Christian McMahan Starts The Hooch Lab
Former Wachusett Brewing Company president Christian McMahan has started The Hooch Lab, a consulting firm targeting higher-end brands in the beer, wine, spirits and ready-to-drink FMB space.
McMahan had guided Westminster, Massachusetts-based Wachusett Brewing Company for the last three and a half years before departing the company in November. Wachusett co-founder Ned LaFortune will continue serving as CEO of the brewery.
According to Hooch Lab’s LinkedIn profile, the firm was started “to unlock ideas and tap into penetrating consumer and commercial insights that will bring brands to life in new and unexpected ways.”
Speaking to Brewbound, McMahan said he’s looking forward to working with brands at all stages, from early stage startups to established players. McMahan, who has 27 years of industry experience, including starting as a regional sales manager for Boston Beer, becoming VP of marketing for Diageo and then CMO of Heineken USA.
“’I’ve been in the Diageo and Heinekens of the world and understand big global brands and what makes them tick from a strategic standpoint, from really a global thinking and consumer-facing standpoint, to obviously some of my work early with Boston Beer, to running a regional craft brewery,” he said. “I’m lucky enough to have been on both ends of it, and I like both ends of it.”
McMahan said he’s just starting to take on clients. Those prospective clients should know that McMahan likens beverage marketing to baseball, where a hall of famer is someone who plays a long career and bats .333.
“In some ways, you can’t be afraid to miss,” McMahan said. “You got to keep swinging. Everyone wants to hit home runs and have these big wins but sometimes you got to understand and learn to just slap some singles. If you can stretch it to some doubles or beyond, that’s great. But you’re gonna fail, you’re gonna miss, you’re going to strike out. But you got to keep coming back.
“You want to hit big and miss small but you have to have some courage on that side, and you have to understand that when you go into doing new world stuff that there’s risks there.”
During McMahan’s tenure at Wachusett, the company increased volume in each of the last three years that data were available — 26%, to 64,369 barrels, in 2017; 8%, to 69,491 barrels, in 2018; and 5%, to 73,239 barrels, in 2019 — according to the Brewers Association.
Wachusett Brewing Hires Matt Quinlan as Director of Operations
In other Wachusett news, the craft brewery has hired Matt Quinlan, the former director of operations for Long Trail Brewing Company, as its director of operations. Quinlan will start at Wachusett on March 1.
Quinlan worked at the Vermont craft brewery for 27 years, including nearly 11 years as director of operations. He also served as production manager and head brewer for more than 13 years, marketing manager for two years and a brewer for nearly three years.
Quinlan last served as director of brewing operations for The Waterfront Brewery in Key West, Florida.
Phillips Distilling Company Hires Ex-MillerCoors Chief Operations Officer
Princeton, Minnesota-based Phillips Distilling Company has hired former MillerCoors chief operations officer Fernando Palacios as its interim chief supply chain officer.
Palacios was one of two new executive moves for the 109-year-old spirits company, which also promoted Jason Connelly to chief revenue officer.
Palacios and Connelly will both report to CEO Andy England, whose name will be familiar to longtime MillerCoors watchers. England was the chief marketing officer — the first person to hold that role following the joint venture formed between SABMiller and Molson Coors in 2008 until he was let go in July 2015.
“Fernando and Jason bring deep functional experience and strong technical knowledge that will help fuel our company’s continued growth trajectory and deepen our relationships with distributor and retail partners,” England said in a press release. “Their excellent track records in leading high performance teams will be critical components in driving our continued success as an independent innovator in the spirits industry.”
Palacios, with more than 25 years of experience in overseeing supply chains, including an eight-year tenure at MillerCoors and an 11-year stint at Land O’Lakes, will oversee Phillips’ entire supply chain, “including sourcing, procuring, planning, manufacturing and distributing of the company’s portfolio of brands such as UV Vodka, Prairie Organic Spirits, Revel Stoke Whisky and Phillips Spirits,” according to the release.