![]() O&A: Devils Backbone was acquired by Anheuser-Busch in 2016, which obviously helped your company in areas such as marketing and distribution. And I think that dedication to true quality in making the best possible product we can really works in everything we do.” We’re here in the hills of Virginia in an area with a relatively low population that’s fairly rural, and we had to build something that was going to succeed in a place where maybe success wasn’t guaranteed. In terms of us standing out, I think we have a little bit of magic to us. More competition means better products for the consumer and, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about. Kim Oakley: “First of all, the number of craft breweries and distilleries out there is great. O&A: You’re in marketing, so what does your company do to stand out among the zillions of craft breweries that have opened in the last decade? Our Vienna Lager quickly became one of the top lagers in the world and won many awards, and it’s still the gold standard for Vienna lagers throughout the world.” It started with an amazing vision from our founders, the Crandalls, who visited all those amazing breweries in Europe and said ‘We want to bring something like that to our home town in Nelson County.’ And then they brought in incredible people early and often. Kim Oakley: “Many things had to go right in such a short period of time. O&A: Devils Backbone brewery became very successful very quickly in a very competitive industry. Kim Oakley, the marketing director of Devils Backbone, recently sat down for a telephone interview with Out & About Magazine from her office in Southern Virginia to discuss her company’s amazing growth, the many changes it’s undergone in a short amount of time, and what lies ahead. (For more information on Devils Backbone and its products, go to ) Part of that growth was their leap in 2019 into the canned cocktail business, which includes their top-selling Smash series - orange, grapefruit and lemonade, all of which can be found in the Delaware market. Heidi Crandall is still involved with the company, which started small and grew quickly. Last May, the Devils Backbone family suffered a devastating loss when Steve Crandall died at the age of 64 after a three-year battle with cancer. Then, in 2016, Devils Backbone was acquired by industry goliath Anheuser-Busch and lost its Brewers Association designation as a craft brewery. Other big sellers were Eight Point IPA and Schwartz Bier, a black lager. in 2008 and it was an immediate success, especially their flagship Vienna Lager, which has won several national and international awards. The Crandalls began their operation in Nelson County, Va. And when they finally decided to take the plunge and open their own brewery, they did so in the Blue Ridge mountains of Southern Virginia.Īs for the name Devils Backbone - that’s what the jagged section of the Blue Ridge was called by the men who surveyed that part of Virginia almost 300 years ago, a group that included Thomas Jefferson’s father, Peter. The couple got the inspiration to start the brewery while on a ski trip in the Italian Alps and savored, for the first time, a quality craft beer, a German Weisse. But take a closer look and it makes perfect sense, since mountains have always played a big part in the lives and careers of Steve and Heidi Crandall. After making its name with beer, Devils Backbone finds another sweet spot with canned cocktailsĪt first glance, it seems like an odd name for a craft brewery - Devils Backbone.
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