Jessica Infante joined Brewbound in 2019 after nearly a decade in a variety of marketing roles in the craft beer industry. Prior to that, she was a daily newspaper reporter at the Jersey Shore. Jess holds a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communication from Emerson College. She is a certified Cicerone and lives in Salem, Massachusetts.
Employees at Anchor Brewing ratified a three-year contract with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Local 6 earlier this month, a first for the San Francisco-based brewery. D.C. Brau raised $614,335 from 12 investors during a recent equity raise, according to a December 19 U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Columbus, Indiana-based 450 North Brewing Company has posted an apology on its social media accounts for selling its Slushy line of beers with the incorrect alcohol by volume.
Co-founders of three breweries in Brewbound’s 2019 class of Rising Stars discussed their companies’ growth strategies and management techniques during a panel earlier this month at the Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica. The panel featured Adam Robbings, co-founder and brewmaster of Seattle-based Reuben’s Brews; Jeff Heck, co-founder and CEO of Atlanta’s Monday Night Brewing; and Ryan Krill, co-founder and CEO of Cape May Brewing in Cape May, New Jersey.
Fresh Fest co-founder Day Bracey shared how the first U.S. beer festival of black-owned craft breweries came together during a conversation earlier this month during the Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica. Fresh Fest offers black beer drinkers an experience that’s rare in an industry whose producers and consumers are mostly white men.
Mergers and acquisitions in the craft beer industry have evolved from a peak period of large corporate brewery buyouts to craft-on-craft deals and multi-brand craft roll ups, Cascadia Capital managing director Nicole Nugent Fry discussed during her presentation earlier this month at the Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica.
Flavored malt beverages have delivered more dollar sale growth in the off-premise retail channel than any other segment in the beer category in 2019, according to market research firm IRI. Innovation leaders from Molson Coors, Deschutes Brewery and beer-driven on-premise chain Taco Mac discussed the shifting beer category during the Brewbound Live business conference.
Off-premise dollar sales of hard seltzers are on pace to hit $1.5 billion by the end of 2019, Nielsen’s beverage alcohol practice team shared earlier this month during the Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica. Nielsen’s beverage alcohol practice team members Danelle Kosmal and Caitlyn Battaglia shared that hard seltzers now account for 5% of all beer category dollars.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Sycamore Brewing added distribution to Virginia this month, vice president of sales Archie Gleason told Brewbound. Night Shift Brewing will begin distribution to New Hampshire in 2020, according to a Facebook post from Amoskeag Beverages.
Lost Abbey co-founder and chief operating officer Tomme Arthur announced plans to launch a new line of canned sour beers called Tiny Bubbles, which he called his company’s “authentic alternative,” in his opening address earlier this month during the Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica.
Federal excise tax (FET) relief for makers of beer, wine and spirits is locked in place through the end of 2020. President Donald Trump today signed into law a tax extender package that includes the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), which passed both chambers of Congress this week.
Coronado Brewing Company announced Thursday the appointment of James Murray as the San Diego craft brewery’s next CEO. Meanwhile, Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered Monday Night Brewing has hired Jill Matherson as its director of people and culture.
Olympia, Washington-based Fish Brewing Company announced Tuesday that it has been sold to Josh Carrigan and Kate Craig after entering receivership earlier this year, the Olympian reported. Bloomington, Minnesota-headquartered Granite City Food & Brewery announced Tuesday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The owners of Barley Forge Brewing agreed on Wednesday to sell their business to the owners of Green Cheek Beer Co.
Dennis and Tauna Arnold, owners of Tucson, Arizona-based Barrio Brewing, announced plans Tuesday to sell 100% of their company to employees in a self-funded employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
Allagash Brewing Company estimates its sales volume surpassed the 100,000-barrel mark in 2019, due to packaging its flagship Allagash White and River Trip session ale in cans for the first time. After a successful regional introduction in 2019, the Portland, Maine-based craft brewery announced today plans to expand distribution of its canned offerings to additional markets and the addition of 12-packs.
Alabama’s Straight to Ale and Druid City Brewing merge. Truly Hard Seltzer will be offered on American Airlines flights. Kombucha brewer Local Roots acquires Latitude 33’s production facility. Anheuser-Busch InBev returns as official beer sponsor of the NHL and launches larger partnership with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.
