Brewbound 2024 Craft Brewery of the Year: Coronado Brewing Co.

Speaker 1 [00:05] Our next award winner is our 2024 craft brewery of the Year. That is Coronado Brewing in San Diego. Joining me now is Rick Chapman, co-founder of Coronado Brewing. Hey, Rick, congratulations.

Speaker 2 [00:20] Thanks, Justin. Honored.

Speaker 1 [00:22] Uh, we're honored. So I'm so stoked that you're joining us and, uh, we got a great view from, uh, I believe your boat.

Speaker 2 [00:30] Yeah, we're, yeah, there's a little bit of helicopter noise. The navy's doing their stuff in the background there, so hopefully that doesn't interfere too much.

Speaker 1 [00:38] I know it's a little nicer in San Diego than it is where I am right now in Iowa, so I'm, I'm guessing somewhere in the 60s, high 60s,

Speaker 2 [00:48] mid 60s. We're hoping to hit 70, but it doesn't look like it's gonna happen today.

Speaker 1 [00:52] Yeah, well, Coronado is 29 years old, and you all are crushing it in the last couple of years, posting double-digit growth led by Weekend vibes IPA and big weekend double IPA. You've also launched a cider brand that's performing very well in SoCal. When you look back on Weekend vibes 2019 launch, is that sort of a catalyst or a turning point that you see for the brand?

Speaker 2 [01:22] Yeah, it really was, you know, we kind of, we re-looked at our portfolio, you know, back in 2016, 202017, and, you know, it took a couple of years to develop the new beer weekend vibes to get it where we wanted it, and, uh, yeah, that's, that's really what Launched us on the path that we're on today, growing for the past 5 years straight.

Speaker 1 [01:45] What is it about that brand that's really resonated so well with consumers?

Speaker 2 [01:50] The liquid is insane, you know, our production team, laboratory, everybody over at the mothership, you know, they just do a phenomenal job and the liquid's incredible. Um, you know, the, the name that we chose, Weekend vibes, you know, resonates with our consumers. Um, San Diego, everything's about the beach and, you know, ocean lifestyle and we got the mountains close to us as well. So, you know, everybody, everybody wants to live for the weekend, so. We launched Weekend vibes.

Speaker 1 [02:22] It's such a perfect name and it's, it's one that you can really build off of and you've done that with Big Weekend. It's a double IPA it rolled out last year. It's appealing to that higher ABV seeking consumer, and Big Weekend was among the top craft beer launches of last year, and those trends seem to be holding up in year two. What is the opportunity that you see with big weekend?

Speaker 2 [02:46] Uh, it's, it's massive, you know, we had the Never Better was our double IPA before and it was doing OK. It just wasn't growing the way we wanted. So we, we decided we're gonna tap in with the Weekend vibes brand and really, uh, lean on that and it's, it's worked for us. Um, yeah, it's a phenomenal beer and just, you know, does, does fantastic out in the market for us and, you know, our, our wholesalers are on board with it, the retailers, and ultimately the consumers.

Speaker 1 [03:18] You've really got a foundation for a family here. Are, are there any new weekend family members coming along in 2025 or very soon after?

Speaker 2 [03:28] Possibly soon after, yeah, there's discussions. On other Beers to put into that portfolio.

Speaker 1 [03:36] I mentioned cider at the top of, of our conversation here, and you, you launched that a couple of years ago, and that bet has paid off. Why was cider the right fit for Coronado?

Speaker 2 [03:48] We were in the seltzer game too, and we just, we wanted to do something else. Our, you know, a lot of our brewers, um, and staff, they drink ciders and You know, we sell ciders at our pubs and so we started exploring it and just said, hey, we, we think we could do this well as well. So, and, and at that time, that's when the uh licensing in California opened up where you could do cider or wine, spirits, and beer in one location. Um, so that's what we, we went after the cider category and, you know, we've got, we're the number one independent cider company in Southern California right now and growing.

Speaker 1 [04:26] What do you see as the opportunity to build on that momentum that you have there in SoCal?

