Last month, Harland Brewing announced the hiring of veteran fermentationist Cody Morris (pictured below, at right) to fill the company’s open director of brewing operations role. It was a big deal, not only because of Morris’ leadership experience amassed serving in that same position for local operations Mission Brewing and, most recently, Embolden Beer Co., but because his move spelled the split of his lengthy and efficient working relationship with cousin and counterpart, Andrew Kelly.
The duo had worked side-by-side at both of the aforementioned brewing interests, making Morris’ transition to the next chapter of his career bittersweet. Any sadness was tempered by his excitement about Kelly taking over his directorial position at Embolden and getting to run the show after so many years as a standout right-hand man. He’s not the only one who’s enthused. So, too, are Kelly as well as Embolden’s owners, who are happy to have him in the lead role and pleased with the individual they’ve hired to backfill his vacated position.
“Andrew is an incredibly talented brewer, and he is so passionate about quality and operations. It’s inspiring to watch, and he brings incredible knowledge and an infectious work ethic that lifts up the entire team,” says Embolden co-owner Andy Sist.
In 2020, Sist and business partner Kyle Pool took over the Miramar facility previously operated by 32 North Brewing and went to work founding New Motion Beverages, an operation offering a diverse, forward-thinking portfolio of hard kombuchas, seltzers and sparkling teas. After hiring Morris and Kelly to handle production of those products, they quickly came to the realization that they had far too much brewing prowess under their roof not to also craft ales and lager, and added on sister brand, Embolden.
Morris and Kelly first teamed up when the former hired the latter. Kelly had been at Coronado Brewing for five-and-a-half years and that experience helped him gel with the team with minimal training. By the time Morris made the move to New Motion/Embolden in 2020, Kelly had grown into such an invaluable partner that they became a package deal.
Over the past three years, the duo have earned respect from industry contemporaries for maintaining quality and innovation across such a wide range of beverages and doing so at an aggressive pace that sees new product releases occurring every one or two weeks. That rhythm will continue under Kelly, who says it is key to keeping Embolden and New Motion relevant in the marketplace.
Assisting with production will be brewers Cory Cardwell and new-hire, Christian Maxwell, who comes to Embolden from Mission, where he worked with Kelly for a brief stint before he and Morris’ departure. The new director says Maxwell is a hard worker and has the type of experience that will help the team stay creative and keep things exciting for the company’s patrons.
“The move to director of brewing operations was quick and something I didn’t plan on doing anytime soon, but I’m going into it with a positive mindset,” says Kelly. “My focus will be on continuing the growth we’ve achieved while trying to learn a bit more about the business side of things compared to the brewing and production side of things.”
“We are currently in expansion mode and actively seeking to broaden our overall footprint, which stretches all the way up from the Central Coast to Los Angeles, Orange County, Arizona and even Japan,” says Sist. “We also have ambitions of expanding our home tasting room in Miramar and looking into additional locations in the not too distant future. Having a great team in place is key to being able to keep moving toward realizing these goals.”
Embolden Beer Co. / New Motion Beverages is located at 8655 Production Avenue in Miramar