Brewbound Awards 2024: Person of the Year - Leah Wong Ashburn of Highland Brewing

Speaker 1 [00:05] Next up on the Brewbound Live live stream, it's a conversation with 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 are you doing?

Speaker 2 [00:23] 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 we just, you still can't even drive through them and people are really suffering.

Speaker 1 [00:38] Yeah, it's, 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. Uh, all of that happened earlier this fall, and it's been quite a journey to get to where we are right now. Uh, 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.

Speaker 2 [01:32] Uh, before that happens when we didn't have water, we couldn't brew for 5.5 weeks and there were so many needs in our community. So we, uh, we let the goats run loose on the property. Um, 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, so. Uh, we, 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. It just went on and on, and the biggest organization is Beloved Asheville. They're, 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 2 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. Um, and, and they're both down there like driving forklifts, organizing warehouse, um, welcoming people who need items or are willing to drive items out to people who need them. So it's been like this amazing, uh, 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 um maybe they needed um a dock, a shipping dock. So whatever they needed, we, we tried to accommodate and just do the most good we could with what we had.

Speaker 1 [03:33] 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, uh, to share with us today. So tell us about what you guys have going on.

Speaker 2 [03:45] Thank you, Jess. I would love to. Um, 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 it, 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, and 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 in our um. 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, 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 the storm happened. So we'll be able to kind of help some of those longer term needs with Highland haze.

Speaker 1 [05:36] That's amazing. Now, where can drinkers expect to find Highland haze?

Speaker 2 [05:41] Well, hopefully all over North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, because that's where we sell beer, uh, so it'll 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, um, and maybe if that goes great, then we'll introduce it in package in the fall.

Speaker 1 [06:03] No, I can imagine what a beer that has haze in its name is, but can you tell us a little bit about the beer itself?

Speaker 2 [06:09] Oh, well, the brewers have gone nuts. We have tasted it together and it is, it has a flowable hot product that they're super excited about. So just, it's so fruity. It is. It's bright and delicious and um this one over in our long term planning meeting, like a round of applause for this beer. So, we can't wait, 7.4% and um yeah, draft only again. So we've never done that before and I'm really excited to have this out.

Speaker 1 [06:40] That's awesome. Well, congrats to the team on really coming up with something that's absolutely going to embody this, 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.

Speaker 2 [06:56] Thank you. Yeah, it's really gonna drive, um, how we frame our promotion, how we talk about ourselves. Um, it's, it already guides the decisions we make. We've just never said it in so few words. So it's, it's nice to have this clarity.

Speaker 1 [07:09] Brevity is always the best.

Speaker 2 [07:12] Brevity is always

Speaker 1 [07:12] good. One thing, you know, you and I have had a bunch of conversations over the past couple of weeks and I've been so impressed with your, your leadership and how much it's, how evident it is that you care so greatly for your team. They are really what makes the brewery run and what makes everything possible. What have you learned about yourself as a leader in guiding everybody through this whole ordeal?

Speaker 2 [07:35] I've learned a lot. I, I am a vulnerable leader. That's just my style. So, I will tell people if I'm struggling with something, you know, how hard something is, um, 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, was usually the first word in any of my. Communications you can expect. I know you are feeling these things, um, you have experienced, um, just, 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 um 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.

Speaker 1 [08:31] In addition to, 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 other brewery 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. Any other thing that ultimately totally affects your, not only your team, but your area, what advice will you have for people who might need to figure out how to really like pick up the charge and carry on?

Speaker 2 [08:59] Right. Um, 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, 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.

Speaker 1 [10:19] Lee, as always, you are such a, a font of knowledge and wisdom for, for your fellow, you know, brewery leaders, but what do you see as being next on the horizon for Asheville?

Speaker 2 [10:29] 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. Um, 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 in 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. Um, so going to the right places, go to the places that are ready and continue to come. So, moving forward. We're still gonna need lots of tourism money here and that kind of caring, you know, voluntourism, that maybe that's our saving grace, that could be an incredible way for us to move forward. So, if you have um a heart for Western North Carolina and emotional connection like so many people do, you're part of our future. Come visit, spend money and um 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.

Speaker 1 [11:54] Amazing. So, drink beer, come visit if you can, and if you are coming, plan to help a

Speaker 2 [12:00] little

Speaker 1 [12:01] bit.

Speaker 2 [12:01] That's right, yeah, kick dry January out of your vernacular. That is done.

Speaker 1 [12:07] Amazing. Well, like you and I have said, uh, Asheville has been on my list for a long time, so, hopefully in the future, but, um, 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.

Speaker 2 [12:35] Thank you so much for the honor. I appreciate everybody at Brewbound.