Brick Brewing Announces Resignation of CFO and Appointment of New CFO

KITCHENER, Ontario, Jan. 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brick Brewing Co. Limited ("Brick" or the "Company") (TSX:BRB), Ontario's largest Canadian-owned brewery, today announced that Mr. Byrne has resigned from his position as Chief Financial Officer of Brick Brewing, effective February 8, 2018.  Mr. Byrne's departure does not result from any disagreement with Brick Brewing on any matter relating to Brick's operations, policies or practices. 

Commenting on Mr. Byrne's resignation, George Croft, Brick's, Chief Executive Officer and President stated, "On behalf of everyone at Brick Brewing and the Board of Directors, I want to thank Sean for his contributions. During his tenure as CFO Brick has seen EBITDA more than double.  We wish Sean well in all of his future endeavors."

 In addition, the Company announced Mr. David Birch as Brick's Chief Financial Officer, effective February 9, 2018.  Mr. Birch is a seasoned financial executive with over 15 years of experience and a proven record of success.  Mr. Birch has served as Director of Finance at Brick since July 2016. Prior to joining Brick Brewing, Mr. Birch worked at Anheuser Busch InBev in senior financial roles including Director of Finance and Vice President, Commercial Finance. Subsequently, David served as CFO for Liberty Mines and later as VP Finance for McClelland Premium Imports.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Byrne noted, "It has been my great privilege to serve as CFO at Brick Brewing. I'm proud of Brick's performance and the projects I've led, from the sale of our Waterloo and Formosa sites, to the brand licensing agreement for LandShark and Margaritaville. The company is well positioned for long term success."

George Croft, noted, "David's extensive financial experience in the beer and beverage alcohol category and in public companies makes him perfectly suited to take on the CFO role for Brick Brewing.  I am confident he will be a tremendous asset and strategic partner to our business and our leadership team as we continue to grow our business.  I know Mr. Byrne and Mr. Birch will be working closely together in the coming weeks to ensure a smooth and seamless transition."

Mr. Birch is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA-CMA) and has earned a Bachelor Degree of Economics from York University.

About Brick Brewing

Brick is Ontario's largest Canadian-owned brewery. The Company is a regional brewer of award-winning premium quality and value beers and is officially certified under the Global Food Safety Standard, one of the highest and most internationally recognized standards for safe food production. Founded in 1984, Brick Brewing Co. was the first craft brewery to start up in Ontario, and is credited with pioneering the present day craft brewing renaissance in Canada. Brick has complemented its Waterloo premium craft beers with the popular Laker brand.  In 2011, Brick purchased the Canadian rights to Seagram Coolers and in 2015, secured the exclusive Canadian rights to both LandShark® and Margaritaville®. In addition, Brick utilizes its leading edge brewing, blending and packaging capabilities to provide an extensive array of contract manufacturing services in beer, coolers and ciders. Brick trades on the TSX under the symbol BRB. Visit us at www.brickbeer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute forward-looking statements as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "seek", "plan", "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which may cause actual performance and financial results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only at the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation does not undertake to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact Information
For further information:
George Croft, President and Chief Executive Officer
(519) 742-2732
E-mail: [email protected]