Meet Dr. Diego Benitez of Progress Brewing in South El Monte

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Diego Benitez.

Dr. Benitez grew up in a family of entrepreneurs. His parents and grandparents all had businesses in various industries: retail, restaurant, construction, metallurgy, real estate management, dairy and vegetable farming. He came to the US in the summer of 1999, just a few days shy of his 22nd birthday. He graduated with a PhD in Chemistry from Caltech in 2005, the same year his graduate advisor won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He then went to UCLA as a Research Associate in nanotechnology from 2005 to 2007; his original research formed a small portion of the body of work behind the 2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. In 2010, he co-founded Amicrobe, Inc. (a spinoff of Nanopacific Holdings – a small private equity investment company) and developed most of its early science, manufacturing, and IP, also as Chief Technology Officer. In 2012, he founded Progress Brewing with personal capital and have been brewing beer since then. In 2016, he started the MBA program at UCLA Anderson School of Management, and expects to graduate in 2019.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has been a smooth road in the sense that it has been full of constant small challenges.

The main issue has been financing the growth of Progress Brewing to keep up with demand. The moment we opened, we had to figure out how to grow double digits every month for approximately 18 months. That means doubling capacity every 6 months.

Most people would consider this a good problem to have, but it has still been a very serious problem.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Progress Brewing story. Tell us more about the business.
Progress Brewing is a small microbrewery located in South El Monte, where the 60 and 605 freeways meet in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley, only a few minutes east of downtown LA. My business partner and I do most productions, including beer recipe design, brewing, cellaring, and sometimes serving. My partner Kevin Ogilby and I have similar skillsets, but we come from very different backgrounds. Our training in chemistry and pilot-scale drug manufacturing comes in handy for the production of beer. It could be assumed that our skills are redundant, but our very different backgrounds and approaches to problem solving are key to handling the more business type of daily decision-making.

I have always been inspired by the complex chemistry responsible for delicious fermented products: wine, cheese, bread, coffee, cocoa, sauerkraut, and obviously beer. Progress Brewing focuses on classic European beer styles adapted to modern ingredients and Los Angeles palates – flavors that are intense and complex, and most importantly in balance.

Our scientific training allowed us to develop a proprietary yeast strain that gives some of our beers a very “Progress” taste. We have a tasting room in South El Monte, which is the only place where you can find our beers. We pride ourselves in offering a very wide variety of beers, from a Munich Helles Lager (traditional German light beer), to a Belgian-style sour beer aged in white oak barrels for 4 years.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The craft beer industry is changing dramatically. In the last few years, 3G Capital Partners have orchestrated the disruption of American craft beer caused by strategic acquisitions of regional breweries by AB-InBev. This multinational conglomerate has majority interests in most of the beer brands that an average consumer is able to name.

The American three-tier-system and tied-house rules have been undermined, in addition to creating confusion in the consumer and blurring the lines between true craft and corporate beer. Other players such as Heineken, Constellation, and Duvel-Moortgat have also partnered with some of the larger craft breweries to take advantage of their recent growth. I do not see this trend ending and I anticipate a hot season for M&A activity in the brewing industry. In most business areas, partnering and investing is the epitome of achievement.

However, the livelihood of smaller breweries and consumer privileges are in peril when a multinational conglomerate uses illegal bullying and antitrust practices.

Pricing:

• Tasters for $2-$3
• Pints and Tulips for $3-$6
• Growler Fills for $6-$20

Contact Info:

• Address: 1822 Chico Ave
• Website: http://progress-brewing.com
• Phone: 626-552-9603
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/progressbrewing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ProgressBrewing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/progressbrewing
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/progress-brewing-south-el-monte

Image Credit:
Diego Benitez

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