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.
A confluence of factors – the reopening of the on-premise channel, distributed packaging sales, and monetary relief from the federal government – helped boost many of the country’s regional craft breweries to growth in 2021. Nearly four-fifths of the regional craft brewers beyond the top 50 increased production in 2021, according to data published in the May/June edition of the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer magazine.
Kihei, Hawaii-based Maui Brewing Company has placed a “stalking horse” bid to acquire San Diego, California-based Modern Times Beer, which has been accepted by a court-appointed receiver.
As the on-premise began to reanimate after a year of pandemic-driven closures and restrictions, 28 of the top 50 Brewers Association-defined (BA) craft breweries posted volume increases in 2021, according to data published today in the May/June edition of the trade group’s New Brewer magazine. Last year, the BA reported craft beer’s volume declined -9% in 2020 – the first time the trade group that represents the nation’s small and independent breweries recorded a volume loss in the industry’s modern era – and a majority (36) of the top 50 saw their output decline compared to 2019.
Everett, Massachusetts-headquartered Night Shift Brewing will begin distributing in Maryland with Legends Ltd., the Baltimore-based subsidiary of Sheehan Family Companies. Manhattan-based Torch & Crown Brewing has entered Massachusetts statewide with Craft Collective.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s beyond beer division is organizing itself around four priorities: hard seltzers, Cutwater Spirits, Nütrl Vodka Seltzer and Ghost Energy, beyond beer business unit president Fabricio Zonzini shared during Beer Marketer’s Insights’ spring conference in Chicago last week.
Sunshine Pilsner is now produced in part with the help of real sunshine, thanks to a major brewery expansion project at Hershey, Pennsylvania-headquartered Tröegs Independent Brewing that includes a full roof of solar panels. Tröegs has marked its 25th anniversary with enough solar panels to provide 50% of its electric needs and a 14,000 sq. ft. expansion that will double the brewery’s canning capacity.
Sierra Nevada VP of sales Ellie Preslar and chief commercial officer Joe Whitney discussed the company’s growth via its Little Things family, media budget increases for Pale Ale, entering the non-alc segment with Hop Splash sparkling water and other innovations. After hinting at the possibility of taking non-alcoholic craft beer maker Athletic Brewing public during Brewbound Live last year, co-founder and CEO Bill Shufelt said an initial public offering (IPO) could materialize in the next 12-18 months.
Heineken-owned Lagunitas Brewing Company has closed on the sale of its 50% stake in Santa Rosa, California-based Moonlight Brewing Company to Patrick Rue, the founder of Orange County’s The Bruery and owner of Erosion Wine Co. in St. Helena, California.
The trademark battle between Stone Brewing and Charlotte-based Sycamore Brewing continues as the country’s ninth largest craft brewer filed a counterclaim alleging that Sycamore has “stolen” the “Keep It Juicy” trademark it claims Stone has no right to use.
Ball Corporation, the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum beverage cans, reported $1.6 billion in sales in its North and Central America beverage packaging business unit for the first quarter of 2022, a +23% increase over the same period last year.
The alignment of New Belgium and Bell’s Brewery’s distribution networks following the comapnies’ late 2021 merger is picking up steam as the rights to about 500,000 case equivalents of the Comstock, Michigan-headquartered brewery’s beer are about to change hands.
