When asked to name members of the New England IPA vanguard—the producers who helped shape and define the style—most drinkers will cite the same few breweries. There are Treehouse and Trillium, Bissell Brothers and Other Half. And then there is the Vermont trifecta: The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, and Lawson’s Finest Liquids.
Since opening over 10 years ago, Lawson’s Finest Liquids has grown from a staple of Vermont farmers markets to a star in the New England firmament, thanks to the popularity of its fresh, juicy IPAs and DIPAs. Still, despite its tenure, the brewery opened its first taproom in Waitsfield, Vermont just last year: a major shift for a business that began in a shed on the property of its founders, and built an early, grassroots following off the back of its cult favorite Double Sunshine DIPA.
However, it was one beer—Sip of Sunshine, an 8% IPA packaged in an instantly recognizable, sunny-yellow tallboy—that transformed the brewery, with its “little sprinkle of magic,” from hometown hero into national player.
Sean Lawson and his wife Karen started Lawson’s Finest Liquids in 2008. Their origin story mirrors that of so many other brewery founders: Sean had been an avid homebrewer for 20 years, and his friends encouraged him to transform his hobby into a business. Lawson’s Finest Liquids started small, with a one-barrel system wedged in a shed adjacent to the couple’s Warren, Vermont home. For a stretch, Sean kept his day job doing forestry work, still uncertain that running a brewery full-time was truly a path he wanted to take.
Lawson’s IPAs and DIPAs quickly accumulated a loyal following, however, and after a year, Sean decided to dedicate himself completely to Lawson’s Finest Liquids. “The people that said they wanted to buy my beer were buying my beer—and way faster than I could make it,” he remembers.
It would be three years before Lawson’s Finest Liquids embarked on its first expansion, eventually moving to a modest, seven-BBL system. “I work methodically and plan things out. I don’t rush anything,” Sean says. “I was excited because I could get my beer to a lot more people—but then that exposed a lot more people to our beer.” Constantly trying to keep up with demand, Sean “self-distributed,” making beer deliveries to a handful of local stores and farmers markets. Lines of 50–60 people would form outside whenever he released the brewery’s most popular beer, Double Sunshine.
“It was really a leap of faith, and a huge change for our business. But everything I researched and found out pointed in this direction. And then it just took off.”
By the fourth and fifth years of the brewery’s life, demand was far outpacing what Lawson’s Finest Liquids could produce—especially because the Lawsons were balancing life with two young children. Their plan had always been to open a taproom in the area, but Sean admits he wasn’t ready for that yet. Instead, he toyed with the idea of outsourcing. “I knew there was contract brewing,” he says, “but I thought I would never have the confidence in someone else to hand off brewing my beer to them. However, I was really tired of saying ‘no’ all the time to enthusiastic fans who wanted to buy our beer, as well as the retailers and distributors who wanted to carry our beer.”
In 2013, as Sean was contemplating the brewery’s next step, contract brewing was just starting to gain traction. “I spent a lot of time very methodically thinking this through, researching and contemplating what we’re going to do,” he says. Sean initiated a conversation with Phil Markowski, Two Roads Brewing Company’s master brewer and co-founder, through mutual friend Paul Sayler, of Zero Gravity Craft Brewery in Burlington. In addition to producing its own beer, Two Roads’ business model included contract brewing specifically for craft brewers (a contrast to other businesses that pursue contract brewing primarily to absorb their excess capacity).
“We had a series of discussions about the process and how we handle the logistics of brewing for other people,” Markowski remembers. “It was soon evident that Sean was really particular about each aspect of the process, and that he would be directly involved at every turn. We prefer that our customers direct us on exactly how they want us to produce their products. After all, these are their products, not ours.”
To Sean, Two Roads checked all the boxes: it offered Lawson’s the freedom to use its own processes and ingredients, brand-new brewing equipment, and the oversight of a talented brewmaster. Equally attractive to Sean was the soft, low-mineral profile of the water in Stratford, Connecticut, which was almost identical to the water Sean had been brewing with, and which produced his desired flavor profile.
