In its second quarter earnings report, the Boston Beer Company today announced net revenue growth of 28 percent, an increase of $50.3 million over the same period last year. Second quarter core shipment volume of approximately 1.1 million barrels represents growth of 25 percent over the same period last year.
We learned a valuable lesson during our recent Brew Talks event in San Diego: if you give three bar owners enough beer and ask them about the local beer scene, duck and cover. The hour-long conversation featured plenty of diatribes about competing with brewery tasting rooms, increasingly difficult buying decisions, escalating beer prices and the importance of strengthening relationships with craft suppliers.
The Brewers Association (BA) today reported mid-year growth for the country’s small and independent craft brewers. According to the latest data, craft beer production is up 18 percent through the first six months of 2014. Through June, BA-defined craft brewers have sold about 10.6 million barrels of beer, up from 9 million barrels in 2013, the BA said.
Earlier this week, Green Flash Brewing announced a “handshake agreement” with St-Feuillien whereby the Belgium-based brewery would produce, bottle and ship West Coast IPA for broader distribution throughout Europe. In an interview with Brewbound, Green Flash co-founder Mike Hinkley said he wasn’t sure how to exactly define the new partnership.
Reyes Beverage Group today announced it has hired former Firestone Walker vice president of sales Steve Almaraz as its new craft category development director. In the newly created position, Almaraz will be focused on “improving the company’s capabilities against craft beer sales.”
A new beer and wine wholesaler based in Portland, Me. is hoping to attract small craft brands with an unconventional approach to beer distribution. Vacationland’s co-founder, Jim O’Brien, said he believes it is the first wholesaler in the country to directly challenge state franchise laws by offering beverage manufacturers fixed-length contracts capable of being nullified at any time.
Colorado’s Left Hand Brewing Company is once again expanding its distribution footprint and will re-enter Iowa in August. The company, which temporarily left the state in 2011 due to capacity constraints, has signed a wholesale agreement with Johnson Brothers of Iowa.
Green Flash Brewing today announced a unique brewing partnership with Belgium-based St-Feuillien. According to a press statement, the two breweries have made a “handshake agreement,” whereby St-Feuillien will brew, bottle and ship Green Flash’s flagship West Coast IPA for broader distribution throughout Europe.
The country’s tenth largest craft brewery, Stone Brewing Co., today announced plans to build a new $25 million brewery in Berlin. The San Diego-based craft brewery said it plans to open a production brewery and “expansive destination restaurant” in Germany’s capital city by early 2016.
Cigar City is about to set sail on Carnival Cruise Lines. Beginning this week, two canned offerings from the Tampa, Fla.-based craft brewery will be available on 13 Florida-based ships sailing to the Caribbean, Mexico and The Bahamas.
When Harpoon Brewery announced that it would transfer 48 percent of the company’s shares into an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), many of our readers reached out with questions about how these transactions function. An ESOP is an innovative liquidity tool that provides flexibility for shareholders, tax advantages for business owners and an opportunity for… Read more »
There are now more than 3,000 breweries in the U.S., according to Bart Watson, the Brewers Association’s (BA) staff economist. Through the end of June, the BA counted 3,040 breweries, which marks the first time the U.S. has crossed the 3,000-brewery threshold since the 1870s. Watson, who announced the statistics on the trade group’s blog… Read more »
Effective Aug. 1, Boston’s Harpoon Brewery will be minority owned by its employees. The company today announced that it has transferred 48 percent of the company’s shares into an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) after purchasing those shares back from six of its eight existing shareholders.
Want a sneak peek at the new Dogfish Inn? Brewbound traveled to Lewes, Del. last month to checkout the brewery’s new digs. What we discovered was a modern 16-room motel that was cozy, relaxed and elegant, all at the same time.
