April 23, 2019

Leading national craft brewery collective attracts beverage industry veteran

LONGMONT, Colo., April 22nd, 2019 — CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective, a disruptive collective of like-minded craft brewers, has selected industry veteran Tony Short as its CEO. At the helm of the collective, Tony will accelerate the stellar momentum of the industry’s eighth-largest and fastest growing craft brewery and lead the collective into its next phase of growth.

Short brings to CANarchy more than 30 years of executive management experience at both the supplier and distributor tiers. In 1986, Short joined (then) Anheuser-Busch, where he spent 24 years formulating and executing wholesaler strategy, honing distributor relationships, and gaining invaluable beer industry knowledge, eventually rising to the position of vice president of business and wholesaler development. He recently served as president of Major Eagle Inc., operator of one of Florida’s largest beer distributors.

With his proven track record and long tenure in the beer industry, Short enhances CANarchy’s existing leadership team, comprised of Matt Fraser, President and Chief Operating Officer and Todd Whitbeck, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development. Whitbeck joined CANarchy in June 2018, bringing with him over 25 years of corporate finance, operations, and management experience, having most recently served as CFO of Water Pik, Inc.

“Tony’s pedigree is a perfect complement to our CANarchy team, and we are very fortunate to have him as our CEO,” said Fraser. “His wealth of experience and industry relationships will be instrumental in continuing to successfully implement the strategy we’ve put in place. Tony’s stewardship will allow us to accelerate CANarchy’s growth trajectory, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside him.”

Short is joining CANarchy at an opportune time for the collective. In the first quarter of 2019, CANarchy is seeing strong momentum, defying the craft beer industry’s current sluggish trends. The collective’s promising start in 2019 makes it the fastest growing craft brewery among the Top 50 Craft Breweries in YTD IRI retail scan data for the first three months of the year, growing at 31.0%.

“Tony’s beer mojo is exactly what CANarchy needs for this next phase of growth,” said Dale Katechis, founder of Oskar Blues Brewery. “Tony joining our company is a testament that we might be doing something right around here – you don’t attract this kind of talent if you’re not. Plus, I gave him the five-beer test and he aced it!”

“Tony is hands down the right person and coming in at the right time. He can take what we have created to beyond our expectations, all the while leading us.” said Joey Redner, founder of Cigar City Brewing.

“I’m excited to share my experience with the talented CANarchy team and to bolster our breweries’ ability to provide high-quality, innovative flavors to consumers everywhere,” said Tony Short. “Our founders have implemented a thoughtful and successful strategy in assembling a remarkable portfolio of craft beers. I look forward to leading the execution of this vision and to supporting the CANarchy team, their wholesalers, and their retailers in satisfying beer drinkers’ needs for years to come.”

All sales statistics refer to IRI retail scan data as of March 24, 2019. The industry ranking is according to the Brewers Association’s Top 50 Brewing Companies by Sales Volume list for 2018.

About CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective

Founded in 2015, CANarchy is a disruptive collective of like-minded brewers dedicated to bringing high-quality, innovative flavors to drinkers in the name of independent craft beer. The portfolio of craft breweries, partially funded by Fireman Capital Partners, includes Oskar Blues Brewery, Perrin Brewing Company, Cigar City Brewing, Squatters Craft Beer, Wasatch Brewery, Deep Ellum Brewing Company and Three Weavers Brewing Company. CANarchy was ranked No. 8 on the BA’s list of the 2018 Top 50 U.S. Craft Brewers as ranked by sales volume. The CANarchy platform brewed over 421,000 barrels in 2018, reaching all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., parts of 17 countries spanning five continents. For more information, visit https://www.canarchy.beer.