Justin Kendall provides daily coverage of the beer industry on Brewbound.com, conducts live-streamed interviews during Brewbound’s events and co-produces the Brewbound podcast. Kendall is a nearly 20-year career journalist who led alt-weekly newspapers in Kansas City, Missouri, and Des Moines, Iowa.
After a month of arguments in a Milwaukee courtroom, Pabst Brewing Company and MillerCoors have settled a lawsuit that Pabst claimed could have put the 174-year-old beer company out of business. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
The popularity of non-traditional drinking venues is on the rise with younger consumers, according to new data shared today by Nielsen and CGA at the Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica, California. Nielsen beverage alcohol practice manager Caitlyn Battaglia and Nielsen CGA client director Matthew Crompton shared that younger craft beer drinkers are seeking out third-space drinking occasions. They noted that within the last year, 23 percent of millennials said they visited a taproom or a brewpub, while 13 percent said they ate and drank at a “groceraunt” and 14 percent said they imbibed at an arcade bar.
Massachusetts craft beer maker Trillium Brewing Company’s labor practices and brewing methods are under scrutiny after accusations were lodged last week by a self-described former employee in an online beer forum. According to the former employee, who used the name “Abagofit” in a Beer Advocate forum, Trillium required its retail employees to reapply for jobs that they already held prior to last month’s opening of the company’s new brewery, taproom and restaurant in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood.
In the latest edition of People Moves: Ex-New Belgium brewmaster Peter Bouckaert joins Melvin Brewing’s board of directors; Oregon Brewers Guild executive director Brian Butenschoen exits; MillerCoors promotes Brad Schwartz to chief strategy officer; and more job changes.
In this week’s edition of Press Clips: Reyes buys the Constellation Brands portfolio from Ace; beer shipments are down 2.1 percent in 2018; the U.S. brewery count eclipses 7,000; Utah mandates tests to ensure 3.2 ABW; and more.
Stone Brewing vice president Todd Karnig has departed the San Diego-based craft brewery, Brewbound has learned. Karnig is the second key executive to leave Stone Brewing in the last year, and the third since former POM Wonderful president Dominic Engels was hired as the company’s new CEO. Karnig’s exit also comes about a month after Stone hired former Monster Energy executive Dan Lamb as its chief commercial officer.
In an effort to attract a growing number of drinkers who are moderating alcohol consumption, several beer companies are looking toward non-alcoholic brews as a way to boost sales and court the 30 percent of U.S. adults who don’t imbibe. Among major producers, both Heineken and Pabst have recently announced plans to roll out non-alc offerings nationwide in the first quarter of 2019. There’s also an emerging group of startups focused exclusively on crafting alcohol-free libations.
The Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective today announced plans to open a brewpub — in Asheville, about 30 miles north of Oskar Blues’ production facility in Brevard. Dubbed “The Canarchy Collaboratory,” the new outpost will occupy the soon-to-close Lexington Avenue Brewery (LAB) space.
The founders of Owl’s Brew are gearing up for 2019 as they plan to relaunch the brand with a new identity, and raise as much as $10 million as part of a Series B round of funding. The company also recently hired former New Belgium CEO Christine Perich.
After nearby wildfires forced Sierra Nevada Brewing to temporarily cease operations at its Chico, California-based production facility over the weekend, the craft brewery has resumed making beer. The country’s third-largest craft brewery also announced the creation of a fund to help those affected by the blaze.
San Diego County craft brewers produced more than 1.1 million barrels of beer in 2017, up about 22 percent from 2016 levels, according to an economic impact study conducted by the San Diego Brewers Guild and California State University San Marcos’ (CSUSM) Office of Business Research and Analysis. The total economic impact of the craft brewing industry in San Diego County increased from $870 million in 2016 to more than $1.1 billion last year, according to the study, titled “Economic Impact of Craft Breweries in San Diego County Report.” The study also found that more than 130 San Diego-based breweries generated about $802 million in revenue last year.
After four years of discussions with Sixpoint Brewery founder Shane Welch, Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) finally completed a deal to purchase 100 percent of his Brooklyn-based craft brewery this week. Even though ABV had been courting Sixpoint for several years, it wasn’t until this summer when negotiations really began to heat up, John Coleman, CEO of ABV, told Brewbound.
The continued acceleration of Kona beer sales during the third quarter couldn’t offset company-wide shipment and depletion declines of other Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) offerings, the Portland, Oregon-headquartered company reported today. In Q3, Kona depletions increased 9 percent as the brand grew in both off- and on-premise channels. The depletion growth followed increases of 7 percent and 3 percent in the second and first quarters of the year, respectively.
Yet another small brewery has found itself in financial trouble. The parent company of Boulder, Colorado-based Fate Brewing Company, Fate Restaurants LLC, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. According to the November 1 filing, Fate owes more than 50 creditors between $1 million and $10 million. The company also claims between $1 million and $10 million in estimated assets.