The Microbrewery Handbook

Chapter 29Community Q&A: Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s Matt Stevens

MATT STEVENS IS the Director of Community and Culture at Creature Comforts Brewing Co. in Athens, Georgia, one of the fastest‐growing breweries in the Southeast. What's just as impressive as their growth is the way CCBC has integrated itself into the fabric of its hometown.

We all know that this community relationship is vital. And while most breweries aren't at the size of Creature Comforts, there's a lot to learn conceptually about the way CCBC has become known for its good deeds in Athens, and more recently, making impacts in communities where it serves its product regionally.

So much so, in fact, that it hired Stevens, who brings more than a decade of nonprofit and university‐based work to their team. He is in charge of the company's community impact programming that includes Get Comfortable, Get Artistic, Get Neighborly, and Brew for One.

In this Q&A, Stevens explains what works well in community impact for CCBC, the importance and impact of that relationship with your hometown, and what any brewery can do – regardless of size – to help grow its heart for its community.

D.C. Reeves:    Creature Comforts does such a great job of structuring and galvanizing their community efforts, but for a brewery not at that level yet, to be able to dedicate staff to this cause, what are two or three things any brewery can do to build their relationship with the community?

Matt Stevens:    Great question. Well, if ...