Atlanta Brewing Company appointed Alton Shields as the Georgia craft brewery’s new president and general manager last month. In his new role, Shields will lead the 28-year-old beer company in a new strategic direction, including transitioning it into a “lifestyle brand” that embodies the culture of Atlanta.
“We’re a 28-year-old overnight success story and a secret in many cases,” Shields told Brewbound. “I want to get the word out, so that everybody locally, regionally, and throughout the country knows about [Atlanta Brewing] and absolutely wants to have our beer because it represents the experiences, the lifestyle, and everything that makes up the ATL and Georgia.”
Shields brings more than 35 years of experience managing food processing, packaging, bottling, and restaurant operations, including more than four years as partner and chief operating officer of Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits, a quick-service restaurant chain with locations in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee. He was also a part of the creative team that helped bring Ou-Oui! Premium Rum to the U.S. market.
While this is his first leadership position in the brewing industry, Shields has spent nearly eight years advising Atlanta Brewing, including a period when it was known as Red Brick, through his management consulting firm The Infinity Cos., Inc. At one point, Shields was a part of a group that was considering investing in or purchasing the brewery in 2013.
“Alton brings the sales, manufacturing, business, and leadership skills needed to create and manage the aggressive growth we have planned,” Dave Peterson, owner of Atlanta Brewing, said in the release. “We believe he will continue to grow the company, expand our brands and position us as the brewery to beat.”
Those “aggressive growth” plans include expanding production capabilities from 15,000 barrels a year to 25,000 barrels, which Shields said is possible within the next six to 12 months with “a few minor changes” to its current production facility. Shields added that he is also exploring opening additional taprooms and brewery locations to reach more customers.
To help initiate growth, Shields’ strategic plan is to transform the Atlanta brewery into more of an “experience-centered” brand, in which specific beers are marketed for different consumer occasions and experiences.
“What we haven’t done a great job of is capturing [and] bottling experiences where people can remember where they were when they were drinking this great product that we offer,” Shields said. “We want to be able to capture that experience, not just through the flavor and by brewing, but through the experiences that really hit the heartstrings.”
To help capture this feeling, Shields said he plans to extend Atlanta’s core lineup of products which already pay homage to the city of Atlanta — including Hartsfield IPA, Homestand Pilsner, Hoplanta IPA, and Soul of the City American Pale Ale — and adjust their marketing and image to help capture moods and feelings associated with the city.
“Because we’ve had a chance to be established and have been around for a while, we have a recipe book that provides us the opportunity to go back,” Shields said. “We need to be innovative, and we need to be able to give our existing customers and even new customers something fresh and something new. And even if it’s something that comes out of a recipe book, we’re able to adjust in terms of flavor and overall product performance, taste, quality, etc.”
The company has laid out product development plans for the next 18 months, with at least 20 rotating beers on tap in the brewery’s taproom to aid in consumer research.
Along with new products, Shields hopes to pivot the brewery brand itself to better represent the diverse culture and population of the city.
“A real distinguished and sophisticated palate for craft beer comes [from] a lot of different people and personalities, and sometimes when we think it’s only that white male, stereotypically, then we really miss the boat in reaching some of the non-traditional drinkers of craft beer,” he said.
“We’re trying to use the personality of Atlanta, the diversity of Atlanta, and [speak] for this international city,” Shields continued. “And I think when you really reflect that back on Atlanta [Brewing] and what we really mean to the world, in terms of our diversity and how people really want to get a little piece of Atlanta when they come here, then I think we’re speaking the same language. It’s kind of a love language and language of diversity and inclusion through our brews.”
Shields hopes to strengthen the company’s relationships with its distributors and retailers, communicating that Atlanta Brewing is invested in mutual success and collaboration — something he said needs to be done more consistently.
“We basically are looking at, in terms of distribution, becoming a better corporate citizen, better customer, and better supplier to all our businesses,” he said.
One partnership Shields will be strengthening and extending is with the Georgia Aquarium. The brewery currently has a line of collaborative products with the aquarium, including Jellyfish Berliner Weisse and Puffin Chocolate Porter, packed in 12 oz. cans. In 2019 and 2020, the aquarium invested several million dollars to renovate its facility, including its food service area, according to Shields. He teased that Atlanta brews will be available “not just in cans” in the new space.