Speaker 2 [04:32] Uh, just, you know, we have so much work to continue to do in California for our beer and cider. It's, you know, we just launched the cider brands in San Diego to start and then we went to Southern California. Now it's all of California and some of our outside states as well. People are begging for it. So there's a lot of opportunity. Um, yeah, we're just, you know, we really focus on from our core here in San Diego and go outward from there. Um, but there's a, you know, a huge opportunity. A lot of other people are getting into ciders as well, uh, other breweries in the, in the area. So, you know, we're luckily, lucky that we started before most of them, and, um, yeah, we're just capitalizing on it.

Speaker 1 [05:16] Well, Coronado also has a long-standing partnership with lifestyle brand Salty Crew, with Salty Crew Blonde, yeah, which you're, you're tipping back there. What has that partnership unlocked for Coronado?

Speaker 2 [05:32] Yeah, it's insane, you know, the Salty Crew guys, the Lanes, Jared and Hayden Lane and um their partners, um, they came to us years ago and wanted to do a movie at our location. And then second time, 2nd movie we launched, they wanted to Have a beer, so we created a beer on draft and then we're, you know, after the movie, we're like, hey, you know, we had like, I think we could have about 500 people, 1500 people showed up. So we had to turn people away for that event. But um yeah, we just started discussing, you know, hey, what, what would it look like if we did a Did a uh beer. For salty crew. And uh they were very involved in it, you know, they're, they're a lifestyle brand that is very authentic to themselves and, you know, they're dear friends of ours that our friendship's grown over the years of our partnership. But yeah, so we created that beer with them, you know, tried a bunch of different beers and, you know, it came down to they wanted to do a boat beer, which fits their brand. And so we developed that with them, came, came out with Salty Crude Blonde. And uh yeah, it's, it's been a rocket ship for us. It's, it's exceeded our expectations. It's about a third of our portfolio now, the Salty Crew, and that was just with one six-pack until last year when we did, started the 12 packs and now we have the 192s as well.

Speaker 1 [06:56] You got the full suite going on then,

Speaker 2 [06:59] yeah, OK, yeah,

Speaker 1 [07:00] that's awesome. And you've got the at the brewery business as well. How is that going this year?

Speaker 2 [07:07] Uh, our pubs, yeah, so the original brew pub, it's, you know, that's been the golden goose for 29 years now. So it's, it's still cranking along, you know, um, we just do beer and wine there, and it's, yeah, it's a great establishment. I think you've been there before.

Speaker 1 [07:23] Oh yeah, yeah,

Speaker 2 [07:24] um, yeah, and at our, uh, production facility we have a nice tasting room, a kitchen, and yeah, those, they're both growing, you know, not, not. Not that much, you know, COVID was gnarly on retail business, so we came out of that, regrouped, and, you know, we're, we're doing fine, you know, the both locations are doing well. Well,

Speaker 1 [07:47] not a lot of people can say that in 2024. So when you're looking ahead to 2025, what do you see as the biggest opportunity ahead for Coronado?

Speaker 2 [07:58] Just continue to focus on what we're doing. Um, you know, like I said earlier, there's so much opportunity still in California. Um, you know, we, so we have a lot of work to continue to do here. Um, we are in about 13 states, but, you know, 85% of our business is California and we still see a lot of room for growth. In our home state.

Speaker 1 [08:22] I mean, it, it's essentially 3 to 4 states when, when you look at that compared to the rest of the map.

Speaker 2 [08:29] Yeah, and it's interesting looking at, um, numbers and that, you know, the other states that were surrounding us, you know, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Hawaii, um, those, those states are growing more than California, you know, on a, on a lot, that, that's about 10% of our sales, those, those 4 states, but, uh, yeah. We're growing at about, I think, 14% on those states and about 12% this year um in California.

Speaker 1 [08:59] I love to hear that. So, Rick, I'm so excited for you all. Congratulations again.

Speaker 2 [09:06] Thank you, Justin and all the crew at Brewbound. We, we appreciate the partnership with you guys and we're so honored. My whole, my whole team is being very quiet about it, but they're, they're excited and we appreciate it. We appreciate the partnership with you all.

Speaker 1 [09:22] We've always appreciated the partnership with you all and we're just stoked to get the chance to honor you all. Well,

Speaker 2 [09:29] we appreciate it.