Very few craft breweries have been around more than 20 years. It takes something special to last that long. Stone Brewing is one of those breweries and they’ve built a massive business that has gone global.
Being around for over 20 years means this brewery has a deep history and wide reach so there’s lots to learn and uncover about a brand that brought California craft beer to the world.
Read The Entire Article As I Dive Into The Stone Brewing vs MillerCoors Lawsuit At The End
Origin Story
A brewery doesn’t become the 8th largest producer of craft beer in the nation over night. It takes years – and often decades – to grow a brand that commands the market share of a brewery like Stone Brewing.
Stone’s story starts in the late 1980’s when Steve Wagner and Greg Koch briefly met through the music industry. Years later, they both attended a beer sensory class at UC Davis and they made a permanent connection around their love for beer.
Over the next three years, they discussed how they could make an impact in the world of beer. Steve had developed a strong knowledge of brewing while Greg was well versed in business management. And with a lot of work, they opened Stone Brewing on July 26, 1996.
They opened up with a single beer – Stone Pale Ale. In today’s world, you’d be crazy to open up with just one beer. But the craft beer business model was different as the focus on wide distribution of a small number of beers. So starting with one solid beer offering was ideal.
At the end of 1996, they released their second beer – Winter Stone. It was intended to be a seasonal beer but because of its popularity, they renamed it Stone Smoked Porter and it became a year-round offering.
These early beers were proof that they were wanting to drive new flavors into the market and their success today is proof that it worked.
From humble beginnings, Steve and Greg have built something special that now reaches a good portion of the world. And they’ve paved the way for more craft breweries than they will even know about.
Milestones
Being opened for over 20 years, Stone Brewing has achieved great things and marked many milestones along the way.
From new beers to new locations, they have been growing year after year.
Here are a few milestones that stood out to me:
- July 1996 – Stone Brewing Opens
- June 1997 – First Bottled Beer – 22oz Bomber Of Stone Pale Ale
- April 1999 – Beers Are Packaged In 6 Packs
- October 2002 – Stone Brewing Makes Inc.’s 500 List
- March 2003 – Stone Brewing Reaches East Cost
- December 2005 – New Facility In Escondido – Quadrupled The Size Of The Brewing System
- November 2006 – Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens Opens
- January 2009 – Beer Advocate Names Stone Brewing The All-Time Top Brewery On Planet Earth
- April 2010 – Stone Brewing Adds Distribution Into Chicago
- May 2013 – Stone Brewing Liberty Station Opens In San Diego
- December 2015 – Stone Brews And Sells Beer In Berlin, Germany
- September 2017 – Stone Brewing Distributes Into All 50 States
These are just the highlights; check out their entire company history in a timeline. Included in the time line are beer releases, charity involvement, company growth, and production levels.
They do a great job telling their story and helping their fans understand how they’ve grown into the global brewery they are today.
The Beer
Stone Brewing focuses in on the most popular style of craft beer; IPA.
And it’s hard to blame them as this style continues to dominate craft beer sales year after year. So it’ not too much of a surprise that IPAs make up their entire year round line up.
- Stone IPA
- Stone Delicious IPA
- Stone Ruination Double IPA
- Stone Tangerine Express IPA
- Stone Scorpion Bowl IPA
- Stone Go To IPA
- Stone Ripper
But rest assured that there are other beers in their portfolio to check out; they just aren’t as easily available. Here are a few that make their appearance once a year or less:
- Stone Xocoveza
- Stone Coffee Milk Stout
- Stone American Stout
- Stone Russian Imperial Stout
Check out more of their lineup here.
Craft Beer Spotlight: Stone Brewing Xocoveza
Lots Of Locations
There seems to be no wrong or right way to operate a large brewery but one thing seems fairly common, multiple locations.
As a brewery grows, it only makes sense to open up multiple breweries to ensure shipping time and costs are reduced while maintaining high quality standards. In the USA, this often means a West and East coast operations.
This is exactly what Stone Brewing has done with their main brewery in Escondido, CA and one in Richmond, VA. But they also have one in Berlin, Germany as they are actively growing their brand in Europe.
But they didn’t stop there as they have quite a few opportunities to visit a location but most are not breweries. Here is the complete list:
- Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens
- Stone Company Store
- Stone Brewing Taproom – San Diego, CA
- Stone Brewing In Terminal 2 – San Diego International Airport
- *Coming Soon*
And if you get the chance to visit the Escondido, Richmond, or Berlin locations; make sure to Book Your Brewery Tour in advance.
Great Branding
One thing that has always caught my attention was the consistent branding of Stone Brewing. It often stands out among the many other beers on the shelf.
Utilizing the gargoyle as their mascot, beer drinkers can quickly recognize it as the iconic symbol for this brand. And many associate it with bold beer flavors as they were one of the original breweries to take hop forward beers mainstream.
But the branding doesn’t stop at their beer; fans love to show their support and Stone Brewing has no shortage of merchandise available. Check Out Their Online Store Here
Want more, there’s also many items you can buy on Amazon with Stone Brewing branding.
I know that craft beer fans love showing their support of breweries. In my travels, Stone Brewing is a brand that I see represented on a consistent basis on t-shirts, hats and other apparel. There’s no denying that people love their brand as much as their beer.
Recent News
You can’t talk about Stone Brewing right now without mentioning their lawsuit against MillerCoors and their Keystone brand.
If you haven’t heard about it, the quick breakdown is Stone Brewing is suing MillerCoors for referring to Keystone as Stone. Specifically, their latest re-design of their cans which prominently feature the word “Stone”.
“Put the Key back in Keystone”, is the mantra that are using.
You can read more about it here or watch this video where Greg Koch, co-founder of Stone Brewing, explains their position.
As you can tell, they are serious about the use of the word “Stone” in the beer industry. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out in court.
My opinion, you have to protect your brand. If you fail to protect it now, it allows others to use it as well.
Will they win?
That’s tough to predict but I think they have a really good shot at forcing them to change their can design and marketing.
I even heard of a story where someone ordered a Stone IPA at a bar and was brought a Keystone Light. I wasn’t there so I can’t say if this is true or just a great story. But if it is true then it proves there is confusion in the market.
But MillerCoors isn’t stepping down. On April 10, 2018, MillerCoors replied to the lawsuit with a counterclaim that they should own the rights to the word “Stone” when used in reference to beer. Read more here.
Sounds like we have a heated battle “brewing” between Macro and Craft Beer.
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Final Thoughts
Stone Brewing is a mammoth among the craft beer world but there’s also something about them that still feels genuine and real.
I was lucky enough to attend a corporate event at their location at Liberty Station in San Diego. The space is beautiful, the food was great and the beer was top notch.
If you have the chance, visit one of their locations as it will be an experience unlike most breweries and taprooms.
With so many craft beer options, I don’t drink Stone Brewing very often. But when I do, I enjoy it. Their IPAs are hop forward and strong while their dark beers are smooth and rich.
