Run your own race. That’s the advice Marty Ochs, the founder of E3 Craft Strategies and the former vice president of sales for Ninkasi Brewing, gives to craft brewers when they ask him how to measure success. Last week, Brewbound asked a number of CBC attendees how they defined success, beyond brewing a quality pint.
Increasing sales in the craft beer industry requires honesty, goal-setting, an unwavering commitment to “the grind,” and feet on the street, according to three veteran sales executives who presented to brewers at last week’s Craft Brewers Conference. Panelists stressed the importance of building strong wholesaler relationships and provided attendees with strategies for creating successful marketing plans and managing a rapidly-growing business.
Empathy. It’s not something that you read much about in the beer industry, but it is a major reason why companies like Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head have ascended the to the top of the craft space, according to three veteran sales executives who presented to brewers at last week’s Craft Brewers Conference in Denver,… Read more »
It’s been exactly 100 days since Duvel Moortgat, the Belgian owners of Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, N.Y., officially closed on its acquisition of Kansas City, Mo.-based Boulevard Brewing. So what’s changed? Not much on the ground, but a lot in the mind, Boulevard founder John McDonald told Brewbound during a recent conversation at the Craft… Read more »
Representatives from the Brewers Association (BA), alongside Colorado governor John Hickenlooper and other notable brewing industry professionals, addressed a standing room only crowd of brewers and distributors during this morning’s Craft Brewers Conference general session in Denver, Colo.
Massachusetts Beverage Alliance (MBA) today announced it will distribute the fast-growing Two Roads Brewing brand throughout the Bay State. The news comes on the heels after MBA secured the distribution rights to the country’s first Trappist brewery — the Spencer, Mas.-based Saint Joseph’s Abbey — and San Diego’s Coronado Brewing.
Deschutes Brewery yesterday announced it will expand distribution to Pittsburgh, Penn. with Frank B. Fuhrer Wholesale Co. Beginning April 21, Deschutes will initially bring Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Chainbreaker White IPA, and its summer seasonal, Twilight Summer Ale. The beers will be available in 12 oz. bottles and draft.
Jim and Jason Ebel are nearly two decades into a career in the beer industry and about 15 months removed from selling Windy City Distribution to Reyes Beverage Group for a reported $50 million. Now, the two brothers — who also own a craft brewery in Chicago by the same name (Two Brothers Brewing) —… Read more »
With the arrival of a new managing partner and a significant cash infusion, Worcester, Mass.-based Wormtown Brewing is expanding. The four-year-old company is investing more than $1 million in a new production facility and has hired former Cambridge Brewing Company brewer Megan Parisi, who most recently served as the head brewer at Bluejacket Brewing in Washington D.C.
It took nearly three years, but Boston-area craft beer producer Somerville Brewing Company, has finally found its home. The company, which first introduced its “Slumbrew” line of beers in October 2011, today announced it has signed a lease on a 3,600 sq. ft. space in Somerville and plans to open a new production facility and… Read more »
Founders Brewing refuses to take its foot off the gas pedal. After announcing expansions into Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana earlier this year, the Michigan-based company today said it will launch with Hensley Beverage Company in Arizona next month.
The Brewers Association (BA) today released its annual rankings of the top 50 U.S. craft breweries based on 2013 sales volume — and a few notable companies are climbing rapidly up the list. San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing was 2013’s biggest mover, jumping 17 spots to 29th on the list. “I knew we’d move up… Read more »
It’s hard to call it a homecoming when you never really left, but that’s exactly how 21st Amendment’s Dave Wilson views his recent appointment as partner and president with the San Francisco-based craft beer company. Over the last three years, Wilson has literally worn two hats. At industry events, he’d sometimes wear both a 21st Amendment embroidered hat and a Crux Fermentation shirt.
It’s been four years since Phusion Projects was forced to remove energy stimulants like caffeine, guarana and taurine from its products, but the dust is still settling. On Tuesday, the maker of Four Loko agreed to pay $400,000 in a multistate settlement over allegations that it unlawfully marketed its flavored malt beverages, promoted the misuse of alcohol by minors and failed to disclose the effects of drinking alcoholic beverages with caffeine.
