THE GIST
Three Floyds Brewing Vice President, Barnaby Struve, has left his post at the company. Although the move was never formally announced, Struve transitioned out of his VP role to attend to a personal issue more than 20 months ago. Since his departure, he has remained employed by FFF as a consultant, though he is no longer involved in any day-to-day activities.
WHY IT MATTERS
Although the moves are not directly connected, Struve's absence was certainly mitigated last October when FFF hired Todd Haug, former head of brewing operations at Surly Brewing Co. While it was stated at the time that Haug would not be replacing Chris Boggess as brewmaster, Struve and his responsibilities as VP were not mentioned. In fact, FFF made no mention of hiring Haug at all. Instead, it was reported by Mpls.St.Paul Magazine without comment from the brewery.
"I couldn't commit fully to [Three] Floyds anymore,” Struve tells GBH. “Everything's copacetic, there was just some things I needed to deal with."
As for the quiet departure? "Floyds doesn't do that," he says of formal announcements. "We'll give interviews, but we don't advertise and we don't have press releases. That's just how we are. We're private people."
Struve did open up about what he's been doing, however. Since leaving FFF, he has contributed financial backing to Wayfinder Beer, a new brewery project started by a group of his friends in Portland, Ore. Struve stressed, however, that his involvement was strictly monetary, and he is not an active participant in the brewery despite relocating to the area.
His time in the Pacific Northwest will be coming to a close in March, though, as he departs for Sweden and Gothenburg's Stigbergets Brewery. There, he will assume responsibilities as head brewer on a trial basis.
"Moving to Sweden, it's a big move." Struve says. "So I want to be sure before I commit to anything that I'm happy with them, they're happy with me. There are only eight employees in the brewery, so it's small."
Similarly, Struve joined Three Floyds when its total employee count was in the single digits, helping to grow the brewery into a powerhouse in the Midwest, one that is consistently ranked among the top ten breweries worldwide.
"Building the pub and coming up with all these creative concepts and recipes and just seeing the business flourish, I'm really proud of that,” he says.
His long-term plans at Stigbergets—and any subsequent effects on the Swedish beer culture—are yet to be determined.
—Kyle Kastranec