Mac started working as a regional sales representative for the Cottrell Brewing Company in 2006. They brewed Cottrell’s signature Old Yankee Ale, and also served as the brewery and bottler for Trinity IPA and Narragansett Triple Bock. It was a great job.
From the very start, he learned that something was wrong with the way large distributors were treating local beers. Seemingly half of Cottrell’s established draft lines across the state of Connecticut had been replaced by Sam Adams, which was a Coors product. This made sense when you realized that our distributor was owners and run by Coors, so there were more incentives for their sales reps to replace local draft lines with corporate. It also made them easy prey.
Mac found that many of the local restaurants, bars, and stores that had previously carried Cottrell had been falsely told it was no longer available. This put him in a position to make quick friends. Advocating for a local beer with no artificial preservatives that tasted better, was fresher, and paired perfectly with local food was an easy win and fun side to be on.
We quickly re-established Cottrell’s foothold across the state, and strongly expanded the brand into Rhode Island. To complement these efforts, Mac designed many of our marketing and events posters to raise awareness and appreciation of our local beer. The brewery has continued to grow over the years and remains a humble and consistent point of excellence in the community.
