Sapporo-Stone Brewing is officially making Zach Keeling its new CEO. Keeling was appointed interim CEO in January when then-CEO Maria Stipp stepped down from the role after guiding the Escondido, California-headquartered brewery through its 2022 acquisition by the Japanese brewing giant and through its integration.
Sapporo is the largest Asian import beer brand by U.S. dollar sales by a wide margin, but Sapporo-Stone leadership has its sights on doubling the brand’s share of overall imports in the coming years, executives said during the brand’s virtual annual business plan meeting with wholesalers last week.
The 2025 plan for Stone Brewing is addition by subtraction, discontinuing several “unproductive” brands and packages nationally, including special releases, the Enjoy By IPA series and large-format bottles in order to put a heavy emphasis on core brands, as well the expansion of newish lager brands.
Sapporo-Stone Brewing Co. unveiled a $60 million expansion plan yesterday that will double the company’s annual capacity to about 700,000 barrels.
A year and a half after guiding Stone Brewing through its acquisition by Sapporo, CEO Maria Stipp is moving on. Stipp joined the Escondido, California-based craft brewery in September 2020 following the departure of her predecessor Dominc Engels earlier that summer. She steered Stone, the seventh-largest independent craft brewery in the country by volume at… Read more »
Sapporo-Stone Brewing has tapped industry veteran Joel Pipman as VP of brewing operations for the company’s bicoastal facilities.
As Stone Brewing begins a new era under the ownership of Sapporo, the Escondido, California-headquartered craft brewery is focused on driving growth of Delicious IPA by building out the brand as a family in 2023.
Sapporo’s $165 million acquisition of Stone Brewing officially closed Wednesday, August 31, giving the Japanese beer maker one of the top 10 craft breweries by volume in the U.S. in 2021 and the 18th largest brewing operation overall.
Sapporo’s acquisition of San Diego-based Stone Brewing Company will support a large expansion of the Japanese beer maker’s U.S. beer sales and production, according to a supplementary explanatory materials document filed by Sapporo Holdings.
Following the news that Stone Brewing Company is in the process of being sold to Japan’s Sapporo Holdings for $165 million, Stone CEO Maria Stipp and director of public relations and communications Lizzie Younkin spoke with Brewbound Friday morning about the proposed deal.
Stone Brewing Company is being sold to Sapporo Holdings, the two companies announced today.
