled us to grow the brand, get the beer out to market beyond Vermont, first in Connecticut, then Massachusetts, Metro New York, and I never could have imagined that our little mom and pop company would have grown to where we are. Today with over 85 employees and distribution in 10 states, so it's been a, it's been a thrill, and I just, I couldn't be more thrilled at where we've landed and especially the amazing team of people, one of whom is sitting right next to me now that we've assembled that really make Boston's finest who we are.

Justin Fonte [03:17] Awesome. Now, Adeline, your career is basically consisted of all of my favorite things, cheese, beer. So, first of all, how did you get so lucky? And I'm just kidding because it's not luck, it's, it's hard work and dedication and clearly talent. Uh, but my real question here is, how does it feel to take the helm of such a beloved brand?

Speaker 3 [03:35] Well, it feels like an honor and uh you know there is luck along the way, you know, it, you know, I, I got lucky to meet Sean uh we were in a peer group uh among you know Vermont business leaders and I remember being in the room when he announced he would be looking to hire his first CEO because he wanted to make sure that he, uh, he bring a, a, a seasoned leader in his company and he can continue to do what he loves to do best which is engage with a fan. You know, create new products and, and really have the time to do, to do that and so yeah, I feel very fortunate that I landed in uh an amazing business that has an incredible culture, amazing products, and a very deep sense of purpose. Like this is the real deal here and I'm on month 3. And gosh, between B Corp certification and this award, it's like it's gonna be hard to make to top that kind of year as your first year of onboarding, for sure. So thank you.

Justin Fonte [04:37] That is a crazy freshman year. Sean, what made you realize it was time to pass the torch?

Speaker 2 [04:43] Well, I'm so proud of how far we brought the company, um, through its growth. The organization itself is really only a little over 5 years old. Um, it was myself and Karen up until 2016, and then we hired our first employee. Uh, we built a team of 3 in addition to Karen and myself, um, as we shepherded the early growth, and then we were in a position to finally build a destination, a home for Lawson's Finest here in Wadesfield, Vermont, which included our, uh, newish production brewery, uh, a taproom, which we never had. Fans couldn't come to Lawson's Finest and get a beer because the brewery was up at, at our house in a residential location in Warren. And um to be able to get our specialty brands out to a wider market that we didn't have the production capacity to do yet. And so, as we, as we went through the buildout of this new home, we went from 5 employees to 50 overnight, and then over the next couple of years, uh, continued to grow, uh, grow the company, build the organization, and once we got to where we are in the last couple of years, the pandemic really helped me to realize Um, what are the things that I gained the most satisfaction, the greatest joy from at Lawson's Finest, and that's connecting with the fans, being a brand ambassador, tinkering with beer recipes, doing a little bit of brewing, um, and really helping to set the vision for, for the future. And so, in order to have more time to do those things and get a little bit more, less time behind the desk. Um, I knew it was time to, to make that change and also because of the growth of our company, um, to bring in someone who has the type of business experience and leadership with a more established organization that could help us open up the next chapter of growth and maturation for our company. Um, so Karen and I sat over many conversations thinking about what's next for us, um, and it became clear that for both of us, we really wanted to hire, um, and operationalize our day to day jobs. And so for me, that was hiring a CEO. For Karen, it was, uh, hiring a social impact program manager cause she's headed up our philanthropy and our social impact program over the last 5 years. And so we did that this year as well. It's been a lot of, a lot of change and accomplishments this year. Um, so we're able to hire, uh, Kara, who's our new SIP manager, and, um, that gets some time back for Karen and I as a couple, um, and being able to spend a little bit more time with our family, like I was just down in Clemson this past weekend, rooting on the Tigers at their, uh, their home stadium. Um, at, at the football game, and so, um, all those things together made it really clear that, uh, it was time for us to, uh, to pass the torch and really with craft beer also being in a, um, in a change phase, going through a cycle of big change, consolidation and downturns, lots of winners and losers in the sort of the contraction in the beer market in general, um. We knew we need, in order to stay a leader in craft beer, that we need to keep bringing in fresh ideas, innovation, and solid leadership to bring us into the future.

Justin Fonte [08:03] Amazing. Now, Adeline, it must be a little daunting to be joining the industry at, uh, such a cheery and successful time for all of us, but, uh, you know, you're new to beer, correct? Like what, what do you think you can bring to, uh, to both the brewery and the industry at large as somebody with fresh eyes, which I think is so important.

