Want to know why the “long tail” of craft is growing faster than 350 percent, according to research firm IRI Worldwide? Look no further than Cincinnati’s Rhinegeist brewery, which tripled production to more than 31,000 barrels in just its second full year of business. Rhinegeist, which only sells its beer in Ohio and Kentucky, is one of a growing number of well-capitalized and entrepreneurial-minded craft startups outpacing category growth by brewing dozens of different styles and overinvesting in sales personnel.
In this week’s edition of Last Call, Off Color Brewing prepares to open a retail shop and offer brewery tours, Sierra Nevada unveils its latest Beer Camp Across America creations and “Big Beer” rolls out their latest ad campaigns.
Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) has announced preliminary 2015 earnings results, highlighting a net sales increase of just 2 percent over the year prior. Total shipments declined 1 percent in 2015, the company said. Net sales grew 4 percent in the fourth quarter, up $1.8 million, according to a statement. Total depletions, meanwhile, declined about 1 percent despite gains from a Kona line that was up 27 percent in the quarter.
Based in Fort Collins, Odell Brewing has, on average, grown production about 12.5 percent each year since it opened. The company, which sold about 110,000 barrels across 11 states in 2015, still maintains a set of core objectives that help it succeed at home and away: grow slow and don’t overreach. In 2016, however, Odell plans to press more firmly on the accelerator, projecting 21 percent volume gains and 23 percent revenue growth.
After a 20-year brewing career with Portland’s Craft Brew Alliance, Ben Dobler, who for the last nine years has managed the company’s brewing innovation division, will depart for the much smaller Mt. Tabor Brewing later this month.
Seattle-based Two Beers Brewing, which also owns Seattle Cider Company, today named Braam as its new president. Braam, who first began working with Two Beers in 2011 on a freelance basis, joined both companies full-time last January as their director of business development and marketing.
For the first time in 12 years, Michigan’s Short’s Brewing Company will add permanent distribution to markets outside of its home state. The move, made in part by a desire to fill excess production capacity, will bring its beer and Starcut Cider brand to two new markets before April: Illinois and Pennsylvania.
The calendar hasn’t quite flipped to February, and already there have been a number of key transitions at some of the industry’s top beer companies. Longtime New Belgium sales director Joe Menetre is departing the Colorado-headquartered craft brewery after about 18 years, Brewbound has learned. Meanwhile, Adam Lambert, another longtime beer industry sales executive who left Dogfish Head for a position at the smaller New Holland Brewing in December 2014, will depart for Anheuser-Busch InBev this month
Six months after promoting then-CFO Kim Jones to CEO, Sweetwater Brewing and the former executive have parted ways, Brewbound has learned. Tucker Berta Sarkisian, a spokeswoman with Sweetwater, confirmed Jones’ departure, saying only that she had moved on. In a separate but related move, Sweetwater has also hired Paul “PK” Kirbabas, the current director of sales administration for Georgia’s United Distributors
Hoping to update state laws governing the sale of alcohol, the Mississippi Brewers Guild is in the final stages of drafting a retail sales bill that, if passed, would greenlight direct-to-consumer sales for small brewers. Though unfinished, the proposed piece of legislation, which doesn’t yet have a sponsor, seeks to “create awareness and provide opportunities” for the small set of Mississippi craft brewers who produce less than one percent of all the beer sold in-state.
North American Breweries is continuing to strengthen its roster with seasoned craft executives. Tom Cardella, the former CEO Tenth & Blake, who retired from the beer business in 2014, has joined the NAB board of directors.
Former Kona Brewing President Mattson Davis has launched his own consulting firm, Ulu Development, a name that pays homage to the breadfruit plant that grows abundantly on the Hawaiian Islands. With a focus on assisting startup food and beverage companies, the firm’s goal is to coach business owners in the areas of entrepreneurship, brand development, go-to-market strategies, creative partnerships and even long-term succession planning, Davis said.
After nine months of searching, Craft Brew Alliance has finally selected the site for its new 30,000 sq. ft. Kona Brewing facility in Hawaii. Located near its original brewpub, the 2.6 acre site in Kailua-Kona will be capable of producing 100,000 barrels and serve as a potential gateway to Far East export markets.
Crazy Mountain Brewing today announced it would open its own beer importing company in the U.K., partnering with startup American Craft Beer Company Ltd. for sales, marketing and logistics support. The Colorado-based craft brewery, which is currently distributed in 20 U.S. states and five countries, has leased a warehouse with cold-storage capabilities and will begin self-distributing its products under the name “Crazy Mountain Brewing Company U.K.” next month.
