Tag: Garnet Pratt Siddall

The rise, fall, and sale of Side Launch Brewery

Posted on by Ben

*UPDATED 11:40am October 20: Details provided by Equals*

Side Launch Brewery has been sold to Equals Brewing Company.

Nothing has been announced yet, but I have heard from enough sources with enough insight into the company that I feel comfortable posting this. I will of course update this post when it inevitably creates a need for a press release. *UPDATE: Equals brewing has confirmed the purchase of Side Launch. Full statement from Justin McEllar, the President of Equals, has been added to the end of this post.*

Equals, for the uninitiated, is a contract and co-packing business right here in London Ontario. They likely already brew a handful of your favourite contract beers, including Triple Bogey, and they have become a go-to spot for local breweries that need occasional help with capacity. They also offer private label brewing and have a couple of their own brands, including Shake Lager, and the downright excellent Bangarang hard seltzer (Seriously, it’s really good).

Side Launch, as most will know, is a once-great brewery in Collingwood that has continued to make head-scratching decision after head-scratching decision as the board that runs the company tries to maximize profits and, in recent years, clearly position the place for a sale. Continue reading “The rise, fall, and sale of Side Launch Brewery” →

Sexist beer marketing: Meanwhile in Nova Scotia

Posted on by Ben

A  few months ago I wrote a blog post discussing sexist marketing in beer and I called out–and chatted with–some Ontario breweries about marketing efforts I felt objectified women.

In the interim, there have been some changes worth noting. Whitewater Brewing, the Ottawa Valley area brewer who makes “Farmer’s Daughter Blonde,” has quietly updated the branding for that can and appears to have renamed their seasonal “Farmer’s Daughter’s Melons” to the decidedly less cringe-inducing “Watermelon Blonde.”

Niagara Brewing Company, the makers of “Amber Eh!,” an American-style Amber that features a semi-naked female lumberjack on the can, took the less strategic but still effective approach of responding to my repeated inquiries by simply blocking me on social media. I guess that works.

The other breweries mentioned have, to date, continued business as usual; including continuing to use the cans that I discussed.

As first reported here in August, Garnet Pratt Siddall, the then-newly-appointed chair of the Ontario Craft Brewers who spoke candidly with me for my article about sexist beer in the industry, has been terminated as the CEO of Collingwood’s Side Launch Brewing Co.

I’ve also confirmed with the OCB that she has likewise subsequently resigned as the chair and director of that organization. It remains to be seen who her replacement will be and, as such, it’s unclear whether the de facto figurehead of Ontario’s only organization advocating for small brewers will share Siddall’s interest in making changes related to offensive marketing.

Interestingly though, one of the most promising changes to come about since my article, and apparently as a result of it, comes not from Ontario, but rather from Nova Scotia. Continue reading “Sexist beer marketing: Meanwhile in Nova Scotia” →

Side Launch Brewing Company announces termination of CEO Garnet Prat Siddall

Posted on by Ben

The board of directors of Collingwood’s Side Launch Brewing Company has announced the termination of the brewery’s President and CEO, Garnet Pratt Siddall.

In an announcement to staff and stakeholders of the company, Andy Wilder, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said the board “has decided that Side Launch would be best served with a new leader and the search for a new CEO will commence immediately.”

The statement includes assurances to staff the company will “continue to prosper and grow” and lauds the brewery’s “strong balance sheet.” As the reason for termination, Wilder indicated that “[i]t is normal that as an organization grows, the skills and processes needed to manage the organization change.”

A source tells me, however, that the board parted company with Pratt Siddall over “fundamental disagreements over how to run the business.”

That Side Launch has chosen to part ways with Pratt Siddall, who served as President and CEO since the company’s founding three years ago and inarguably helped the brewery rise to its current prominence, is a puzzling decision to say the least. Pratt Siddall brought experience in corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions to Side Launch, the company was named the 2016 Brewery of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards, and Pratt Siddall was recently elected by her peers to serve as chair of the board of directors for the Ontario Craft Brewers association. The first woman ever elected to that position.

I reached out to Pratt Siddall for comment but she indicated she was not prepared to discuss the situation.

Per the recent announcement, Side Launch Brewery’s interim CEO will be Al Stuart. Stuart is a Managing Partner of The Pilot in Toronto, former Vice President of Operations at Stuart Energy Systems Corporation, and is currently a director of the Bloor Yorkville BIA and sits on JAZZFM‘s board of directors.