Three of the top employees at the Utah Brewers Cooperative — which operates Squatters and Wasatch Beers — were laid off last week as part of a company restructuring.
Brewmaster Dan Burick, who had worked at Squatters since it opened in 1989, was let go, as were the chief financial officer, Sean Boyle, and the national sales director, George Allen.
In 2012, Boston-based private-equity firm, Fireman Capital Partners, made a major investment in the Utah Brewers Cooperate, which helped with recent expansion in the distribution, marketing and brew pub businesses. Wasatch founder Greg Schirf continued to manage brewery operations for the companies, until April when he retired.
After Schirf's retirement, "it was determined that some restructuring needed to take place," marketing director Judy Cullen wrote in an email to The Tribune.
Complicating the Squatters/Wasatch ownership picture is another investment that Fireman Capital made earlier this year with Oskar Blues, a brewery in Longmont, Colo. The firm is now consolidating parts of the Utah and Colorado beer operations.
"There were some duplications of responsibilities on the sales, financial and production departments, so a difficult decision had to be made," Cullen wrote.
Since the layoffs, other employees have been moved to new positions, she said.
John McCormick, the Utah sales manager, has been promoted to national sales manager. Jon Lee has been promoted to director of brewing and cellar operations and Adam Curfew has been promoted to director of production and packaging.
In 1986, Schirf founded Wasatch Beers and Wasatch Brewpub in Park City, Utah's first microbrewery. Three years later, Peter Cole and Jeff Polychronis opened Squatters.
In 2000, the two companies merged microbrewery operations for draft and bottle production, creating Utah Brewers Cooperative, located at 1763 S. 300 West in Salt Lake City.
Today, Squatters and Wasatch's bottled and draft beers are available in liquor stores, restaurants, clubs, hotels, resorts and grocery and convenience stores in Utah and several other states.
kathys@sltrib.com
Squatters Takeout may be the first rye beer in Utah — and maybe the world — dedicated to the winter sport of curling. Courtesy | Kathy Stephenson
Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune Wasatch Brewery brewmaster Dan Burick with the four medals (two golds, one silver and one bronze) his brews won at the 2004 Great American Beer Festival. Provo Girl Pilsner and India Pale Ale won gold medals, Chasing Tail Ale won silver and Wasatch Hefe Weisen won bronze.
Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Dan Burick, brewmaster and general manager of Utah Brewers Cooperative, which creates Wasatch Beers for Squatters and others is a transplant who came to Utah to ski and never left. Monday, December 12, 2011.
Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune Dan Burick, brewmaster and general manager of Utah Brewers Cooperative, which creates Wasatch Beers for Squatters and others is a transplant who came to Utah to ski and never left. Monday, December 12, 2011.