greg koch

Turn out the lights at Stone Brewing Berlin

Today, Tuesday April 30, 2019, marks the end of the much ballyhooed Stone Brewing Berlin campaign. After six years of planning and three years of operation, Stone Brewing yields its grounds at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens Berlin to Brewdog, a Scottish craft beer company. In 2010, according to Reid Ramsey, founder of Beer Street Journal, Stone’s co-founder walked thorough the gasworks property and…


Stone Brewing beef froths with Miller Coors

Score one for true independent craft beer today as the #TrueStonevsKeystone lawsuit continues.  On Tuesday, March 26, a San Diego Federal Court judge issued its order regarding Stone’s preliminary injunction motion against one of the world’s largest beer conglomerates, MillerCoors.  It confirmed “Stone’s mark to be commercially strong and recognizable,” deserving of “strong protection.” Miller Coors is infringing on the brewery’s trademark rights, according to…


Pub stunt? Stone cold MillerCoors lawsuit

Stone Brewing Co. of Escondido is suing Molson Coors’ MillerCoors in a California court, claiming the company’s marketing of Keystone beer — specifically referring to the product as ‘Stone — is confusing. In a video announcing the lawsuit, Stone Brewing founder Greg Kochexplained why he’s suing the company (NYSE: TAP) and what MillerCoors could do to end the kerfuffle. “We believe that MillerCoors is intentionally…


So, you want to work for Stone Brewing

A funny thing happened to Stone Brewing Co. on its way to global expansion and hotel entrepreneurship: 5 percent of its work force got laid off Thursday. ESCONDIDO, CA. — We don’t know how many employees were affected by this. Stone didn’t say.  However, the company website said it employs 1,100 people, and industry websites put the number of jobs eliminated at 50 to 75….


Stone Brewing chases holy hotel grail

Stone Brewing’s powers-that-be have been talking about this since time immemorial, and now they’re ready to pop the top: Stone Hotel, debuting in 2018. It’s a $26 million, 100,000-square foot buildout at the 1990 Citracado Pkwy. home of Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens, home base for the now international craft brewery empire. “You can’t rush a good thing,” said Greg Koch, CEO, co-founder and…


Stone Brewing builds Berlin beer buzz

Nearly seven years in the making, American craft beer has made a milestone leap into Europe’s time-honored beer culture this week. Escondido-based Stone Brewing announced that its Berlin, Germany brewery now is fully operational and the company is distributing its brew to 17 countries throughout Europe. Stone is the first U.S. craft brewery to independently build, own and operate a brewery in Europe. For generations…


Stone Brewing $100 million ‘True Craft’ investing fund takes aims at ‘Big Beer’

“There is a squeeze coming in the craft beer world. True Craft’s goal is simple: Give craft brewers another option than selling a majority interest to private equity or selling out to big beer.” — Greg Koch, Stone Brewing co-founder on new $100 million True Craft fund. Greg Koch’s talk at EG 2016 where he announced, True Craft, an “alternative to being pushed out or…


Of mice, free Chick-fil-A and Stone Brewing

What’s in a brewery name? This just in from the Escondido company that used to be known as Stone Brewing Co.: We’ve changed. Not the fabulous beers, fear not, but a wee bit change of name. Once quite particular about what they were called, then-CEO Greg Koch was known to correct wayward correspondents who referred to the entity as Stone Brewery or Stone Brewing Company…


Stone Brewing Co. going where no U.S. craft brewer has gone before

America’s ninth largest craft brewer, Escondido’s very own Stone Brewing Co,. is poised to become an international first with a twist Stone debuts the first European-based brewery built, owned and operated by a U.S. craft brewer in March. They’re doing it in the land of Oktoberfest and all things beery, Germany, and its premier city, Berlin. “Most people think it’s an odd thing that an…


Stone Brewing CEO Greg Koch kicks himself upstairs (Video)

Quirky, but successful, Stone Brewery co-founder Greg Koch kicked himself upstairs this week to a higher calling. After serving as Stone’s CEO since its 1996 founding, Koch named himself executive chairman doing pretty much what he has been doing for a while, long-term strategy and planning. Koch even announced the beginning of the  search for a a new him, the new CEO. “This is not…