Leadership Changes at Celis Brewery

As many of you have heard and was reported, by me, on Reddit, Christine Celis is no longer employed at the brewery that bears her and her father’s name. Celis is one of the oldest (dating back to its original founding in 1992) breweries and most iconic names in Austin beer. Based on the seismic nature of this change, we took the opportunity to speak with members of the new leadership team to understand the reasons and details behind the direction change.

The new team was clear that the goal is to instill a new core vision and approach that they believe are necessary for the future success of Celis Brewery.

A) Preserve the Tradition

The new leadership team stated that they are committed to preserving the traditions that have been the long standing hallmarks of the brand.  Specifically, this includes continuing a focus on producing Belgian style beers and continuing production of the Core 4 beers that made up the Celis line-up, Celis White, Celis Grand Cru, Celis Raspberry and Celis Pale Bock.  Celis White will continue to be on tap year round, while the other Core beers will be produced with less frequency based on the new production cycle and for special events and seasonally.

B) Update the Product to Match Modern Styles

The team’s conception is that the brewery has failed in recent years to keep up with an ever-changing beer market and is not producing the same types of modern styles that are the mainstays of most breweries that are thriving today.  To help achieve this vision, the new Celis ownership has made major changes to the brewery operations team and is planning on significant alterations to the beer lineup over the coming months.  In addition, they also alluded to likely branding changes sometime over the next several months and are leveraging a Belgian marketing firm to lead the rebranding efforts.

C) Focus on Operational Consistency

Another area of focus for the new leadership team is improving the stability of the overall operation in several ways.  They specifically pointed to inconsistency in the overall direction of the business since its comeback in 2017.  This included concerns with the guidance and vision of the prior management team to effectively resolve the challenges the organization has faced in recent years. By bringing in a new team with experience from across the brewing industry, they hope to change all aspects of the way the brewery operates; from production and distribution, through marketing and sales, and everything in between.

D) Commitment to Community Engagement

The last key tenet that was clear in the conversation and messaging from the new team is that they intend to show a clear commitment to the community. A few key areas mentioned in this regard were a desire to focus on improving the tap room and beer garden to make it a showplace brewery in Austin, outreach on social media and with key people in the industry to bring the organization back to a position of leadership and finally to listen carefully to concerns from consumers regarding the product and the brand.  To that last point, Churchwell specifically mentioned that Celis is in final talks and is wrapping up the completion of the payback of monies owed to Divine Canines, related to bankruptcy issues that prevented initial payment several years ago.

The New Leadership Team

The new leadership team is made up of three key new directors from various parts of the country and with widely different areas of expertise.

• Caleb Churchwell – Director of Operations   (note – no longer with Celis as of Q2 2024)
  Churchwell comes from the Wilmington, NC area where he was most recently Sales Manager for New Anthem Beer Project.
• Bobby Mullins – Brewmaster Mullins is joining the team from Denton, TX.  He previously founded Armadillo Brewing Company.  His recipes have won several awards, including 2018 World Beer Cup and 2020 Great American Beer Festival medals.
• Sterling Skates – Director of Sales & Marketing
  Skates is a long-time Austinite and was one of the first employees at Zilker Brewing Company.  After many years at Zilker in various roles, he left to join Celis, in his words to, “make sure that Celis Brewing continues on, preserving a legacy, and not letting another Austin brand fail.”

Conclusion and Personal Thoughts

The team seems very committed to the legacy of Pierre Celis. Execution will be key, but the tone and feel coming from Churchwell, Mullins and Skates is authentic. The transition is going to be difficult. Christine Celis is and has been one of the leading figures in Austin beer for more than a decade and her commitment to her father’s legacy and the brand that he built is the only reason it exists today. Craft Beer Austin sincerely hopes that this team can fulfill her vision.