Leaving Revolution ✊

Tuesday was my last day at Revolution Brewing.

When I left Reyes Holdings in 2016 after an eight year run to fulfill this dream of working in craft beer, the decision to join Revolution Brewing as CFO wasn’t as obvious as you might think. Reyes is the largest beer distributor in the country. It had the ultimate work-life balance, promoted me multiple times, and allowed me to grow into the leader of their Internal Audit department, reporting to a committee of the most senior executives at the company. Craft beer had even become a meaningful part of their business, providing opportunities to work in the vicinity of this growing passion of mine. Ultimately, though, I wanted to be an agent of change with the power to make a more direct impact. Working at a fast-growing, smaller business was the opportunity I needed to get more hands-on.

The CFO role at Revolution was not the first, or even the second job I interviewed for in hopes of getting more directly involved in beer. After each disappointing result, I decided to start creating beer content as an outside-the-box way to enhance my otherwise black-and-white resume. Despite no professional social media content, I leaned in and learned something new in an effort to demonstrate how much I loved this industry. An Instagram account in 2013 was followed by this long form blog-turned-newsletter, Beer Crunchers, beginning in 2015.

Even after reaching my goal and working for such a prominent craft brewery, the itch to create content never subsided; the context just evolved from a fan perspective to an industry insider point-of-view. Having a finger on the pulse and a close connection to the consumer quickly led to the additional title of Head of Communications at Rev in 2017, and in early 2021, the opportunity to become the company’s first CMO, a title I proudly held until Tuesday.

Throughout my time at Revolution, I was positioned to use the background in beer distribution, finance, and marketing to make an impact in ways I never could have imagined. Personal highlights include designing Revolution’s budget process, consolidating and eventually eliminating the company’s debt, positioning the business to purchase the brewery in 2022, partnerships and collaborations with too many Chicago institutions to name, serving as the de facto brand manager for the vast universe of Hero IPAs, Deep Wood Series, etc., and leaving their Finance and Marketing departments each with a strong leader in place. After nine exciting years, though, my curiosity and energy took my passions beyond just beer, and working for any single one business.

I’ve been working to create an affordable and engaging content platform that could serve as a meaningful, relatable, and transformational voice not only for craft brewers, but all the exciting new beverage categories making their way into the conversation. Beer Crunchers has provided a taste of what that could look like, covering a wide range of topics including beverage trends, business strategy, social media, and distribution. To truly do this right and realize its potential looking ahead, I cannot do it alone, nor while working for a single craft brewery.

A second announcement will follow in a few weeks sharing the exciting next steps in my beer and beverage career, but I can tell you today that Beer Crunchers will be a more active part of my life and yours than ever before, with more investment behind it. Rest assured that while I am now able to increase the scope of my commentary and content to total beverage, my passion for craft beer and goal of being a leading voice in the industry has not changed one bit. Going forward, instead of scraping together spare hours in the early morning, late nights, and weekends to research, write and share, I will now be able to devote some of my best hours of the week to content, with new perspectives, and even an editor!

Whether you’ve been reading since the early days or just signed up last month, you’ve played a bigger role in this story than you’ll ever realize—thank you. Each social media DM or e-mail response to these newsletters has slowly given me the courage to continue betting on myself and take this leap.

Starting today, Beer Crunchers is offering a premium subscription at a new affordable rate — about the price of a single draft beer + tip per month at your local taproom. Many readers have shared how much they value the content but found the previous price to be out of reach. This new, more accessible option is designed to change that, in hopes of simultaneously growing the platform and widening its reach. I would greatly appreciate your support as Beer Crunchers sets out to offer the best depth and discussion on beer and beyond.