Still, a pivotal question remained: what would they brew? Sean and Karen bounced ideas off each other, carefully deliberating the recipe. “One thing Sean was adamant about from the beginning was that he would differentiate what we brewed for him from what he produced at his Vermont brewery,” Markowski says.
“It's a new facility, new place, new story, so let’s make a new beer,” Sean says of the decision. “I wanted to make a beer that was like Double Sunshine, but not try to replicate it exactly. It was the beginning of this shift to a more fruit-forward profile, with hops like Citra and Mosaic. That’s how I developed Double Sunshine, through the use of those hops—and that was by far the most sought-after beer I made.”
There is often confusion over Sip of Sunshine’s likeness to Double Sunshine. Untappd check-ins and comments in online forums compare Sip “to when it was brewed in Vermont.” Although he acknowledges that the two beers share DNA, Sean says Sip of Sunshine has only ever been brewed at Two Roads. “It’s a little bit [of a] different recipe, slightly different hop profile. It’s a little bit lighter on the palate. A little bit more dangerously drinkable at 8%.”
With a recipe for Sip of Sunshine in hand, Sean wanted to test production at Two Roads before going to market. “We expected to do a couple of test batches, but the beer had to meet my expectations,” he says. “More importantly, it had to meet the expectations of our customers. I told them that if it doesn't after a few tries, then we’re not going to go forward. They were totally fine with that.”
Satisfied with the quality and confident that Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ customers would feel the same, Sean gave Two Roads the go-ahead to start producing for the Vermont market. “It was really a leap of faith, and a huge change for our business. But everything I researched and found out pointed in this direction. And then it just took off.”
From the start, there was a group of Vermont brewers who were not enthusiastic about a Vermont brewery contract brewing their beer in another state. “I faced some criticism about our beer not being made in Vermont,” Sean remembers.
At the time, he was serving as the president of the Vermont Brewers Association, a position tasked with advocating for Vermont beer and Vermont brewers—all the while brewing most of his beer in Connecticut.
Sean admits to being concerned about the perception of his customers and peers. “Transparency is one of our core values,” he says. “Going in, it was really important to me to be up front about where the beer was made and what brewery it’s made in. I’m not hiding the fact that we’re making beer in Connecticut. As a matter of fact, we’re promoting it. The can doesn’t just say that Sip of Sunshine is made in Stratford, Connecticut—it says: ‘Two Roads Brewing Co.’”
“He decided to print the fact that he was brewing this beer at Two Roads in plain language on the side of the can,” Markowski adds. “None of our other customers have gone to those lengths.”
There are those in Vermont beer who recognize and appreciate Lawson’s effort at clarity on the brewing location. “For me, they always had a ton of transparency about where the beer was coming from—they’ve never shied away from that,” says Matt Canning, beer concierge at Hotel Vermont in Burlington. “We have always put it on our beer list as ‘Stratford, Connecticut / Warren, Vermont’ so we acknowledge the origin of the beer. It just seems like a total success story to me about how to go about contract brewing without diminishing your brand.”
Following the initial negative reactions from some peers, the positive customer reception has muted the criticism for Sean. “There were a few critics, and I think they're probably still there. The voices are really not our customers though—that’s the irony.”
Lawson’s began distributing Sip of Sunshine and its rotating, single-hop Super Session beers in 2014 through its wholesale company, The Beer Guy. Initially, the aim was satisfying Vermont’s pent-up demand, but demand for Sip kept growing. “Even when it was first being brewed at Two Roads, it wasn't easy to find. Even after two years brewing out of Two Roads, it was still something that people waited in line for,” Canning remembers.
As word got around Connecticut that one of Vermont’s premier breweries was operating in their backyard, residents started to wonder why Sip of Sunshine wasn't available in their home state. “Probably more than the criticism about it not being made in Vermont came the criticism from people that lived in Connecticut who said, ‘I cannot believe you’re brewing this beer in Connecticut and we can’t buy it here.’ I remember thinking, ‘There are a lot of fans and they might be critical now, but they want to buy the beer. That’s a really good thing.’” Within a year of distributing to Vermont, Lawson’s Finest Liquids had signed with Hartford Distributors Inc. to sell Sip in Connecticut.
