Sapporo-Stone Brewing has tapped industry veteran Joel Pipman as VP of brewing operations for the company’s bicoastal facilities.
“Sapporo-Stone’s quality culture enticed me to join this great team,” Pipman said in a press release. “I look forward to helping the team reach its goals and am excited to brew a lot of awesome beer together.”
Prior to joining Sapporo-Stone – which formed in 2022 following Sapporo’s acquisition of the country’s ninth largest craft brewery by volume – Pipman was senior brewmaster at Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Williamsburg, Virginia, brewery, a role he held for five years.
Pipman worked at A-B for nearly 20 years at the company’s breweries in Newark, New Jersey, and St. Louis, Missouri. His roles at A-B have included brewing, engineering, quality assurance, finance and maintenance.
Under Pipman’s leadership, Sapporo-Stone expects to grow production at its Escondido, California, and Richmond, Virginia, breweries. Next year, the company predicts it will produce 700,000 barrels of beer across the country, a significant increase from the 376,347 barrels Stone produced in 2022, according to the May/June issue of the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer.
The growth will in part be driven by the addition of all Sapporo-branded beer for the U.S. market, which was what drew Sapporo to Stone.
“We approached Stone Brewing seeking a partner for our growth plans in the U.S, and we quickly recognized they were an ideal partner with bi-coastal brewing capacity, loyal fans, superb management, shared cultural values, and commitment to the highest quality standards,” Kenny Sadai, Sapporo U.S.A. chairman, said in a press release about the acquisition last year. “This acquisition puts the resources and legacy of the largest Asian beer brand in America together with one of the most innovative and recognized craft beer brands in the world. It’s a perfect fusion of east meets west that is an ideal marriage for Sapporo’s long-term growth strategy in the U.S.”
U.S.-brewed Sapporo beer will roll out next year, the company said in the release announcing Pipman’s hiring.
Pipman will work fromSapporo-Stone’s Richmond brewery, which will ship to the central and eastern parts of the U.S., as well as export abroad.
In addition to hiring Pipman, Sapporo-Stone last week promoted Zachary Keeling to chief financial and strategy officer. Keeling was named VP of strategy in October 2020, returning to the company after a two-year hiatus to earn a master’s in business administration from Harvard Business School. Prior to that, he worked on Stone’s finance, analytics and strategy teams from 2015-2018.
Sapporo-Stone’s dollar sales have increased +1% while case sales have declined -0.1% year-to-date through October 8 at multi-outlet grocery and convenience stores, according to market research firm Circana.