|
When Mitch Steele, an Anheuser-Busch brewer since 1995, was announced as new head brewer at California’s respected Stone Brewery last May, some of the less clued-in craft beer fanciers were momentarily taken aback. In fact, though, movement of skilled personnel from the mainstream to the craft segment is hardly earthshaking news.
Consider, for example, Greg Norris, an A-B brewer for seven years who quit in the early ’90s to spend the rest of the decade designing and installing custom breweries for Pub Brewing Co. and then, following a six-month stint with a German brewery engineering firm, opened Clay Pipe Brewing Co. in Maryland in 2002. An even better example is the best know one of all, former A-B production supervisor Dan Carey, who left the corporate comfort zone to open a little place called New Glarus in Wisconsin 13 years ago, using start-up capital that wife Deb (the brewery’s founder and president) raised a surprise gift for him.
What is worth noting about the Steele move is that it is yet another piece of growing evidence that a "brain drain" of sorts has developed recently, as some high-profile professionals have signed on with some of the country’s most respected craft breweries.
Street Cred
Actually, Steele, a Cal-Davis grad with 25 years experience in the wine and beer industries, most recently as an assistant brewmaster at A-B’s Merrimack, NH plant where he helped formulate the recently introduced Demon’s Hopyard IPA, hadn’t really planned to be a part of it. "I wasn’t looking for another job, but when I saw Stone’s ad on the Brewers Association forum, I had to check it out. I was very familiar with their beers and their philosophy and admired both. I was different from a lot of the other A-B brewers because I am totally into craft beer and always have been."
Stone’s Greg Koch admits the Steele application gave him some pause. "As it turns out, we were looking for someone exactly like Mitch, but we never expected that person to come from where he did. Once we got a chance to sit down with him and find out what he was all about, there was no doubt that he was our man. I mean, the guy really gets it and has some serious street cred."
What Steele brought to the Stone mix was not just his brewing talent, but also his brewery management experience. "The mechanics of the job are my primary function," he notes. "It’s about scheduling and production, dealing with issues like equipment going down and getting it back on line as quickly as possible. It’s a lot what I was doing before, but the big difference here is the culture, the fact that this is not a giant corporation and that each of us directly impacts what the company does and is committed to celebrating craft beer."
Another recent move was that of Claus Hagelman, who became National Sales Director for Dogfish Head in 2005 after nearly 30 years in the mainstream, including regional manager stints for Paulaner North America and Glazer’s, the Texas-based distribution giant. Hagelman echoes Steele when he explains that "I was part of what I call an underground beer group, people from liquor and restaurant chains who would meet once a month and try beers none of us ever had. One night, somebody brought some Dogfish Head beers; I tried 90 Minute IPA and Immort Ale and I was hooked. I saw what they were trying to do and I contacted Sam Calagione to say I’d love to work for him someday."
Personal Choice
His decision when that chance eventually came was deeply personal, Hagelman says. "I took a pretty dramatic pay cut to do this because I felt I had lost part of what my father taught me: when you get up every morning to shave your face, you have to respect the person in the mirror. I felt I had to decide between just chasing the money while doing something which I didn’t care about or doing something that satisfied my soul which I really respected." Also similarly to Steele, he’s found that his contributions to the company go well beyond mere sales expertise, especially given DFH’s philosophy of targeting wine and spirits consumers. "I’m able to share my knowledge and experience on how to deal with almost any situation with a customer with my people," he says. "Things I learned ten years ago come into play again every day. And I’ve added little touches I picked up during my time in the wine business, such as having my regional reps bring some cheese along when approaching higher end dining establishments or small Euro-cafes to show the customer things like how a little smoked gouda matches up with our Indian Brown Ale."
Higher Share of Mind
Bump Williams was another recognizable name who made the switch recently, moving from Executive VP with Information Resources Inc., the enterprise market information solutions and services company, to Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing as National Accounts/Retail Strategies consultant in early 2006. Last month, however, he returned to IRI, with a somewhat similar title as before, but broader responsibilities.
"I went back to where I’d spent 12 years because of the opportunity to finish the job," he explains. "It was something that I agonized over because New Belgium is an awesome company with a incredible future. I really admire their people, their culture and their commitment to environmental sustainability."
His time in the craft sector was invaluable, he says. "The experience confirmed what I thought was happening, what I call ‘a higher share of mind.’ Every day I saw retailers’ eyes opening up to the value of craft beer and the customers those beers draw in. They are recognizing the profits and margins higher end beers can garner, the excitement that they bring to the industry." them make better, informed decisions."
Williams believes that the developing trend of top people moving into the craft segment from the big national breweries will continue and is a necessary step in providing the craft segment with the management skills it needs to sustain its steady growth pattern. "They will be the agents of change, the people with the experience and background to help growing craft breweries get where they want to be over the next decade."
|
