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.
Distributors expect the hard seltzer segment to end the year with 155% growth and come close to doubling in 2021 with much of the growth coming from leading brands, White Claw (Mark Anthony Brands) and Truly Hard Seltzer (Boston Beer Company), according to a report from Goldman Sachs Equity Research arm.
Consumers are continuing to trade up in their alcoholic beverage purchases, even as the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic downturn continues, Brewers Association (BA) chief economist Bart Watson said during a webinar last week. “People still see beer as an affordable luxury, while beer has taken on a lot of price relative to wine and spirits,” he said.
Two of the largest beverage alcohol producers in the country are teaming up. Pabst Brewing Company and Jack Daniel’s maker Brown-Froman today announced a partnership in which Pabst will produce, sell and distribute Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails, the whiskey brand’s line of flavored malt beverages.
The nation’s supply of carbon dioxide is expected to be able to meet brewers’ needs, even as the dry ice industry’s demand increases for the shipment and storage of COVID-19 vaccines. “There is enough capacity in the system to meet the 5% we’re anticipating that the dry ice needs will increase by,” CGA president and CEO Rich Gottwald told Brewbound.
On-premise retail sales will not rebound to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, Brewers Association (BA) chief economist Bart Watson shared yesterday in a webinar for members of the trade group. “The on-premise is not fully going to recover next year,” he said.
An up-and-coming hard seltzer brand focused on Asian fruit flavors has won the 2020 edition of Brewbound’s Pitch Slam Competition, presented by Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Brewers Collective craft division. Lunar Hard Seltzer, a New York-based hard seltzer brand, won the 12th edition of the Pitch Slam competition, which invites entrepreneurs in the alcoholic beverage industry to compete before a panel of industry experts.
The Cincinnati Beverage Company (CinBev) will shift production of its four beer brands — including Christian Moerlein Brewing Company — to an unnamed contract brewing partner. “Right now, this is really about returning to quality, consistency and reliability for us,” chief marketing officer Jodi Woffington told Brewbound.
The BA, which represents the nation’s small and independent brewers, is advocating for several measures at the federal level that would support craft breweries, whose businesses have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge nationwide and additional federal financial relief remains in question, brewery and taproom closings — both permanent and temporary — are beginning to build.
Atlanta’s Monday Night Brewing today announced the promotions of long-time employees Rachel Kiley and Kayla Rumpfeldt to the roles of chief operating officer and chief marketing officer, respectively. As part of the move, Monday Night co-founder Jonathan Baker, who had served as CMO, will transition to CMO emeritus and remain involved in the direction of the brand.
As COVID-19 cases spike, California has enacted a new regional stay home order that went into effect Sunday night and affects 85% of the state’s population. Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a new system that would trigger regional stay home orders when hospitals’ projected intensive care unit capacity dips below 15%. That threshold was met Sunday in the Southern California and San Joaquin Valley regions.
Dr. J Jackson-Beckham has joined the Brewers Association (BA) as equity and inclusion partner, a new full-time role created to “help promote greater diversity, equity and inclusion in the craft brewing industry,” according to a press release. Following the retirement of long-time executive director Tom McCormick, the California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) has hired Lori Ajax as its next executive director, effective January 4, 2021.
2020 will see Captain Pabst’s final voyage. Pabst Brewing Company announced yesterday that the Captain Pabst Pilot House, its Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based brewery, taproom and event space, will permanently close on December 21.
The night before Thanksgiving — typically a popular night for people who have returned to their hometowns for the holiday to crowd local bars for impromptu reunions — brought on-premise establishments a boost by 2020 standards, according to BeerBoard, which tracks draft sales at bars and restaurants.
