Steve Crandall, the co-founder of Devils Backbone Brewing Company, has died at the age of 64, nearly three years after being diagnosed with cancer.
The Roseland, Virginia-based, Anheuser-Busch-owned craft brewery announced Crandall’s death on social media today.
Heidi Crandall, Crandall’s wife and the brewery’s co-founder, in a statement, described him as “a loving husband, father, grandfather, community business leader, scout master, entrepreneur, custom home and commercial builder, and founder of Devils Backbone Brewing Company.”
“But this is just a tiny part of who Steve was,” she wrote. “When Steve was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, he chose treatment and surgeries, and the struggles that came with it, but always maintained hope. Steve did not let the cancer define him, and his resilience and strength continues to inspire all of us.”
The Crandalls founded Devils Backbone — a lager-focused craft brewery — in 2008. Eight years later, they agreed to sell the company to A-B, but remained active in the business.
Marcelo “Mika” Michaelis, president of A-B’s Brewers Collective, called Crandall “an incredible friend, leader, philanthropist, outdoorsman, craft beer pioneer, and so many other things.”
“He was a key part of our craft leadership team since 2016, and many of us have been lucky enough to interact with Steve and experience his vision, which lives on through his amazing brewery, its people, and the natural beauty of his beloved Virginia,” Michaelis said. “To honor Steve’s legacy, Anheuser-Busch will be making an initial donation of $30,000 in his name to the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. We wish his family peace.”
In lieu of sympathy gestures, the family has asked that friends make donations to Crandall’s favorite organizations: the Nelson County Food Pantry, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
Upon the brewery’s tenth anniversary in 2018, the Crandalls discussed its founding and values in a pair of videos.