"I want to introduce you to the new owners of the company," Harpoon Cofounder Dan Kenary announced to a curious crowd at the meeting in the beer hall. "Turn to the person sitting next to you, and shake hands with one of the new owners." The hall erupted in applause, shouts, and tears of joy. On August 1, Harpoon will become an employee-owned company.
"Employee ownership is the embodiment of what Harpoon stands for,” says Dan Kenary. “Our success as an independent craft brewer is attributed to our outstanding employees and the wonderful culture we have at the brewery. The ESOP strengthens our commitment to our employees, our culture, and to making and sharing great beer."
"I think it's also an incredible fit for craft beer," says Kenary. "I want to give a shout out to those who have led the way: Full Sail Brewing, Deschutes, New Belgium, Alaskan Brewing."
Beer lovers Dan Kenary and Rich Doyle founded the Harpoon Brewery in 1986 on the Boston waterfront. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts issued Harpoon Brewing Permit #001 because it was the first brewery to brew commercially in Boston in about twenty-five years. It has since grown to be the twelfth largest craft brewery in the United States and currently has 187 full-time employees between its Boston, Massachusetts, and Windsor, Vermont, brewing facilities.
Doyle will step down as CEO but will maintain part-time status at the brewery, focusing on key marketing and sales initiatives as well as new business development. Kenary will assume the role of CEO.
"This is a big transition for the company and for me, but it feels like the right thing at the right time,” says Doyle. “I have enjoyed my twenty-eight years working here and building a first class brewing company from idea to reality. The ESOP will really fit the culture here since Harpoon has always been a very team-oriented place.”
Harpoon’s line of craft beer features its award-winning IPA and UFO (unfiltered) beers. Harpoon also produces the limited batch 100 Barrel Series that arose from an annual company homebrew competition. The competition’s winning beer is determined by popular vote based on a blind sampling at the annual company outing at the brewery in Windsor, Vermont, and is brewed as a 100 Barrel Series offering. Harpoon also produces all-natural Harpoon Craft Ciders, made from freshly pressed local apples and their proprietary ale yeast. Harpoon's distribution footprint includes more than twenty-five states, mostly east of the Mississippi River.
Photos courtesy of Harpoon Brewery.