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(Courtesy Stone Brewing)
On June 23 Stone Brewing shocked the craft beer biz by announcing that it was being acquired by Japanese brewing giant Sapporo, the number one selling Asian beer brand in the US.
As part of that acquisition, Sapporo intends to produce it’s all its beers for the US, at Stone’s two state-of-the-art breweries, in Escondido, California and Richmond, Virginia.
Nicole Williams
In preparation for the growth, Stone has promoted two talents from within. Nicole Williams (Escondido, CA) and Robert Kuntz (Richmond, VA) will oversee the entire brewing, packaging, maintenance, engineering, and water operations of their respective facilities.
“Sapporo was attracted to Stone for our advanced, bi-coastal brewery operations, and to adopt our incredible team,” explained Maria Stipp, Stone Brewing CEO. “They will entrust our team with their beers, and we already have the talent they need right here in our breweries.
“We have big plans to build out physical capacity and meet the production goals of both Sapporo and Stone. We’re thrilled to be promoting from within and to have Nicole Williams and Robert Kuntz leading us into this exciting time.”
Based in Escondido, California Nicole Williams is now the Sr. Director, Brewing Operations for Stone Brewing. She’s been with Stone since 2018 most recently as the Sr. Manager, Maintenance and Engineering and is credited with having overseen the design and installation of projects that improve Stone’s sustainability efforts.
Robert Kuntz is now Sr. Director, Brewing Operations for Stone Brewing in Richmond, VA.
Robert Kuntz
He joined Stone in 2019 and completed his Master Level qualifications from the Institute of Brewing and Distilling to achieve his Master Brewer certification in 2021.
Stone Brewing’s Richmond facility was built to brew up to 700,000 barrels of beer per year but is not yet built out to full capacity. Kuntz will oversee capital investments as the brewery expands to support Sapporo’s production.
Founded in 1996, Stone pioneered the West Coast Style IPA, helping to fuel the modern craft beer revolution and inspire generations of hop fanatics. Stone has been called the “All-time Top Brewery on Planet Earth” by BeerAdvocate twice.
Stone and Sapporo anticipate brewing a combined approximately 720,000 barrels of beer by the end of 2024. The brewery is the second acquisition in the growing craft brew segment by Sapporo who purchased Anchor Brewing in 2017.
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(All image credits: Stone/Sapporo)
