Bart Watson is the new president and CEO of the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American craft brewers. Effective January 6, 2025, Watson takes over the position from Bob Pease, who announced his retirement in 2024 and continued to serve until January 3, 2025.
Watson, who has been with the Brewers Association since 2013, most recently as vice president of strategy and membership and formerly as chief economist, was selected by the Brewers Association board of directors after conducting a national recruitment process that involved both internal and external candidates.
In his role as chief economist, Watson was often the face of the Brewers Association when presenting on the state of the industry, which has faced headwinds in recent years.
“The role of a trade association is to do things collectively that its members can’t do independently,” said Watson in a telephone interview. “My top priority in the short term is to engage with members to find out what their challenges are and how we can support them as they evolve.”
The Brewers Association has historically been effective in supporting the industry through lobbying efforts resulting in legislative and regulatory changes that made it easier for small breweries to do business. Those efforts will continue, but Watson also plans to help the Association’s members as they evolve their businesses.
Watson noted that many breweries were enhancing their businesses to include non-alcoholic beer, non-beer products such as seltzer and cider, or to focus more on hospitality. Watson pointed out that the most recent Great American Beer Festival, which is hosted each year by the Brewers Association in Denver, allowed breweries to pour seltzer and cider for the first time, providing association members a new opportunity to engage with beer drinkers and get feedback on these products directly from consumers.
The educational side of the Brewers Association has a strong history in spreading technical brewing and quality knowledge, but as the industry faces challenges, Watson said there may be an opportunity to provide business and financial education.
The Brewers Association also operates the American Homebrewers Association. In recent years, some longtime members of the AHA felt that the Brewers Association had neglected homebrewers, focussing more attention on commercial breweries. In his new role as president and CEO, Watson says he wants to “set up the AHA for more success.”
“Bart’s in-depth understanding of the craft beer industry and landscape and his decade-plus of experience within the Brewers Association makes him uniquely poised to step into the president and CEO role on day one with a strategic vision and plan,” said Leah Cheston, board chair in a press release issued by the Brewers Association. “The board of directors is excited for the next chapter and looks forward to working with Bart to chart the path forward for our members and our industry.”
“I want to be highly member-centric. I will be focussing on the top priorities of theirs that we can collectively solve,” said Watson. “If we can do that, our association will also thrive.”