On this episode, we’re joined by Katie Hill, the longtime marketing leader at Upslope Brewing - Boulder’s outdoors-first craft brewery known for cans-only packaging, community-driven events, and a “beer, people, planet” ethos.
Katie has spent the last decade steering Upslope through the craft beer roller coaster, widening the aperture beyond beer while protecting the brand’s core identity.
With deep experience across portfolio strategy, taproom-to-retail activation, and cause-led community building, Katie offers a practical perspective on what it takes to keep a 2008-era craft brand fresh in 2025.
Katie unpacks the next decade in craft brewing (beer, NA, and beyond), why Upslope went hard on Hard Yerba Mate, and how they launched a hop-boosted IPA using BevBoost widget tech that releases a fresh burst of hop aroma at crack. We dig into the taproom + retail flywheel and how she’d approach starting a new brand today.
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Episode Highlights:
🏔️ Upslope’s “après everything” positioning
🎢 What the craft beer roller coaster taught the team
🔭 The next 10 years
🎯 Widening the aperture without losing the core brand
🍋 Why Hard Yerba Mate (5% ABV) fits the outdoor occasion
🧊 Hard seltzer lessons from Spiked Snowmelt
🧪 Hop-Boosted IPA with BevBoost: telling a “tech” story in beer
🏪 The taproom <> retail flywheel that converts trial to velocity
📣 Lean, repeatable, community-first field marketing plays
🚀 If starting a craft brand today: formats, occasions, and white space
👀 Trends Katie’s watching across craft and adjacent categories
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Table of Contents:
00:46:07 - Origin story
03:49:18 - The craft beer roller coaster
06:15:09 - The next 10 years in craft brewing
07:52:00 - Widening the aperture
10:57:08 - Hard Yerba Mate
14:48:16 - Hard seltzer
16:20:24 - The hop boosted IPA, BevBoost tech
21:08:08 - The tap house <> retail flywheel
24:16:10 - Getting scrappy, lean marketing strategy
29:07:16 - If Katie was starting a brand in the craft brewery space
30:38:21 - Brands and/or trends Katie is watching
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Links:
Upslope Brewing - https://upslopebrewing.com
Follow Katie on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/khill29/
Follow me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-martin-steinberg/
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