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.
The Boston Beer Company has added Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione and Snap Inc. (Snapchat) chairman Michael Lynton to the company’s board of directors. Philadelphia-headquartered GoPuff, essentially an on-demand delivery service for products ranging from snacks to alcohol, recently completed a $380 million funding round that takes the company’s valuation to $3.9 billion. And more news bites.
The priorities for Brewery Ommegang in 2021 look a lot different than the Belgian-inspired beers for which the Cooperstown, New York-based craft brewery is most known. Those priorities include the Neon family of IPAs, a nationwide relaunch of Idyll Days Pilsner and an old favorite in a new package, Three Philosophers cans.
The three-tier distribution system is “under attack from all sides” and wholesalers should work to strengthen franchise laws that lock suppliers into nearly unbreakable contracts with their distributor partners. That was one of the messages from Patrick Blach, the incoming chairman of the National Beer Wholesalers, during his introductory speech Tuesday at the trade group’s 83rd Annual Convention.
The Pabst Blue Ribbon name is now attached to a new non-alcoholic, THC-infused, lemon-flavored seltzer. The Los Angeles-based beer manufacturer’s PR firm today announced the formation of Pabst Labs, a licensed cannabis company based in Los Angeles, as well as the launch of a non-alcoholic, THC-infused, lemon-flavored seltzer, Pabst Blue Ribbon Cannabis Infused Seltzer, in California.
Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing Company is back in black in 2020. The launch of Quirk Spiked & Sparkling hard seltzer, as well as the addition of 16 oz. can 4-packs of Tank 7, a strong sophomore year for Space Camper IPA and a resurgence of Unfiltered Wheat in off-premise retailers as consumers stocked their fridges… Read more »
The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) 83rd Annual Convention kicked off today with a celebration of beer wholesalers’ work during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as an outline of perceived threats to the three-tier distribution system.
The month of August was Boulevard Brewing Company’s “single best month ever,” even with the the company’s on-premise business cut in half, Duvel USA president Jeff Krum told Brewbound. In August, Boulevard shipped 19,000 barrels of product, which Duvel USA VP of sales Bobby Dykstra said was tied for the company’s biggest volume month ever, “but in revenue, blew past any month in our history.”
Two years after the distribution shakeup of 2018, the aftershocks continue to be felt, as Anheuser-Busch InBev continues to reshuffle its network. The world’s largest beer manufacturer today said it struck an agreement to acquire the assets of Ace Beverage in Los Angeles, just two weeks after agreeing to sell off its distribution operations in… Read more »
Molson Coors Beverage Company believes that it finally has a portfolio of brands to win in the hard seltzer segment, after announcing a multiyear partnership Tuesday that allows the company to use the Topo Chico trademark to produce, market and distribute a much-anticipated hard seltzer brand in the U.S.
Josh Landan believes he’s found another Saint Archer in the nearly nine-month-old Ashland Hard Seltzer brand. Landan, who co-founded the San Diego craft brewery in 2013 and sold it to Molson Coors in 2015, recalled growing the San Diego craft brewery from 7,200 barrels in Year One, to 17,000 barrels in Year Two and 35,000 barrels in three years. Now, Landan believes he’s found another rocket ship in Ashland.
Just 15 days after announcing a joint venture with Yuengling to distribute the Pennsylvania brewery’s beer west of the Mississippi River, Molson Coors today announced a deal with The Coca-Cola Company to manufacture, market and distribute Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in the U.S.
When California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a stay-at-home order and shut down on-premise bars and restaurants to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in mid-March, 92% of San Diego-based Societe Brewing’s business was draft beer. The shutdown stopped the 1,000 tap handles pouring Societe’s beer at 700 San Diego restaurants and bars from flowing. Societe, like so many other small craft breweries, was left scrambling to figure out how to continue on.
Anheuser-Busch announced today a partnership with the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) to award 25 scholarships annually to Black students pursuing STEM majors applicable to careers in the brewing industry.
