Brewbound Podcast: Live from CBC – Right Proper’s Leah Cheston and Hi-Wire’s Adam Charnack

Craft Brewers Conference conversations continue on the Brewbound Podcast with a pair of interviews featuring Right Proper Brewing co-owner and Brewers Association board chairwoman Leah Cheston and Hi-Wire Brewing co-owner Adam Charnack.

Cheston and Brewbound managing editor Jessica Infante discuss Executive Order Me a Beer – Right Proper’s pay-it-forward program to support laid off federal employees with beers and networking – and the unique experiences of parents in the beer industry.

Executive Order Me a Beer is Right Proper’s second time supporting federal employees as they navigate staffing struggles. The first was Pay It Furloughed during the 2018-2019 federal government shutdown that left many employees without paychecks for a stretch, Cheston said.

“It’s community first, and D.C. is hard, right?” she said. “You have to find the balance between we’re not political, we’re a brewery first, right? But we are a community hub, and we’re purpose-driven, value-driven. And so sometimes it is hard to find where that fits in.”

So far, 700 beers have been purchased, but federal workers have only claimed about one-third of them, so in addition to offering the beers, Right Proper has been hosting networking happy hours to boost pint redemption.

Cheston also discussed life as a brewery-owning parent and the division of labor between her and her husband and Right Proper co-owner Thor Cheston. Due to a now-defunct quirk in Washington, D.C.’s licensing laws, the licenses for the brewery’s two locations needed to be split up between the Chestons, so one was listed as Leah’s and the other was Thor’s, meaning their children thought their parents – and everyone else’s – just had their own breweries.

“They don’t know any other way, and they love it,” Cheston said. “And for a while, I think they did not realize that every kid’s parents don’t have their own breweries.”

Then, Charnack discusses the recovery process of Hi-Wire’s flagship location in Asheville in the wake of Hurricane Helene with senior reporter Zoe Licata. The brewery’s facility in the city’s River Arts District is “back in full swing and we’re fully operating,” he said.

“This is what Asheville is like, generally,” Charnack explained. “Everything looks fully functional and back to normal, but under the surface is six months of pain that is a real deep wound.”

In addition, Zoe and Jess discuss the last gasp of Q1 earnings season, the cooler selection at Zoe’s parents’ most recent gathering and Instacart’s new party platform, Fizz.

Listen here or on your preferred podcast app.