In 2006, Stone Brewing – a company that had long railed against fizzy yellow beer and the mammoth macro-beer conglomerates that produced it – sent craft-beer fans’ jaws crashing to the floor by hiring Mitch Steele as its Brewmaster. A 14-year veteran of Anheuser-Busch who’d developed numerous products for the company, there was no denying his skills and abilities…but how would a Big Beer expat fit in and perform at perhaps the most anti-Big-Beer operation of all time? As it turns out, very well. Under Steele’s direction, Stone innovated beyond an already groundbreaking, creative portfolio of beers, churning out hundreds of varieties during his decade with the company, winning the Russell Scherer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing from the Brewers Association along the way. Then came the call of entrepreneurship, a siren’s song he answered in 2016, moving cross-country to Atlanta, Georgia, to launch New Realm Brewing. Building from the ground up, Steele and his partners put their noses to the grindstone, establishing their brand and eventually expanding to open a sizable base of operations at Green Flash Brewing’s former headquarters in Virginia Beach before expanding the business to include a total of six locations, all of which included production facilities pumping out beers, hard seltzers, ciders, spirits, ready-to-drink cocktails and THC-infused beverages. It was a busy, booming nine years for Steele, who accomplished a great deal, making it all the more surprising when New Realm’s owners eliminated his position last year. Undeterred, he consulted for several companies before being contacted by a recruiter who set up an interview for him with decision-makers at the country’s 34th largest craft brewery, Louisiana-based Abita Brewing. In March, Steele signed on as the 40-year-old company’s Director of Brewing Operations, moving to The Pelican State to start the next chapter of his career. Though busy adjusting to a new home and workplace, he took a moment to catch us up on the past decade as well as what his role with Abita entails.
What was it like building a brewing company from scratch?
That was something I had never done before, which was a motivating factor in taking it on. I enjoyed a lot of the process, design, layout and installation of the brewery, setting QA standards and SOPs for brewing, developing some really good beers and hiring an excellent brewing team. A lot of it was frustratingly hard work. Things like dealing with construction and equipment delays, permitting and licensing issues was particularly tough. Growing our brand was a challenge. It was 2018 and the industry was just starting to see a downturn, and there were a lot of really good newer Atlanta brewers that had a head start on us by two or three years. Additionally, Atlanta was – and remains – a tough market for outsiders coming in. It took a long time to establish ourselves in the brewing community, which, by and large, is a great group of people. But it took us a while to establish ourselves for a lot of reasons, and we had to work hard to become part of the community.
before a Blackberry Smoke show
What were the most rewarding aspects of your time with New Realm?
We had a hazy IPA called Hazy Like A Fox that became our top-selling brand. Seeing that beer all over Atlanta and the Hampton Roads in Virginia was pretty gratifying. We worked hard on that one. It was fascinating to learn the science of making a good hazy IPA with biotransformation and creating a stable haze, which is really hard to do in a big brewery without pulling some rabbits out of the hat. But it’s a really good hazy IPA and I’m proud to have put it together. I was also very happy with our German Pilsner, which was inspired by Victory Brewing’s Prima Pils (which always seemed to be on tap at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens). It won multiple awards the first few years. We also made a really good West Coast IPA, but it turned out to be too bitter for our distributors and some of our customers. It was 70 IBU (international bittering units) and dry-hopped with Simcoe and Centennial. It was one of my favorite beers but we just couldn’t sell it, though brewers who came into our taproom really liked it. We also brewed a lot of collaborations, many with old friends from my Stone days, others with great brewers I met through New Realm activities in the Southeast, and a few with international collaborators. I still love brewing collaboration beers. They are great fun and it’s an energizing process.
Learning the ins and outs of producing non-alcoholic (N/A) beer with maltose-negative yeast, and revisiting alcohol-removal processes for N/A beers was challenging and interesting. I also became the subject matter expert at New Realm for producing Delta-9 THC beverages. We did a ton of work with natural flavors and terpenes, which not only helped us with our non-beer projects, but also a bit with our beers. One of the most rewarding projects I got to be part of at New Realm was the American lager we brewed with the Atlanta-based rock band Blackberry Smoke. If you haven’t listened to them, their music is a blend of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers and early ‘70s The Rolling Stones, with a bit of classic Aerosmith. They tour the world all year, have an amazing fanbase and are top-notch performers. We got together because we were doing some charity fundraisers together and got talking about doing a project to celebrate their fans on their 20th anniversary while raising money for one of their charities helping families dealing with childhood cancer. We developed this wonderful beer for their fans, and the inaugural batch won a gold medal at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). It has since won several medals at GABF, World Beer Cup and other competitions. Getting to know the band and their fans, and going to several of their shows has been pretty incredible. And the beer has won more meaningful medals than any I’ve ever brewed.
What made Abita the right fit for you and how does it feel working for such a respected operation?
I began to think maybe what I really wanted was to be back in a good-sized craft brewery, working with a group of passionate, committed people. I hadn’t really considered the idea of Louisiana, but when I brought my wife down to explore during my on-site interview, we both came away very impressed. It’s a big brewery with an automated Steinecker 200-barrel brewhouse, a healthy product line and a lot of contract business. They are growing volume, and have a really great team. This is a big responsibility that I take very seriously.
2024 Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas
What does your role entail and how will your approach be with new and existing beers?
Innovation is a big part of the job. Abita has a lineup of seasonals and limited releases that I’ll enjoy working on. And I’m really excited about being able to put some operational things in place to help us get better and more consistent with brewing our beers, making processes easier, improving efficiencies and that sort of thing. Right now, I’m busy coordinating pilot brewing for some 2027 new releases, some of which will be very hoppy. I’m also in the process of evaluating our current lineup and talking with the team about where we might want to take some of the beers. But it’s similar to when I joined Stone. Abita has well established core beers. I’m not looking to change anything that’s working well unless the entire team decides a change is needed. There’s a reason they have been successful for so long.
Do you ever miss San Diego and its craft beer scene?
I’ll always miss San Diego. It’s a very special area. I’ve been really fortunate to have been able to live in some of the greatest areas of this country. I grew up in the Bay Area, spent time in Colorado, St. Louis, New Hampshire, San Diego, Atlanta and now Louisiana, all of which had their own special things. We spent the most time in my career living in Southern California. It’s where our kids grew up and they still consider it “home”. We made great friends there, and I’m still friends with plenty of people at Stone and the San Diego beer scene. I know it’s changed a lot since I left, but San Diego beer is the best in the country for my tastes. Plus, the weather and the beaches are gorgeous, and the food is amazing. I miss the great Mexican food, in particular. I’m just so fortunate to have been part of it and Stone for 10 years. It was an incredible time of my life…the best job I ever had. I’ll never forget how much I enjoyed working and living there.