“I never envisioned that it would go as far as it did,” Sean admits. “When I started working with Two Roads I saw this amazing opportunity to finally fill some of the demand. From there we started thinking—we have this satellite facility that’s really central to all of these markets of people interested in buying our beer.” Since expanding to Connecticut in late 2014, Lawson’s has added seven states to its footprint—Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and, as of this summer, New Jersey.
Following the opening of their first taproom in Waitsfield, Vermont, the Lawsons decided to redesign their labels from the original, homemade versions on their 22-ounce bombers. To help with the task, they engaged Select Design out of Burlington. At the time, Select Design advised that Sip of Sunshine’s branding would be stronger if it were in line with the rest of the portfolio. Sean was immediately hesitant. “I was like, ‘No way, do not mess with success!’ There’s too much risk in changing the packaging—people might immediately think the liquid inside the package has changed if you change the packaging.”
Sean decided to wait a year to refresh Sip of Sunshine, but even then did not fully bring the label in line with the new brand architecture. The updated Sip label has the same black band across the top as the other beers, but maintained its trademark landscape at the bottom, along with a different, larger font to highlight “IPA.” The yellow hue of the can is the same, but with the black band and red highlights in the sun, Sean feels it “pops” more than it did before.
“We all knew we were dealing with something very special to a lot of people, and for good reason. It’s bold, fun, eye-catching, with a hint of whimsy—and every detail has been carefully considered, just like the beer inside.”
Andrew Dernavich, senior graphic designer at Select Design, was the primary contact for Sean and Karen throughout the process. “It was super important that we maintain the authenticity of the existing product and leverage the recognizability of the iconic yellow label, as opposed to trying to turn it into something else. We all knew we were dealing with something very special to a lot of people, and for good reason. It’s bold, fun, eye-catching, with a hint of whimsy—and every detail has been carefully considered, just like the beer inside.”
Despite the increasing availability of Sip and its tenure in the market, customer enthusiasm hasn’t faded. Hotel Vermont nearly always has a Lawson’s beer on tap, Canning says. “They have a fantastic Lager that’s been readily available all summer. We really like their Saison, and they have a couple of other smaller-batch beers like The Space In Between [IPA]. But, Sip of Sunshine is one of the most-requested beers we serve, and any time we put it on, it sells like crazy.”
Kate Baker, co-founder of the Craft Beer Cellar and owner of its flagship store in Belmont, Massachusetts, agrees. “We stock their beer in the fridge, a requirement from the brewery, and each week the product is gone—most times by Thursday, but sometimes it stretches into the weekend. Very rarely have we made it all the way through a week.”
Some still believe Sean intentionally slowed expansion—or chose to do limited-quantity, weekly drops in their markets—to create scarcity. “That always makes me cringe a little bit,” he says. “No, we didn't intentionally limit production to drive demand—you can’t drive demand without having demand. Scarcity doesn't drive demand, demand creates scarcity. In many markets, there are still many places that limit a customer to two four-packs. But, we drop beer weekly. If you can go in every week and get two four-packs, then it’s pretty available.”
Sean says that, following expansion into New Jersey, the brewery doesn’t have any new markets planned in the foreseeable future. Instead, it’s shifting its focus to go deeper into its existing ones. According to data from IRI (a market research firm that tracks sales in grocery, convenience, and other stores), Sip of Sunshine’s sales dollars grew 78% from 2015–2016, and another 30% from 2016–2017; in 2017, it sold $8.6 million. That said, Sip posted a 4% decline in 2018, and eventually rebounded with YTD sales (as of Q2) that are up 6%.