Speaker 3 [08:24] Yeah, I, I'm new to beer, uh, and, um, but I'm not new to the world of craft and the importance of craft and product quality and leading with authenticity, connecting with the consumer, um, you know, I'm originally from the world of dairy and artisan cheeses, so there's a lot of similarity between specialty artisan cheese and craft beer. Um, it's about, it's about the quality of the product and making sure you, you stay true to those principles that guides on how you create, uh, you create a, a sip of sunshine or, uh, very yummy pieces of cheese and, and connecting with the, with the consumer, making sure you are responsive to what the consumer wants, where the category is going, uh, making sure your brand is strong and tell a very authentic story. And what um I really am passionate about and what drove me out of many reasons to Lawson's Fins liquid is the purpose um you know I believe uh uh in the model of using business for good and um what I saw uh with what Karen and Sean have done is really. You know, leading with their value, I mean, it's clearly in our world, big and bright, as you can see, um, the SIP program that has reached over $2 million of, uh, uh, contribution over the past couple of years and, and recently the B Corp certification. To me, I see a lot of similarity, uh, between the world I'm from and, and the world of craft beer and. I see also with exactly like Sean mentioned so much um you know headwinds happening in the category uh I think new perspective is is gonna be a force for us we have a very diverse uh leadership team with people from the craft brewery but also from CPG from nonprofit, and I think this this diversity of thought and experience is also gonna help us to continue to run our business differently. And I think that's, that's gonna be a secret sauce that continues to move, uh, to move us into the future.

Justin Fonte [10:32] Awesome. Now, Shawn, one thing that, uh, I know is really important to the brand is, is the cold chain. That's like so important to your beers and it's not easy to do. Why has that been the right method for Lawson's?

Speaker 2 [10:47] From the very beginning, even as uh a nano brewer, I insisted that our beer is kept cold at every step of the way, um, at the brewery, in storage, uh, in distribution, even from, uh, the distribution wholesaler in the trucks to the retailer, and then at the retail level as well. Um, and what I'm really proud of this year is the success that our team has had. In building new relationships and chain and grocery and helping to educate the buyers and the key uh people at those companies on why it's so important to keep the beer cold, to display it cold, and to keep it cold in the back, which is not the standard. Um, in grocery or in or inconvenience, and we're only willing to work with those businesses that will, that will commit and follow through on keeping it cold, um, everywhere at, at each step of the chain, and that's in order to preserve, preserve the brewery freshness of the beer. Um, we also really, uh, What's uniquely ownable about Lawson's Finest is our freshness, uh, commitment to our customers. So, um, all of our IPAs and our Hop Forward beers, we have a 60 day, um, freshness guarantee on the beer. It's going to be as fresh as it was at the brewery for those 1st 60 days. And beyond that, we, um, pull product from the shelf. And so, That no one else can say that, I believe, in the industry to have such a short, um, it's not really a shelf life, it's telling the customers that our brand promises to get you brewery fresh beer every time you crack open a sip of sunshine or one of. our other delicious IPAs. And so thankfully in the beginning, there was a lot of pull for Lawson's finest in the marketplace and so that enabled me to convince wholesalers at the beginning to agree in contract and then follow through on that brand promise to keep the beer cold and to get it to customers fresh and price it fairly.

Justin Fonte [12:49] Amazing. Now, looking back at the last 15 years, what are you most proud of?

Speaker 2 [12:55] I think the, the, the people, the team that we've brought together, um, and. And on the other side of it, it's the people that enjoy our beer and there's so many stories that people have shared with us about memorable moments they have connecting over our beer, getting married with our beer, getting engaged with a sip of sunshine at the top of a mountain. Um, it's, it's those stories and those connections with people that really, that are the most meaningful to me, um, as a brewer because of what we can do in creating a, a product is something that. People can feel good about supporting our company, but they also, it brings a smile to their face, enjoying the beer, and then they create their own special memories um with experiences that they've had, um, with other people and our beer at the same time. That's really what makes all the hard work worth it every day.

Justin Fonte [13:52] Mhm. Amazing. Adeline, what are you most looking forward to?

Speaker 3 [13:57] To hang around with Sean, let's start with that, um, it's, it's so fun to spend time with him and, um, hear, you know, not only the past, um, you know, stories, but also think about where we can take the business, uh, forward, uh, all the ideas that maybe he hadn't had time to focus on, uh, in the past couple of years because the business was growing so fast and so, and, and looking forward to. You know there is a secret sauce here and it's real and I've been in the world of business long enough to observe other businesses and, and not everybody has all the pieces of the recipe but it it's there it's very, you know, such a great culture, such a great product and product with integrity that as we scale we kept true to that promise of, you know, fresh and kept cold and. Um, lots of room for innovation and, and growth into the future. So my role is not to screw it up and really to take that amazing brew and secret sauce and with the help of the team and Sean and Karen to bring into the, the future, we talk a lot about 2.0. What's the 2.0 for us as far as um everything we do within the business? So that's what I'm looking forward to to bring on my expertise to write the chapter with everybody to create the 2.0 for Lawson's Finest Liquids.

Justin Fonte [15:23] Perfect. Well, it has been an absolute joy to speak with you both. Congratulations to the two of you, to Karen, to the whole team. Uh, we are thrilled to name you guys the craft brewer of the Year. Woohoo.

Speaker 2 [15:36] Cheers. Cheers.

Speaker 3 [15:37] Thank you. Thank you. Bye.