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.
Continuing to cycle the tough comps of 2020’s pandemic stock-up period, off-premise dollar sales of alcoholic beverages declined 1.3% for the week ending March 27, compared to the same week last year, according to market research firm NielsenIQ.
Regional cideries grew at more than triple the rate of the total cider segment at off-premise retailers in 2020, American Cider Association executive director Michelle McGrath shared during the trade organization’s annual CiderCon event earlier this year.
“Off-premise channels grew 9% for total cider — regional brands grew 33%,” she said. “Off-premise chains don’t capture all of our members, but they do provide a useful measuring stick.”
The Brewers Association (BA) released its annual craft brewery production report, which showed a 9% decline in 2020, in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. BA chief economist Bart Watson cautioned that the decline is not a perfect representation of the year for the nation’s 8,764 craft breweries.
The COVID-19 pandemic put hard times on the U.S. craft brewing industry in 2020, as production declined for the first time in the modern craft era, the Brewers Association (BA) announced today. The number of barrels produced by craft breweries had steadily grown in recent years, from 24.3 million barrels in 2016 to a peak of 26.3 million barrels in 2019.
Heineken-owned Lagunitas Brewing has named Tony Amaral head of sales, following the departure of Tom McReavy, who formerly led the Petaluma, California-based craft brewery’s sales division before taking the top sales role at Stone Brewing last month.
What appeared to be an April Fool’s Day joke about the creation of the Brewers Space Guild — “protecting breweries in the frontier without tiers” — was actually the announcement of the formation of the Association of Brewers Guild Professionals (ABGP), a trade organization for the employees of the nation’s state and local brewers guilds. Brewers guilds aren’t preparing for liftoff, but they are linking up to form an association of their own.
To break down the “significant roadblocks” facing the state’s 200 craft breweries, the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild (MNCBG) has launched a political action committee, the MN Craft Beer PAC.
The Brewers Association (BA) released its annual top 50 rankings of craft breweries by beer sales volume in 2020. Although there was some jockeying for position, the top of the list remained largely unchanged, with D.G. Yuengling & Son, Boston Beer Company and Sierra Nevada holding down the top three spots again.
Under the new county order, breweries, wineries and craft distilleries may open for indoor service capped at 25% capacity if all alcohol sales are accompanied by bona fide meals, which can be provided in partnership with a food vendor. Businesses without food service may offer outdoor on-site service.
Sierra Nevada has announced it will reopen its breweries in Chico, California, and Mills River, North Carolina, to the public in May after what will be a 14-month hiatus from on-site service, according to a report in the Chico Enterprise-Record. Philadelphia-headquartered, on-demand delivery platform goPuff announced the completion of a $1.15 billion fundraising round earlier this week.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced most Americans to stay home except for essential errands last spring, on-demand alcohol delivery e-commerce platform Drizly’s sales skyrocketed. “We saw years’ worth of growth — five years’ worth of growth — in just a three-month timeframe,” Drizly chief operating officer Cathy Lewenberg said.
Cape May, NJ — Cape May Brewing Company is thrilled to announce a collaboration with The Qualified Captain, an Instagram influencer and clothing brand in North Carolina. A new crisp and refreshing Helles lager called Boat Ramp Champ, this brew will be available in Cape May Brewing Company’s Tasting Room beginning Friday, April 2nd, with… Read more »
Stone Brewing continues to fill out its leadership team under new CEO Maria Stipp. The Escondido, California-headquartered craft brewery has named Tom McReavy its new senior vice president of sales, effective March 29, the company announced Thursday.
Some Kentucky craft brewers will soon be able to distribute their own products and terminate wholesaler contracts more easily after Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 15 into law on March 18. The new law will allow breweries producing fewer than 50,000 barrels of beer annually to self-distribute up to 2,500 barrels per year.
