Women in Beer: Virginia Morrison, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder, and Chief Legal Officer at Second Chance Beer Co.
Second Chance Beer Co.’s CEO, Co-Founder, and Chief Legal Officer, Virginia Morrison wear’s many hats for the steadily growing brewery. Even with all the daily responsibilities under Virginia’s belt, she enthusiastically set time aside to meet with Hoplight Social. Virginia shared her personal journey into the craft beer industry, offered career advice to women, and gave us a behind-the-scenes look into Second Chance’s history and future.
What does a typical day at Second Chance Beer Co. look like for you?
A typical day is atypical, which is what I love about it. I’m still a practicing attorney and come from a very corporate big law firm background and I’ve been involved in a couple of startups. A day at Second Chance is really invigorating and exciting. I like the variety, especially if you can be present, mindful, and roll with the punches. At the end of the day, it’s beer, it’s fun. You have to keep that in perspective.
What is your favorite aspect of the craft beer industry?
I work with the most amazing people and I love the culture at large. People come to our brewery, enjoy our product and have a smile on their face. My husband calls it a social lubricant because beer gets people talking. Our customers have weddings, baby showers, retirement parties, and celebrations of all sorts in our brewery. The fact that we can provide a space for our community is important. I also love the continuous innovation and collaboration which is unlike any other industry. We can come up with creative beers such as our, Brut Rosé Ale without a recipe or style guideline. Before my career in the craft beer industry, I was dealing with lawsuits that would take years of work and not even go to trial. Even though I don’t personally make the beer, having a hand in the start to finish of a product is something I’m proud to be a part of.
Have you always had a passion for beer?
I was home brewing in my early 20’s. I went from drinking a Bud Light to a Russian Imperial Stout. It tasted like liquefied chocolate and I discovered a whole new world of beer. You could say I worked my way backward. If you asked me what I would be doing 15 years after law school, never in a million years would I have thought I’d be CEO of a brewery! It’s a dream come true.
How did you get your start in the craft beer industry?
I got involved in the industry through my husband and Second Chance’s Brew Master Marty and our business partner Curtis. They had both been with Rock Bottom for a collective 30 years. They would talk about branching off, being independent, being craft and getting their “second chance”. With my background in law, business, and fundraising insight, I offered my help. I frankly never intended to work with my husband. At the time I was working remotely with a company based out of Washington. I put my desk in the brewery and would help with things here and there. At one point I felt like I was working 2 full-time jobs so I made a decision to work at Second Chance full time.
What is it like working with your husband?
It poses its challenges. Someone gave me good advice once, treat your partner in the workplace the same you would any other colleague. At home, you may take advantage of your spouse or fly off the handle but whatever you may end up doing at home you’ll have to separate at work. A lot of times you come home and you want to spill about your day but for us, we’re still continuing our work day and that’s not necessarily a release. Because we have been forced to communicate so intimately, working together has matured our relationship in so many ways. When we got married I would have never pictured us working together. We’ll catch each other working and I just can’t help but smile. The fact that we can drive to work together, travel to conferences, learn new things, and bounce ideas off one another is pretty cool.
What is the hardest part of your job?
I almost liken the brewery to our child. It’s growing really fast, it keeps us up late at night, you can’t really turn it off, it morphs in ways we can’t understand but it’s also a really great and fulfilling aspect of our lives. I had really high expectations for the brewery but I don’t think we predicted the kind of success we would have so quickly. We’re already in new markets so that’s definitely posed some challenges. We probably don’t have some processes and procedures that would be ideal when we bring on a new hire but those are all standard growing pains. I advised companies about these things and now I’m the one that has to implement them. It’s not hard per se but it takes time, it doesn’t just happen. I try to cultivate a team and empower them to take initiative as well. Once our employees learn, they always rise to the occasion and do more than I ever expected.
