Stone Brewing’s Post

Sapporo-Stone Brewing has appointed Zachary Keeling to the role of Chief Executive Officer of the 12th largest brewery in the U.S.* Keeling has served as Interim CEO for Sapporo-Stone since January 2024.    In his previous roles with the company as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Strategy, Keeling played a key role in developing Sapporo-Stone’s integrated long-term strategic plans. His leadership style, financial acumen and commercial lens have and will continue to drive the business forward. Keeling has a degree in Accounting from Miami University (OH) and an M.B.A from Harvard University.  “Sapporo-Stone is on an impressive trajectory, and I’m honored to lead this talented team toward becoming a top 10 brewery by volume in the U.S.,” expressed Keeling. “I’m committed to driving our growth while prioritizing people and culture.” Sapporo-Stone Brewing employs 850 people. It operates breweries in Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA plus two Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens and five Stone Brewing Tap Rooms. Sapporo-Stone’s craft-meets-import portfolio has demonstrated growth over the last year. Sapporo is the number one selling Asian beer brand in the U.S., with sales up +14.6%, outpacing the growth of the Import category, +9.2%.** Most of this growth is attributed to its flagship Sapporo Premium. Stone’s best sellers include the Stone Delicious IPA family of beers, Stone IPA and Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager. These Stone core brands are also growing, up 12.5%***    Keeling’s appointment to CEO comes just after Sapporo-Stone unveiled completion of the first phase of its $60 Million expansion. The expansion will allow for the brewing of all Sapporo beers at its Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA breweries, doubling capacity to about 700,000 barrels a year. The brewing of Sapporo beers at both breweries is now underway and by late summer, all production of Sapporo beers will have moved from Canada and Asia to the U.S.  For more information visit StoneBrewing.com and SapporoBeer.com and follow on socials @StoneBrewing and @sapporobeerusa.     *Rankings compiled by the Brewers Association  ** NielsenIQ, Total US xAOC + Convenience, Last 52 Weeks Ending 5/25/24  ***NielsenIQ, Total US xAOC + Convenience, Last 52 Weeks Ending 5/25/24 

Today, Sapporo-Stone Brewing announced the amazing progress our team has made in bringing the production of Sapporo beers to the US. Sapporo is now being brewed at our breweries in Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA. We opened our brewery to press and VIPs in Escondido to share our expansion and some fresh-brewed Sapporo Premium. Our combined brands are better together and bucking market trends by experiencing growth. With a $60 million capital expenditure from Sapporo ($20 million of which is specific to Escondido), we're proud to say we've doubled our brewing capacity! That includes the addition of 125 local jobs (75 additional outside SD County) and 150 existing employees receiving promotions. The US is Sapporo's biggest potential growth market. This is the start of a new era for Sapporo in the US, and that growth begins with the incredible work our team has accomplished at our Escondido and Richmond, VA facilities.

Tremendously proud and appreciative of our designers Joanna Dawson, Laurel Syring and Emily Devlin, who are profiled in this article from Packaging Digest! Three incredibly talented women who bring our beers to life with their amazing design work on our cans, bottles and cases. https://lnkd.in/gZGZN2mQ

We love celebrating #InternationalWomensDay here at Stone. We believe that everyone should feel welcome and valued. On International Women's Day (and beyond), we recognize and celebrate the unique perspectives, experiences, and contributions that the women on our team bring. Today our Women's Impact Network took a moment to "cheers" with team members across our company, highlighting the ways in which we are working to support the women at Stone and challenging us to continue to strive for better. Join Team Stone members Erin Smith (Sr. VP, Marketing), Alexandria Mercado (Manager, People Business Partner), and Fritzi Lara (Innovation Brewer) in getting to know the women behind the beer as they share a shifter. What’s a shifter? They explain that! #internationalwomensday #internationalwomensday2024

Del Taco is now serving beer battered crispy fish tacos made with Stone Buenaveza in 595 locations across 16 states! Stone Buenaveza and Del Taco is a match made in heaven and we're thrilled to partner together.

We were stoked to partner with San Diego Habitat for Humanity recently to build a playhouse as part of our culture & community efforts locally. Cheers to our team members that lent their skills & creativity!

We are thrilled to welcome Joel Pipman to Sapporo-Stone as our VP, Brewing Operations! Joel's vast leadership experience in the brewing industry is well suited to oversee the expansion of our breweries as we prepare to brew Sapporo beers. Welcome to the team, Joel! We are also proud to share that Zach Keeling has been promoted to Chief Financial & Strategy Officer for Sapporo-Stone. Zach has held various finance and strategy roles within the organization for over 6 years, most recently as SVP, Strategy. Zach's unique background of finance and strategy expertise will be key in the next phase of Sapporo-Stone's integration and growth. Cheers to Zach!

Stone is proud to partner with USC Athletics in brewing its first-ever official craft beer, Stone Fight On! Pale Ale. “Stone beers are popular nationwide and across the globe, but SoCal is where we started and is home to our biggest population of fans,” explained Erin Smith, Stone Brewing SVP of Marketing. “We’re thrilled at the opportunity to create a beer that instills local pride in that cross-section of craft beer drinkers and USC fans and alumni. It’s our hope that this beer is enjoyed year-round for its incredible flavor, and that it truly adds to the gameday experience across all USC sports.”   Find the beer online via Stone’s Beer Finder, Find.StoneBrewing.com or order it online for delivery in California and select states via Shop.StoneBrewing.com.