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Firestone Walker's unlikely path from "the back-forty of the family vineyard" to becoming a top craft brewer in its 30th year with global connections and notable acquired brands of its own, operating in its 2d gen leadership was featured in an in-depth profile by local paper, The San Luis Obispo Tribune. It maps out the journey from an unusual pairing of brothers-in-law, Adam Firestone and David Walker, who founded Firestone Walker while Adam still worked for his family's winery, derived from his grandfather Harvey Firestone's namesake tire company started in 1900. Firestone Walker Brewing became its own thing, growing thru many iterations over the last 30 yrs. Adam "has since passed his family's portion of the partnership [in Firestone Walker] to his son Nick Firestone," who's been CEO since 2024, and David Walker has since stepped back from day-to-day operations. Tho Adam, David and Nick all talk "at least daily," Adam told the paper. "Nick is clearly at the helm, but David regularly interrupts him," he quipped.David and Adam's difference in personalities and skillsets ended up being strengths in growing the biz together, the article underscores. "David was the dreamer, the big picture guy. He's fun, gregarious and connects well with people," said Nick. Adam "was always more anchored and focused. He wasn't patient," but "very structured in his thinking, a dynamic guy&hellip;at the dinner table he still always has plenty of opinions," Nick added. "I think of myself as a hybrid between them," Nick said. "I was always interested in coming back to the family business," he shared. Tho he "bounced around" from US Naval Academy to Marine Corps, grad school, and "a handful of finance and strategy jobs&hellip;before eventually finding my way back." Nick talked about some of these dynamics, as well as notable deals struck for Stone and Trumer Pils, and potential growth aves at our Spring Conference in Chicago (see Jun 5 issue).A Modern Brewing Family with Duvel Buying Paso Robles-based SLO Brewing in 2001 and hiring Matt Brynildson as the brewmaster was the first major step in growing beyond Adam and David's wildest dreams, article highlights. "Matt brought clarity where there had been instinct, and precision where there had been intuition," David said. And while the purchase of SLO Brewing was "massively risky&hellip;it turned out to be the best decision we ever made," Adam stated. From there, Firestone Walker continued to grow on its own until partnering with Duvel Moortgat in 2015, selling a majority stake to the brewery while maintaining separate operations from Duvel USA (which also acquired Boulevard and Ommegang). That "allowed" co "to expand without taking on generational debt," paper wrote, paraphrasing co-founders.Nick called Duvel "great partners, sort of involved when we need them, but they keep out of the day to day. They come in to remind us, they've been in business for a very long time, through two world wars, which gives us a real perspective on our woes," Nick acknowledged. That deal was "another piece of serendipity," David reflected, since "we needed a financial partner to help us keep up with 805's growth, and we were fussy about who that partner might be." Duvel is "around four times bigger than us, so they brought some simpatico, stability, understanding of our challenges and real resources to help us grow." Even "more importantly," as David characterized it, "they needed us to remain engaged as we were and healthy." David, Adam and co "retained enough of the brewery for us to continue building and operating our vision for a generational craft brewer," David added. Firestone Walker is "still our child&hellip;.Call it a modern family."A California Brewing Co; 80% Sold In-State; ~400 People While Firestone Walker's sold in 23 states, "80% of our beer is sold in the state of California, which is a statistic we're very proud of," Adam underscored. While volume has been challenged in recent yrs, co still produces around "a half million barrels of beer a year," David ballparked, and Paso Robles is "where 99% of our beer is made," Matt Brynildson noted. The rest at its smaller Propagator brewpub in Venice Beach and Barrelworks brewery in Buellton. Matt likes to think of Firestone as "a regional specialty brewer," he told SLO Trib. It "live[s] in this middle place," and it's a "nice place to be," since they're "large enough to afford the nice brewing toys" and "the best of technology," while "small enough to be nimble" and stay connected to "the local community," he explained. While Pivo Pils is Matt's go-to beer to drink that Firestone Walker makes, he's "most proud of" 805 Blonde, "a simple beer by liquid standards," but it's "given this brewery the most broad reach" and "built this brewery in the modern day."Article pointed to its sold-out Invitational Brew Fest, drawing 4K attendees, and new brew "SLO CAL" Pale Ale as clear examples of how the company continues to "not only innovate and grow, but also have fun doing it." And co's leaning into sustainability at Paso Robles, "adding another 5 acres to the solar array behind the building." Firestone Walker employs around 400 people currently. "The real story isn't the beer. It's not my family," but the people, Adam said. At the brewery, "you're greeted by smiling people, amazing people who live on the Central Coast," and "we keep the brewery going so those passionate people can continue doing what they love and are good at&hellip;making beer. It's a reflection of the diverse collection of people in SLO County."

Firestone Walker's Journey from "Vineyard Shed" to "Global Craft Beer Brand" Featured in SLO Tribune

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