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A Man Who Loves His Beer – An Interview with Terry Michelson of Craft Brewers Alliance

Author Signature: Tom Copeland is the founder and author of Bullworthy.com, a financial blog for first-time investors and web content development and management company based in West Palm Beach, Florida.

As I hung up the phone, I couldn't help the immediate urge to pop the cap off a Widmer Hefeweisen and kick my feet upon this desk, even though my more responsible judgment was bitterly convincing (it's mid-afternoon on a Thursday).

What the hell- I'm the only one here in my office anyway, and besides, it was time to taste the experience-in-the-bottle that is Craft Brewers Alliance.

I had the privilege of speaking at great length with the top executive of a company who is on the forefront of changing consumer tastes; with absolutely no guarantees for the future other than that people obviously love the product. I couldn't help but wonder what that would be like, so I asked. What I found was that this man absolutely loved beer.

But he doesn't love just any beer; just his. Terry Michaelson is the chief executive officer of Craft Brewers Alliance, a craft brewer that makes, markets, and distributes craft beer under the labels Widmer Brothers Brewing, Redhook Ale Brewery, Goose Island Beer Company, and the most recent addition that Terry and his team have been giddy over, the Kona Brewing Company.

Craft also owns and operates a small pub-brewery in Portland, Oregon, and sells a few of their more prominent beers nationally to liquor stores, supermarkets, pubs, and more;  the company's headquarters are also located in Portland, a city known for being creative and edgy, a fitting environment for this small brewer.

But Terry and I's conversation really wasn't about the history of the company, and we didn't spend a whole lot of time discussing the capital liquidity of the company's floated shares or the intrinsic value that could lie beneath. We didn't talk about enterprise values compared to revenues, and we didn't make any attempts to dissect or analyze the stock's recent movements using Fibonacci Retracements. We talked about beer.

Let's start with the merger. In early August, Craft announced it would be buying Kona Brewing Co., based in Hawaii and recognized as one of the fastest growing craft breweries in the last 5 years, for just under $14 million in cash and stock.

The merger was the unanticipated result of a relationship that had been developing and growing for over 9 years between the two companies, and so it made sense, Terry said, to bring the companies together and allow Craft and Kona to aggressively grow their brands and bring more value the now much larger table.

Mattson Davis will stay on as the chief executive of Kona, further solidifying a bond that was already pretty strong. Davis was quoted in the original early August press release as saying, "we're getting married, so to speak".

In the second quarter of 2010, Craft reported some pretty decent numbers and developments in addition to the announcement of the merger. The company successfully modified an existing credit facility to more favorable rates and terms, indicating the bank clearly demonstrates confidence in Craft's business going forward.

Operating profit was up for the quarter by $.4 million, from $2.5 million in the same period last year to $2.9 million for the second quarter 2010. Terry mentions as Craft releases earnings there has been a trend of positive reactions in the marketplace with these earnings, released August 13th, being no exception.

Perhaps it's a result of the merger and the anticipated jump in production and revenue that will be coming down the line, or perhaps it's the fact that investors are finally waking up to the fact that craft beer is in higher demand than ever – either way, the company's stock has been hitting all-time highs.

Every publication from theStreet.com to Investor's Business Daily has been all over Craft since the stock price starting a steady climb in May 2010 from $3.41 a share on average trading volume of about 17k. Last Friday, September 10th, the shares closed at $8.10 a share with a volume of over 300k.

I speculated to Terry that I think investors always follow consumers, and consumers started changing their tastes a while ago. I thought the ubiquitous and burnt out, water-flavored major beer brands are out and sexy, creative, small craft labels are wrestling their way into drinker's hands to take advantage of those changing consumer tastes.

Terry agreed, saying "people are seeing the progress and they're seeing our unique strengths. More and more people are aware of it, and it's causing a reaction in the marketplace. This is a segment that is fairly new that has tremendous upside. Investors are looking at that, and we're very excited. Those investors are just looking for something to invest in that they understand and can connect to."

That makes sense, I thought. After all, what better facilitator of connections is there than a tasty and tall, cold beer? If investors can relate to the product and relate to the business model, they can and will believe in the company itself, and potentially make a lot of money when the product catches on to the mainstream - just look at Sam Adams.

