Sapporo U.S.A., which recently acquired Stone Brewing Co., plans to move all its production for the U.S. market to Stone’s breweries. The move, officials said, will double current production. It preparation for the move, Stone promoted Nicole William to lead the Escondido, Calif., brewery, and Robert Kuntz to leader the Richmond, Va., facility. Both will oversee the entire brewing, packaging, maintenance, engineering, and water operations of their respective facilities. Each will have the title Sr. Director, Brewing Operations.
Stone and Sapporo anticipate brewing a combined approximately 720,000 barrels of beer by the end of 2024. Stone’s total barrelage in 2021 was just over 360,000 barrels. The brewery anticipates an additional $20-$40 million in capital investment into its Richmond, VA brewery and $10-$20 in Escondido, CA. While taking on the production of Sapporo beers for the U.S., Stone will continue brewing its award-winning beers just as before