Evaluating Sip of Sunshine’s recent sales figures requires parsing growth gained from its expanding footprint and any organic growth within existing markets. “What we’ve seen is the sell-through at any particular store in Vermont is less than it used to be,” Sean confirms. “But, now it’s available at way more places, so overall our sales continue to grow, and Sip of Sunshine still seems to have this amazing allure.”
Baker also confirms that trend. “Last year we sold around 400 CEs [case equivalents] of Sip of Sunshine, which is double our second best-seller. This year that gap may be slightly smaller, but I have confidence it will hold its position, firmly.”
“Some beers just strike a chord with the public that transcends the liquid itself. Sip is definitely one such brand. It has such a solid following that I think it will stand the test of time in an otherwise fickle market.”
Customers now also have access to beers produced at the Waitsfield brewery, where one new release is scheduled for distribution every other month. Adding more brands means those bi-monthly releases could cannibalize Sip of Sunshine’s sales in the future, but they also strengthen the Lawson’s portfolio by giving customers access to new beers and styles beyond IPA. As of Q2 2019, Super Session and the combined sales of the new releases represented 22% of Lawson’s total YTD IRI sales, a growing percentage of the total portfolio.
Net-net, total IRI sales for all of Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ products have grown each year since the brewery began distributing, and are up 21% YTD—and Sip of Sunshine, considered by Sean to be the brewery’s flagship, is still central to growth and generating brand loyalty.
Throughout Sip of Sunshine’s five-year history, the IPA has undergone a well-publicized transformation of its own, from the piny, resinous beers of the West Coast to the hazy “juicebombs” of the East. Many of the latter were inspired by beers like Double Sunshine and The Alchemist’s Heady Topper—beers now lovingly referred to as an “old-school NE IPAs.”
But, Sean doesn’t consider Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ beers to be “New England IPAs”—to him, they’re “IPAs brewed in New England.” “We call them ‘juicy,’ or ‘fruit-forward,’” Sean says. “My idea of a New England IPA is a completely opaque beer that, when backlit, almost looks like orange juice.”
Either way, it’s hard to imagine the popularity of IPAs today without predecessor beers like Sip of Sunshine—and, in turn, without the more widespread availability that contract brewing has granted the brewery. “If we're five years in on Sip of Sunshine, I really hope in another five years Sip is a benchmark for IPAs made in New England, or hoppy IPAs,” Sean says.
Matt Richardson, head brewer and co-owner of Tilted Barn Brewery in Exeter, Rhode Island, says the IPAs and DIPAs he produces today are byproducts of those New England predecessors. “Sip of Sunshine, for me, was one of those beers that didn’t just pave the way but, literally invented the style of today’s IPAs,” Richardson says. “I can vividly recall my first Heady Topper. My first [Hill Farmstead] Edward. My first Sip of Sunshine. All of these beers influenced many of my first recipes for hoppy beers, and remain benchmarks for many of today’s brewers.”
Many seem to agree that Sip is still relevant, even as NE IPA evolves. Sip of Sunshine first appeared on Zymurgy’s “Best Beers in America” list in 2016, and still holds a position (tied for #18) on the list as of 2019.
“Some beers just strike a chord with the public that transcends the liquid itself,” Markowski says. “Sip is definitely one such brand. It has such a solid following that I think it will stand the test of time in an otherwise fickle market.”
To some, Sip of Sunshine is one of the beers that helped spark the IPA trends of today, but to many, it’s part of a larger story that’s a source of pride for Vermont. “Almost more important than the beer is the brand and man behind it,” Canning says. “In the Mad River Valley, amongst the locals, he is a legend. Everyone ‘knows Sean.’ Everyone is super proud of what he’s done. Everyone is super proud of the new brewery, super proud of the jobs and the tourism he’s brought.”
To Sean, the beer’s success goes far beyond its sales. “When someone tells me that Sip of Sunshine is not just one of their favorite beers, but their all-time favorite beer, I start to blush,” he says. “That’s a fan for life. We really have built up a very loyal following—that’s one of the things excites me the most.”
Words + Photosby Kristen Foster Language