Can you offer advice to women in the craft beer industry
Ask for what you deserve. Don’t be afraid to point out your strengths and ask for training. Show your interest in growing with a company and ask for opportunities that facilitate growth. Own yourself, realize your own worth, and be willing to articulate that to your employer. Men have been doing these things for years and women historically have not been comfortable about bragging about themselves. We’re great about saying fantastic things about everyone else. There is a lot of opportunity in the craft beer industry and I believe very strongly in inclusivity. I want the most inclusive, diverse mix of people at our table talking about the future and growth of the company. I want to give men, women, all races, all colors those opportunities, so come work for me if you’re not getting that elsewhere.
Second Chance has a lot of fundraising events and consistently gives back to the community. Why is this important?
I head our Giving Second Chances Charitable Program. Giving back is an ingrained value in the company. It’s very much at the ethos of who we are. Second Chance is this idea if you get a second opportunity you seize it and make the most of it. The way we put that into practice in our business operations is twofold.
1. Upcycling, recycling, repurposing items. 70-80% of everything in our tasting room is living its second chance. We’re starting to look more closely into how that translates into our brewing operations and efficiency with water reuse and Co2 recommendations.
2. On the Philanthropy side, we look into giving people, planet, and animals a second chance. We target giving over 1% of sales. Not only do we donate beer and merchandise, but we give cash as well.
What do you believe sets Second Chance apart from other San Diego craft breweries?
Aside from our philanthropy, we have a very eclectic beer menu. Our brew crew does consistent, good quality beers, and a variety of them at that. We don’t just stick with a ton of IPA’s. We have English, Irish, Belgium, and we innovate. I believe our service also sets us apart. When I go through our Yelp and Google reviews there are many positive reviews about our staff. Not only are our staff knowledgeable (all of Second Chance’s staff are beer server cicerone certified) they’re also really passionate about the company, put the customer first and are able to articulate our ethos.
You wear a lot of hats for the company. How do you avoid burnout?
I love yoga and do 1 or 2 yoga retreats every year. Running, meditation, and being out in nature also help with burnout. If I can’t actually have a seated meditation practice I’ll do little things like try to be mindful when I’m brushing my teeth. Monotask is what I try to do now. I can easily never get anything done because I’m being pulled in so many different directions. I try to map out the day and give myself 2 hours on emails and really dig into emails during that time before moving on to something else.
Can you tell me about your beer namesake, Legally Red?
Legally Red holds a special place in my heart. Marty made the first batch for our wedding and we continue to release it every year on Valentine’s Day. Legally Red was on nitro recently and it’s one of my favorite beers I’ve ever had in nitro format. One of my prouder moments is when Legally Red won a silver medal at the GABF and Marty insisted I accept the medal from Charlie Papazian. To have a beer named after you by your husband and love of your life is romantic, it’s not the Taj Mahal but it’s pretty close.
What is your favorite Second Chance Beer?
Like most people will tell you, it depends on the weather or what my mood is. Women’s palettes actually change hormonally throughout the month. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for a hoppy beer but other times A Fool Me Twice sounds good and it has nothing to do with what I ate or drank. I find that really curious. I’m really starting to get into studying and developing my palate for beer and food pairings, not just the complementary flavors but contrasting flavors. If you were to pair a key lime pie with an IPA, the tartness of the pie would cut some of the hoppiness. It doesn’t have to be so monolithic. You may not really like the beer or food by themselves but if you have them together it might work for you. I never knew that was possible until I started doing food and beer pairings.
What are some of Second Chance’s future plans/goals?
We just expanded into Orange County and we’ll soon be in LA, Riverside, and Arizona. Within a year or two we would like to have another tasting room, either in North County San Diego or Orange County/LA area. We have the right to have duplicate licenses in CA and tasting rooms are really the best way to introduce the consumer to your brand.
Do you have any collaborations in the works?
We worked with Three Weavers Brewing and Imperial West Beer Company on Women’s Everyday Rosé. Our first collaboration coming up this summer is with a brewery out of Arizona, OHSO Brewery & Distillery. We’ll be working with Pat and Val McIlhenney (founders of Alpine Beer Co.) this summer as well. We’re continuing to build the infrastructure to lay the foundation for our future expansion.
If you’re having a beer at a Second Chance Beer Co. location, make sure to say hi to Virginia Morrison if you see her! She’s the one with the bright red hair that matches her vibrant, friendly personality!
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