Tilray lays off 10 Barrel Brewing’s entire Innovation Brewing Team lead by Tonya Cornett
Remember when 10 Barrel Brewing celebrated their sale from Anheuser-Busch/InBev to Cannabis and beverage behemoth Tilray? That was only a year ago this month, and there was a note of optimism in the air for their return to “craft beer” status based on the definitions laid out by the Brewers Association. 9 years of operating under the oversight of the world’s largest beer maker had its ups and downs, but when the 10 Barrel team gathered on the patio to roll out a celebratory banner and spray cans of beer like they just won the Super Bowl, it sure did seem like a joyous occasion.
Today things are not so celebratory. According to reports, 10 Barrel Brewing founders and brothers Chris and Jeremy Cox tendered their resignation from the brewery they created, announcing their departure internally last week. What followed was a mass layoff of 10 Barrel Brewing’s entire innovation brewing team on Wednesday, September 4th. This included company wide positions in brewing, admin, and sales, which has been confirmed by multiple sources.
Shawn Kelso (top), Tonya Cornett (left), Jimmy Seifrit (right)
When 10 Barrel Brewing, Widmer, and others were acquired by Tilray in 2023, suddenly those companies met the Brewers Association’s definition of “small and independent craft breweries” because they were no longer owned by a mega-conglomerate macro brewery. Make no mistake, Canadian Cannabis company Tilray is a mega corporation, but did/does not own or operate a macro brewery. This meant that breweries like 10 Barrel could receive Brewers Association member benefits, and regained some street cred. In Oregon it meant that they could rejoin the Oregon Brewers Guild (OBG) and take part in more community events, which in a perfect world could give the not-for-profit organization a much needed boost in membership and dues. But that never happened according to sources at the OBG.
It was only a month ago that Tilray announced additional acquisitions of Oregon’s Hop Valley Brewing Company, Terrapin Beer Co., and Revolver Brewing, raising hope for a strong reemergence of the craft beer sector, especially in Oregon where 10 Barrel, Widmer Brothers, and sister brand Square Mile Cider, would all be under the same banner. But the rules of capitalism under consolidation always seemed to dictate there would be some cost cutting to eliminate in-efficiencies.
In a press release dated just two days ago on 9/3/24, Tilray Brands Chairman and CEO, Irwin D. Simon, touted their new acquisitions (emphasis mine): “Tilray Brands is crafting a new future for brands in the craft beer industry. We are proud to welcome these exceptional brands and the talented teams behind them to Tilray. With our proven track record of creating brand growth, we are confident in our ability to drive revenue, generate cost synergies, and expand distribution, further strengthening these brands and solidifying Tilray's position as a leader in the craft beverage industry. This strategic acquisition creates additional growth opportunities for our global beverage business, which reinforces our commitment to enhancing shareholder value. At Tilray Brands, we are constantly pushing the boundaries to bring new and better experiences to our consumers. Our plan is to drive growth and maximize the potential of these brands to their fullest capacity, while maintaining our dedication to delivering high-quality products and meeting the evolving needs of our consumers.”
The full extent of the 10 Barrel Brewing innovation team layoffs are still unknown to us. But what we do know is it includes key players that made the brewery what it is today. According to multiple sources who wish to remain anonymous, the layoffs include former brewmaster and longtime leader Jimmy Seifrit, former Bend Brewing brewmaster Ian Larkin, former Barley Brown’s brewmaster Shawn Kelso, and notably, perhaps the world’s most award-winning brewer - Tonya Cornett.
Taking to social media, 10 Barrel Brewing co-founder Jeremy Cox said in part, “This is our team that we went to battle with everyday for the last 18 years that are the best in the biz! Most are unemployed as of today which makes me super sad as they trusted us and we couldn’t protect them. Ultimately we made the decision to sell and feel responsible but these aren’t the people who should be unemployed as they are everything I described above, all winners!”
10 Barrel Brewing was not well known outside of their hometown, Bend, Oregon until they hired Deschutes Brewery brewmaster Jimmy Seifrit in 2010. Seifrit recruited big names to join him, including beloved Barley Brown’s Brewpub brewmaster Shawn Kelso, and Bend Brewing brewmaster Tonya Cornett. The beer and the buzz took a huge leap in quality and quantity.
Kelso helped define the NW-style IPA and Cascadian Dark Ale at Barley Brown’s, and then opened 10 Barrel’s first expansion outside of Oregon as the brewmaster for 10 Barrel Brewing in Boise, Idaho.
Tonya Cornett was already an acclaimed brewer brewer and leader. She went on to create 10 Barrel’s Crush series, and helped popularize sour, fruited, experimental, and barrel-aged beers.
Ian Larkin, won GABF gold medals for Salmonberry Sour as brewmaster of Bend Brewing Co. following Tonya Cornett. He then joined 10 Barrel and continued in those footsteps with multi-award winners like Gindulgence.
Jimmy Seifrit oversaw and built the team from the ground up, including making key hires like Whitney Burnside as brewmaster for 10 Barrel’s expansion into Portland. Seifrit also created an in-house lager originally called “Employees Only” that became of of the breweries largest commercial hits and current best-seller - PUB BEER.
Together they built the brand into one of the hottest in the nation, no doubt piquing the interest of suitors including their eventual buyer Anheuser-Busch/InBev.
Before joining 10 Barrel, Tonya Cornett was already at the forefront of craft beer as one of the leaders of the burgeoning resurgence and promotion of women in the craft beer industry. Her accolades at the tiny Bend Brewing were legendary, in 2008 she became the first woman to be awarded the title of the World Beer Cup Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year, also capturing gold in the most competitive category for American IPA. She personally has won a total of 16 medals at the Great American Beer Festival and 12 medals at the World Beer Cup, and has been profiled in The New York Times, and The Washington Post. For over a decade she has led the 10 Barrel Brewing R & D team, and continued winning medal after medal and opening up new beer categories with her experimental and recipe driven approach taking inspiration from cocktails, botanicals, and food fermentation.
In April 2024, Cornett and the innovation brew team at 10 Barrel Brewing made history again as the first ever brewery to sweep an entire category at the World Beer Cup. That moment, captured on video below, will never be forgotten. But her legacy was already cemented, as earlier that same night she was the recipient of the Brewers Association’s Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing, making her the third female and the fifth Oregonian ever to earn that accolade.
And in astounding bit of hypocrisy, the aforementioned CEO of Tilray Brands, said in April “Cheers to Tonya Cornett, Brewmaster at 10 Barrel Brewing, for earning the prestigious Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing. Her passion for craft brewing and commitment to innovation have set a new standard in the industry, and we are honored to have her as part of the Tilray Brands family. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition."
Back when 10 Barrel Brewing was acquired by AB, I argued that big corporations wouldn’t value the individuals like Seifrit, and Cornett, and what they bring to the table. At the same time, I did not think 10 Barrel would abandon their commitment to quality, and that the individual resources available to the brew team would only grow as would their aspirations. I was mostly right, as 10 Barrel Brewing’s core team never lost a step in terms of their in-house brewing acumen, it actually took another corporation deemed an independent “craft brewery” by the Brewers Association to let that happen. Which raises the question —were we better with AbInBev all along?
I guess the moral of this story is be careful what you wish for? As one former 10 Barrel brewer told me on condition of anonymity:
“So now it's a shell of a brewery with no soul at all. No innovation. Just mass production of lifeless liquid to fill up the already crowded shelves of Fred Meyer and gas stations. Oh, but y'all still consider this craft?"