TC: Tell me a little about your marketing plans and efforts. How is your model distinct from the big boys who have exorbitant million-dollar advertising budgets?
TM: For us, this is about creating personal connections and there is a personal approach than what a big brewer would typically do, so we want to build broad awareness of our brands. If we can get people to hear our story and sample our beer, then we're successful.  
We still focus on some traditional things like print and radio, and are involved in sponsorships and festivals. We are also focused on marketing over the internet with blogs and Facebook and finding places where people are going to spend the time to find out about the brands. We spend only in markets where we think the brands belong to create those long-term connections.
TC: I heard you touch in there on social media marketing. Has that avenue become valuable for your brands?
TM: Definitely, the social media marketing is a big effort for us, because we can get to the consumer and surprise them in a positive way. People want to get to into these brands and understand their story, and then participate with them. They can drink craft beer because it makes them feel good and it's affordable.
TC: Sounds to me like your company is on the forward edge of two very new and untested frontiers: the craft brewing industry and social media marketing. What does that feel like?
TM: As we look at it, there's two ways we see that: one, it's certainly a challenge. We're paving new paths in terms of how things are done but we also see that as mostly a tremendous opportunity because it allows us to create new experiences for consumers, because overall, they are looking for something fun and something that makes them feel better in their lives. It's a tremendous opportunity for growth. The challenge isn't so much creating the business; the business is there, and it's strong. It's more how do we make certain we maximize those opportunities because we don't just want a nice business, we want a great business.
TC: According to OregonLive.com, "Widmer produced 286,000 barrels of beer in 2009 and 184,000 barrels of Redhook. Adding Kona's production puts the company at 583,000 barrels, or more than 18 million gallons". Is that a fair assumption going into 2011?
TM: Yeah, that's a fair assumption.
TC: How does that level of expansion change the underlying value of CBA?
TM: What it changes for us is that it continues to give us the opportunity to put more people in the marketplace to sell the brands and help people find our brands. It helps us put more dollars in the marketplace to make create those all-important connections. The other thing it does is continue to make us more important to the retailer because the key to all of this is getting some distribution so the consumer can actually have a chance to find the beer and try it. We're one of the larger craft brewers in the country, certainly in the top 2 or 3, and that's important because that's retailers are looking at for.
TC: Is there a defined line between a craft brewer and a typical brewer, and if so, as CBA grows, how close are you getting to crossing that line and losing the "craft stripes", so to speak?
TM: We're not there. I think it's changed where there it's no longer about a volume level anymore. It's more about subjective valuations – what type of beer is it, what's the brand all about, and where does it come from? Retailers are looking at the story behind the beer, and aren't so much worried about the volume to determine whether or not a beer is craft. It's about the quality and authenticity of the source.
It's the segment growing up – look at Kurt Widner, he was a home brewer and was passionate about doing what he loved and having a business. He used to talk about, if I could just get 10 accounts, I've got a good business, because in the beginning of this, that's what people were thinking. Now that the expectations have changed for the consumer, they want to be able to find it and experience it whether it's on premise or off-premise.  It's more about the experience and less about how big you are.
TC: So we're talking about creating an identity.
TM: You're exactly right. People are excited about having craft beer in their life. It provides them with a unique environment and experience. The pioneers of the industry – the Jim Kochs and Ken Grossmans of Sierra Nevada and Kurt Widmer – those people were really at the forefront and really risked a lot when they were starting their companies. I think the consumer can really connect to that kind of passion those people have behind their beers, and because they can relate, they love the drinking experience.
TC: Tell us about your relationship with Anheuser Busch.
TM: We have a distribution agreement with AB, because this being a three-tiered industry, the only way to get to market is through a distributor. The AB has traditionally been the strongest with the most market share and has high standards in how they deliver and care for the beer. That is a strong component of our business.
TC: AB owns a sizable, albeit minority stake in CBA. Care to comment on the buyout rumors that are flying out there?
TM: What I can tell you is that they are just rumors. We're very dedicated to continue being an independent company and growing our business. That the plan at this point.
TC: How do you think those rumors came about? They sort of exploded all over the net during August.
TM: It's hard to tell. I think people look at the changes in the business. We had a modification to our agreement with AB, so that could be a driver. Quite frankly, I think people just start throwing darts at the wall hoping it hits something, because there wasn't anything specific that we could point to that would lead people to believe that.
TC: What's your favorite beer?
TM: (Laughing) that's an interesting one because it's almost like asking which one is your favorite kid. I'm a fan of the Widmer Drifter, the pale ale. It has a really unique hop profile. I loved our summer seasonal red pilsner under the Rope Swing brand, it's a great beer. Goose Island has some really unique reserve line beers; the Belgian-style Metilda is another one I really like. I think Kona Longboard is just a great Craft Lager. It's really easy to drink and has a nice flavor…

Terry drifts off for a few minutes rattling off more beers he and his teams have created. I got the feeling his face was lighting up on the other end of the phone and that this was undoubtedly a man who truly loved his beer. He went on to chat about how he makes it down to floor all the time to check out what new brews the crew is working on.

We wrapped it up. I thanked him for taking the time to talk beer with me, and mentioned how interesting it was to interview a CEO that was literally brimming with delight about his brands. One of the last things he said: "That's great, I really appreciate that Tom. Thanks for your interest and I always have a good time talking about beer and our company", as if I couldn't tell.

 

 

About the Author

I began my pursuit of financial literacy at a very young age, and like many others, learned the do's and don'ts of money at the unrelenting mercy of trial and error. At just thirteen years old, I began working as a bus boy at a small Italian restaurant down the street from my parent's house.

From that first day of wiping down tables and taking out rotting, overflowing trash on, I squandered nearly every paycheck I ever earned. But all that has changed.

I'm a financial journalist and first-time investor who created Bullworthy.com, an interactive blog and content generation and management service for small to medium-sized businesses of all industries. In my (off?) time, I'm a full-time student finishing a bachelor's degree in finance at the University of Florida.

The plans are to attain an MBA and launch a career with an investment banking, hedge fund, or private equity firm.

Would you pay to have me teach your kids arts and crafts?

I'm an artist and have a lot of experience working with children and people with developmental disabilities. I would love to start a program where I would come to people's homes and show kids, adults, whoever is interested in arts and crafts projects.

Painting, stenciling, drawing, assemblage, sculpture, beading. I have a lot of ideas which aren't limited to just children.

Basically I need some feedback before I venture into this idea.

I love crafts and always am looking for new ideas. But, I have to say, I wouldn't want you to come to my home to teach me or my kids. I'd much rather go to a well-equipped studio or classroom to learn. That way I won't make a mess in my home, I don't have to have room dedicated to learning a new craft, I don't have to invest in materials before I'm sure I want to pursue it. I'm sure you're good with kids and adults, but I don't think the idea works for a lot of people.