Brewbound — Craft Beer News, Events & Jobs

During the Q&A portion of the call, Monster CEO Rodney Sacks was noncommittal when asked about the company’s potential interest in launching an alcoholic beverage product, specifically a hard seltzer.

The clock seemed to expire last week on Massachusetts craft brewers’ hopes of finally achieving franchise law reform. After finally reaching a compromise with wholesalers after a decade of contentious negotiations, the measure (S. 2841) unanimously passed the Senate but couldn’t get out of the House Ways and Means Committee before the expiration of the legislative session last Friday.

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Eight trillion dollars. This almost unfathomable sum of money could be added to the U.S. economy in the next 30 years if not for racial disparities baked into social and economic structures, according to “The Business Case for Racial Equity — a Strategy for Growth,” a paper Ani Turner wrote for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

Under normal circumstances, about 10% of all the beer consumed in the U.S. flows from kegs, through draft lines and into pitchers and glasses at bars, restaurants, brewery taprooms and other venues using a combination of physics and chemistry. Few people understand draft system wizardry better than Neil Witte, so who better than the Master Cicerone and draft expert to ascertain the quality of draft service at on-premise retailers?

Molson Coors Beverage Company has hired Jennifer Martinez as senior director of corporate affairs. Also, the Breakthru Beverage Group announced that it has acquired the Miller portfolio of brands in southern Nevada, giving the multi-state beer, wine and spirits wholesaler the full Molson Coors portfolio in the state.

After filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, Somerville Brewing Company is permanently closing its doors, according to a social media post Monday. Portland, Oregon-based Base Camp Brewing announced last week it will close its doors on August 9.

In any other year, 10 consecutive weeks of billion dollar off-premise beer category sales would be eye-opening. Consider that in all of 2019, there was just one week — the week of the July 4 holiday — in which beer category off-premise dollar sales topped $1 billion. Now, it’s a footnote in weekly reports.

In a time when off-premise beer sales top $1 billion weekly, without the on-premise half of the trade, the beer industry still has “a hole to dig out of,” National Beer Wholesalers Association chief economist Lester Jones said during a webinar presented by invoice tech firm Fintech.

Kalamazoo, Michigan-headquartered Bell’s Brewery will enter its 42nd state later this year, with the addition of distribution to Oklahoma. Bell’s, the seventh largest Brewers-Association-defined craft brewery, will be partnering with Republic National Distribution Company of Oklahoma.

Coca-Cola is planning to use the Topo Chico brand as a platform to extend into the booming hard seltzer category, the company announced today. In a statement published on its website, Coca-Cola stated that it is “committed to exploring new products in dynamic beverage categories, including hard seltzer.”

Bubble NBA basketball is finally here — and two craft breweries are creating beers branded for their respective home teams. Deschutes Brewery will launch Rip City Lager in partnership with the Portland Trail Blazers. Also today, Framingham, Massachusetts-based Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers announced a four-year partnership with the Boston Celtics.

As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the on-premise channel continue to be felt worldwide, Molson Coors Beverage Company reported $2.5 billion in net revenue for the second quarter of 2020, a 15.1% decline compared to the same period last year.

The COVID-19 pandemic cut into Anheuser-Busch InBev’s worldwide volumes and revenue during the second quarter of 2020. The world’s largest beer maker reported that its total volume in Q2 declined 17.1% — as beer volume declined 17.2% and non-beer volume declined 15.5% — while revenue declined 17.7%.

Today on Brewbound Frontlines, the leaders of Ballast Point Brewing will discuss their journey from running small upstart Kings & Convicts to making one of the year’s biggest acquisitions of 2019.