Mustang Sally Brewing Company

Not long ago, the first word of our business plan hit the page, but the inspiration for the Brewery came about nearly 25 years ago.

Some of the best times in life are the moments shared with family and friends, old and new, over a glass of quality beer.  Our founder, Sean Hunt, first started to realize this simple reality while living in Stuttgart, Germany during his last two years of High School.

A couple of years of riding the strassenbahn to the Cannstatter Volksfest and the Stuttgarter Fruhlingsfest instilled in Sean a deep and lasting appreciation for good friends and brewing tradition.  For those two years and the three that followed, Sean travelled with family and friends throughout Europe, usually on a self-supported budget that only allowed for a diet of PBJs, yogurt and beer.  It was a care-free time of becoming familiar with Europe’s rich brewing tradition, hanging out with those close to him and meeting many new-found friends over community tables.

In the early 1990s, Sean and a fellow engineering buddy of his proposed to start a brewery.  Like the years in Germany, the early years after graduating from UVA were care-free years rich in close relationships and great times.  The proposed brewery didn’t have a name and, ultimately, didn’t launch.  During that same period of time, Sean crewed a 39 foot sloop that raced in the Bay.  The core race crew was a tight-knit group of incredible people.  The roar as we crossed the finish line was always, “ride, Sally, ride!”  The skipper, believe it or not his name was Skip, named the boat after a gunboat that he served on during the Vietnam War.  The name of the boat was Mustang Sally.

Marriage, three amazing kids, a Masters degree, a Law degree and a lot of years practicing as a corporate lawyer delayed the launch of the brewery.  There’s not a minute of those years that Sean would change.  Family comes first and there is no substitute for the years of professional experience that made the Brewery possible.  But, in the back of Sean’s mind, there was always the dream of launching the Brewery.

The name of our company, Mustang Sally Brewing Company, is a constant reminder of the things in life that matter, family, friends, the special moments experienced with them and the dreams that ultimately come true.  We have a deep respect for European brewing tradition, but at our core, we are a classically American brewery that embraces our rich culture and, of course, quality beer.