Adam Coates and Ryan Reaves have been friends since they were 8 years old, and even won a hockey championship together in high school. As Reaves continued his career on the ice and reached the NHL, Coates began a career in the beer industry.
“It was a fun and fast-paced time where I worked seven jobs and lived in five cities while I was with (Labatt Breweries of Canada),” Coates said. “I was able to learn all different aspects of the beer industry, so everything from sales and finance to the beer itself.”
That experience made Coates a natural to work with Reaves in co-founding 7Five Brewing Co., which features four beers inspired by the Vegas Golden Knights star’s career.
What is your most memorable moment with Ryan Reaves?
We have so many memorable moments, but the one that really sticks out is that I was the one who told him he was drafted to the NHL. I was so excited for him and had been tracking it on the internet all day as Reavo was on the road. I called and told him he was drafted to St. Louis. I got to be in St. Louis for work for some of his first games in the NHL, too, so that was pretty special.
Aside from his wife, I’ve been to more of his games than most of his inner circle and yet in all that time, I’d never seen him score a goal live in the NHL. In December, I was in Vegas for 7Five business and we were eating dinner at his house the night before a game against Calgary. I told him he better score so I would finally have that moment, and the next night he did! I was so proud of him and so excited to be there. That was a pretty cool moment, and then being in the family room after to greet him, it was amazing.
How did your shared business venture come about?
During his time in St. Louis, he had a beer named after him in St. Louis called Grim Reaver. We were talking one day and he told me he wanted to bring Grim Reaver to Vegas. It sounded awesome to me, so I met Ryan in Vegas to get the lay of the craft beer scene and assess the opportunity. I asked him, “Reavo, do you want this to be a product or a business?” He said a business, but we wanted it to be more than that. We wanted it to be a brand that tells a story — the story of overcoming obstacles, of being the underdog and fighting your way through it just as Reavo has done all these years. With that, I scratched out on a blank piece of paper the number 7 and F-I-V-E and then 4 lines coming down from it to different beer styles. I took a picture of it and sent it to Reavo. “Something like this?” I said. “Yes, exactly that,” Reavo responded, and here we are today. It started on a whim and grew unexpectedly fast from there. It’s pretty special, Ryan has always been generous with me in sharing his profession, and now I could share my profession with him.
Where are your products brewed and how many barrels are produced a year?
We brew our beer at Able Baker Brewing on Main Street in downtown Las Vegas. We’ve partnered with them since the beginning. We’re now brewing somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 barrels a year. Obviously, COVID-19 had an effect. A lot of our business is in bars and restaurants with entertainment, so this year has been hard on the city and impacted us from both sales and the opportunity to grow the brand.
We also took this opportunity to give back. In April, we launched a campaign to benefit four charities in conjunction with our merch store and partners at Threads of eNVy. Each week featured a different charity, with the profits from 7Five gear sales going directly to that week’s charity, and those profits were matched by 7Five. We put a focus on those directly impacted by the pandemic, and in total donated about $15,000 to UMC, Nevada Community Foundation, Helping Hands of Vegas Valley, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Three Square Food Bank.
It was really important for us to do this because a big part of what we’re about as a brand is the community. When you are challenged, you need to rise up to face it and support where you can. That’s a lot of Ryan’s story of overcoming challenges and appreciating and supporting those around you. His own personal journey inspires us as company, so this was just one way we can really try and live that as a brand.
How many beers do you have on the market? Any plans to expand?
We have four beers on the market right now: Dawn Breaker, Training Day, Shiver Giver and Showtime, which is a collaboration with MGM Resorts International and is available exclusively at their Vegas properties. So, our beers follow the evolution of Reavo’s career, starting with Dawn Breaker, a lager; onto Training Day, a golden ale; and then Shiver Giver, a red IPA that focuses on that moment of celebration that just gives you shivers. Showtime is a blonde ale that’s more appealing to the masses, focusing on the moment of showmanship and the confidence you have when drinking it and you’re “in the show.” The fifth and final part of the 7Five storyline is the Grim Reaver, the one that started it all. It’s yet to launch, so more to come as the storyline continues.
What is your most popular in the lineup? Why do you think so?
Training Day is definitely the most popular. I think one of the reasons is it’s our first beer to market, but then also the story behind it really resonates. It’s a golden ale, so it goes side by side with the Vegas Golden Knights pretty well, and the idea that you’ve got something, but you need to work at it and hone your craft and get after it to achieve your goal, that hits people hard. Training Day also speaks to our thought process in how each beer leads to the next. So if you’re a lager drinker and want to try something a little fuller flavored as you progress with more robust beer styles, it’s a steppingstone in the golden ale/pale ale style.
When did you acquire a taste for beer and where does your passion for the beverage come from?
It really came through my training and first job at Labatt. I was ingrained in beer culture and grew an appreciation for the product and the craftsmanship that goes into it. I love the connection it brings to people — whether it’s a celebratory moment, the ending of a great day, or cheering at a hockey game, it’s an optimistic moment when you’re having a beer with friends, and really that’s what I love the most.
Tell us about your team.
We have a very small team — in 7Five proper, it’s four of us if you include me and Ryan. Then we have the Able Baker team as our production partner and our distribution partners at Southern Glaziers. Everyone connected to 7Five really contributes and truly cares and is passionate about the brand.
When you are able to bring together a few really talented, driven and passionate individuals, it’s amazing what you can do to grow a business. We have a really clear business strategy and brand objective that we have not wavered from. It takes some time to build that up, but once you have that, it just comes down to execution. And we would not have been able to do that without our partners.
What is your biggest accomplishment?
When Ryan and I were 16 years old, one of our close friends, Travis, suddenly and tragically died playing hockey. Coming out of university, we wanted to do something to bring together those who knew Travis and keep him connected to us all. A few friends and I started a charity golf tournament called the Travis Price Classic, held every August in Winnipeg for the past 11 years. We’ve donated more than $2.5 million to children’s organizations to be able to send kids with different abilities and conditions to summer camp. I’m particularly proud of how we’ve made the money work, the impact we’ve had on kids in Manitoba, and just being able to preserve the legacy of our friend.
What’s the best business advice you’ve received?
One of the best pieces of advice that’s helped shape what I’ve accomplished is to go into sales as one of your first jobs. The skillset will last you a lifetime. No matter what you do in business, you’re always selling something. Understanding what it’s like to manage customer relationships is key and if you want to be in business, you need someone to buy something from you. A sales base has afforded me a lot of opportunity and helped set the foundation as a marketer and entrepreneur.
What is something that people might not know about you?
I’m a new dog dad! I’m a dad to Ted, a 1-year-old puppy that weighs 92 pounds. He’s a Bernese mountain dog; he’s a good, smart puppy, but definitely still a puppy that doesn’t know his size. Ted is named after my grandfather, who was a WWII pilot who got shot down in 1941 and spent four years in a POW camp. If you’ve heard of “The Great Escape,” the old Steve McQueen movie, he was part of that prison camp in Germany and all the allied prisoners who attempted one of the biggest prison camp escapes in history. I never actually got to meet him because he died when I was 2, but I love that story.