For Immediate Release 10/9/2002 Contact: Greg Koch, CEO, Stone Brewing Co. (760) 471-4999 x102 or greg@stonebrewing.com Stone Brewing Co. Brews Their Way Onto This Year's "Inc. 500" Ranking of America’s Fastest Growing Companies San Marcos, CA – The Stone Brewing Co. has been named one of America's entrepreneurial growth leaders by Inc magazine, which today released its 2002 Inc 500 ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The ranking will appear in the magazine's special Inc 500 issue, which hits newsstands October 15. "Stone Brewing is already rated the #1 best brewer in the country --- and #2 in the world --- by RateBeer.com, the largest beer rating site on the internet," said Stone CEO Greg Koch. "This is proof positive that you can actually brew great beers AND be successful in this country. Quality and integrity in this day and age...who would have thought it would work!" Stone has also grown to be Southern California's largest and most successful craft brewer as well as Southern California's largest and most successful independent beer distributor. Started in 1982, the Inc 500 ranks the nation's leading entrepreneurial firms according to sales growth over the previous five years. "We've been growing like wildfire every year since we opened in July of 1996," said Koch. "This is the first time that we've had a full five years under our belts and thus the first time we were even eligible for the list." Stone Brewing makes an impressive first time showing on the list at #279. And to boot, when calculating the projected numbers for 2002 it looks like Stone Brewing will likely make the list again in 2003. An amazing thing about Stone Brewing's success is that it has been accomplished without advertising campaigns. "We don't advertise our beer via any of the traditional media avenues," states Koch. Instead, Stone participates in scores of charity events and fundraisers every year and relies upon strong word of mouth. "Still, some people in Southern California do not yet know we exist, yet we have fans all over the world. Once people discover our beer they are often shocked to find that it’s been selling successfully at the places they shop and dine for years." Opened in late July 1996, Stone Brewing recently celebrated its 6th Anniversary. Stone Brewing brews the popular Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale along with the newly released Stone Ruination IPA and Stone Levitation Ale, and several other unique "Stone Special Releases." Stone Brews can currently be found in 15 states. For more information, go to www.stonebrewing.com or call the brewery at (760) 471-4999.