Brewbound — Craft Beer News, Events & Jobs

The Brewbound team hit the 2019 SAVOR event to ask several brewery owners — including James Beard Award winners Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Rob Tod of Allagash Brewing Company — and other industry stakeholders how SAVOR and events like it help elevate the beer category.

The discussion of several headwinds facing the industry dominated the Monday afternoon session at the Beer Institute’s annual meeting in St. Louis. Beer Institute president and CEO Jim McGreevy opened Monday’s General Session and discussed several issues currently facing beer companies, including the effort to make permanent federal excise tax relief in the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, as well as the impact of tariffs on beer companies, and competition for market share with wine and spirits companies.

An important summer selling period is drawing near, and Brewbound has you covered with some of the most recent category data from market research firms such as Nielsen and IRI, as well as industry trade groups the Beer Institute (BI) and National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

In this week’s Last Call: Heineken makes a minority investment in Amsterdam’s Oedipus; Bumble announces plans to open a brick-and-mortar bar in SoHo; the SEC lifts its ban on alcohol sales at sporting events; the future of Breckenridge’s brewpub is uncertain; and more news.

Alcohol producers’ efforts to make excise tax relief permanent reached another milestone today, as a majority of Congress now supports the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA). In a joint announcement, seven alcohol industry trade groups said a bill to permanently enact tax cuts for alcohol producers and importers now has 218 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In episode 39 of the Brewbound Podcast, Osterman shares his perspective on the current state of contract brewing in the U.S., and explains how Sleeping Giant competes for business at a time when some well-known regional craft players have opened up their breweries for contract opportunities.

The vice president of Anheuser-Busch’s Beyond Beer division has departed the company, Brewbound has confirmed. Randy Ornstein — who oversaw the sales strategy for alcoholic brands like Bon & Viv spiked seltzer, and non-alcoholic offerings such as Hiball Energy – left the company on June 4. The reasons behind Ornstein’s exit are unclear, but a replacement has been identified and an announcement is expected later this month.

The the latest Legislative Update: Pennsylvania brewers are on the verge of a sales tax compromise; Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont signs an alcohol reform bill; Maine brewers and wholesalers seek franchise reform; Illinois’ governor seek beer tax hike; and more notes from the states.

Fast-growing Night Shift Brewing has expanded distribution into another New England state. The company’s products just hit Connecticut, and launch parties are planned this week, including a meet-the-founders night Thursday at the Celtic Cavern in Middletown.

More than half of the top 50 Brewers Association-defined craft brewing companies didn’t grow in 2018, according to data published in the May/June edition of the not-for-profit trade group’s New Brewer magazine. It’s the third consecutive year that at least half of the top 50 regional craft brewing companies — those producing between 15,000 and six million barrels of beer a year — didn’t grow. In 2018, 28 of the top 50 small and independent breweries either declined or remained flat. In fact, just seven companies in the top 20 posted mid-to-low single-digit growth.

The Texas Supreme Court today declined to hear a constitutional challenge brought by three craft breweries to a 2013 state law that stripped beer companies of the ability to sell their distribution rights to wholesalers. The Institute for Justice, a law firm representing the three craft breweries, called the Supreme Court’s refusal to review the case today “a blow to the economic liberty of all Texans.”

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Nearly two weeks after lifting aluminum and steel tariffs imposed against Mexico and Canada, President Donald Trump has reversed course and announced plans to levy a 5 percent duty on all goods from Mexico over immigration — bringing the issue back into the taproom. Plus, North Coast co-founder Mark Ruedrich announces his retirement.

The New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issued a revised special ruling earlier this week aimed at limiting the number of annual events breweries can host in their taprooms. Under the ruling issued Tuesday, the ABC said the state’s craft breweries can hold up to 25 “special events,” 25 “social affairs,” and 52 “private parties” annually inside their taprooms. Additionally, breweries are now allowed to sell their beer at 12 events a year outside of their taprooms.

In episode 38 of the Brewbound Podcast, Fechheimer discusses the internal tug-of-war between creating new brand identities and leveraging New Belgium’s already well-established name. He also explains how New Belgium plans to rebound from a difficult 2018 and discusses the company’s plan for working more closely with underrepresented communities.