Brewbound announced its 2022 Award Winners and class of Rising Stars during the multimedia trade publication’s Brewbound Live business conference today in Santa Monica, California.
The Brewbound Awards recognize large and small beverage-alcohol companies that thrived over the last year, while also celebrating notable industry figures, change agents, up-and-coming entrepreneurs and philanthropic initiatives.
Winners of the ninth annual Brewbound Awards include:
Craft Brewery of the Year: Fiddlehead Brewing Company
Since its founding in 2010, Fiddlehead has recorded double-digit growth each year across its eight markets, and cracked the Brewers Association’s list of the Top 50 Craft Breweries by volume in 2021, growing production to more than 51,000 barrels. Driving the Shelburne, Vermont-based craft brewery’s growth is flagship Fiddlehead IPA, which accounts for around 88% of the company’s sales, and has catapulted the company into the top 10 craft growth companies in NielsenIQ off-premise tracked channels this year.
Large Brewery of the Year: Georgetown Brewing Company
Georgetown’s draft-first focus was challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic, as bars and restaurants shuttered. This led to an -8% decline in production in 2020. In a fortuitous move, the Seattle-headquartered craft brewery added a canning line in 2017 that helped support its off-premise shift in 2020. In 2021, Georgetown bounced back in a big way, reaching its highest volume output ever at more than 108,000 barrels. That made Georgetown the 25th largest Brewers Association-defined craft brewery by volume.
Beyond Beer Company of the Year: Schilling Hard Cider
Schilling Hard Cider is focused on creating a people-first organization and establishing a strong internal culture. But the Seattle, Washington-headquartered cidery has posted wins in the off-premise channel in recent years. In the hard cider segment, Schilling is the No. 4 brand family and within striking distance of No. 3. The company also ranks No.1 in terms of incremental dollars gained compared to a year ago, according to NielsenIQ data shared by Bump Williams Consulting.
Person of the Year: Jennifer Briggs, Former Modern Times CEO
Jennifer Briggs assumed the CEO role from Modern Times founder Jacob McKean, who resigned in May 2021 as the company was embroiled in toxic workplace allegations. Briggs’ tenure wasn’t without its share of difficult decisions, guiding Modern Times through the tumult of financial instability, the closure of five taprooms and an auction process that created more confusion about the San Diego brewery’s ownership quandary. However, Briggs steered Modern Times with sensitivity, honesty and transparency, while maintaining a people-first mindset.
Eventually, Maui Brewing purchased Modern Times in a new platform Craft Ohana. Briggs’ work to guide the brewery into the platform through so much adversity is worth recognizing.
Innovation of the Year: New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA
Released in January, Juice Force, a 9.5% ABV hazy imperial IPA, became the No. 1 craft beer launch of all time. By year end, Juice Force rocketed up the sales charts to the edge of being a top 10 craft beer brand in IRI tracked channels. Going into 2023, New Belgium will look to capitalize on that success with another Juice Force brand, believed to be Fruit Force, a 9.5% ABV fruit punch IPA.
Beer Champion of the Year: The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild
In 2022, the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild succeeded in passing legislation to help small brewers sell 4- and 6-packs of beer to-go, as well as adding growler sales privileges for brewers making up to 150,000 barrels annually.
Minnesota lawmakers had been reluctant to approve those privileges, but the legislative tide changed in 2022. Brewers producing more than 20,000 barrels had previously been restricted from offering growlers to-go, while producers making fewer than 7,500 barrels couldn’t offer 4- and 6- packs to-go from their taprooms. Those changes checked two of the boxes for Minnesota craft brewers, and the guild was instrumental in getting them across the finish line.
Brewbound also honored its 2022 class of Rising Stars. The eight emerging alcoholic beverage companies include:
- Atrevida Beer Co., Colorado Springs, Colorado
- Hi-Wire Brewing, Asheville, North Carolina
- Jiant, Culver City, California
- Métier Brewing Company, Woodinville, Washington
- Modist Brewing, Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Talea Beer Co., Brooklyn, New York
- Waterbird Spirits, Charlottesville, Virginia
- White Lion Brewing, Springfield, Massachusetts
“The challenges facing the beer category in 2022 were unrelenting, but Brewbound’s Award Winners and class of Rising Stars were standouts for not just business performance but the way they helped their teams, their communities and the overall industry,” said Brewbound editor Justin Kendall. “We are thrilled to honor this year’s Award Winners and Rising Stars.”
About Brewbound
Published by BevNET.com Inc., Brewbound is a leading multi-media industry trade publication providing comprehensive coverage of the beer space, analysis of industry trends and in-depth interviews with industry leaders. In addition to providing daily news, Brewbound also gathers entrepreneurs and executives to exchange ideas, discuss the state of the industry and hear strategies for succeeding in the alcohol beverage segment via a series of nationwide meetups, multi-day business conferences, live-streamed shows and podcasts.