Craft Brew Alliance

Craft Brew Alliance today announced the hiring of longtime beverage industry veteran Christine Perich, who will take over as the company’s chief financial and strategy officer on April 1.

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament officially tips off on Thursday, and several major beer manufacturers are already jockeying for fans’ attention. MillerCoors, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) and D.G. Yuengling are among the beer companies hoping consumers will want to catch a buzz with their products while watching for buzzer beaters this month.

Whether it’s enjoying a little vacation in every sip, rethinking your ‘to-do’ list, or disconnecting for a few moments, Kona Brewing Company’s beloved “Bruddahs” will show you the way in three new national TV ads launching during March Madness 2019.

Hoping to build off the continued growth of its flagship Kona Brewing portfolio, Craft Brew Alliance said it plans to increase sales of the Hawaiian-themed brand by double digits in 2019. During Thursday’s earnings call with investors and analysts, CEO Andy Thomas laid out the company’s plans to hit that goal, while also reflecting on a “good” 2018.

Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) today reported its 2018 and fourth-quarter financial results, which were highlighted by 8 percent full-year depletions growth for the company’s lead brand – Kona Brewing. Despite the continued success of Kona, CBA’s total shipments, including beers produced under contract at its facilities, declined by 700 barrels, to 747,600 barrels, versus 2017, while depletions dipped 2 percent last year.

Midway through last year, Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) launched an innovation initiative aimed at testing the viability of, and consumer demand for, non-traditional alcoholic beverages that play on the fringes of the beer category. Today, the Portland-headquartered craft beer company – which owns the Kona, Widmer Brothers, Redhook, Omission, Square Mile, Cisco Brewers, Appalachian Mountain Brewery and Wynwood labels – announced that its so-called “pH Experiment” has become a standalone business unit.

Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) yesterday named Matt Gilbertson, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s North American vice president of M&A, treasury and corporate real estate, to its board of directors. As part of its minority ownership of CBA, A-B has the right to designate up to two individuals to serve on the company’s board.

After more than 22 years of operation, Craft Brew Alliance today announced plans to close its Widmer Brothers pub in Portland, Oregon. The decision to shutter the taproom – which is located underneath CBA’s corporate offices and across the street from the Widmer Brothers production facility – comes a little more than one year after the company scrapped a full-service kitchen that was located on-site amid rising labor costs and declining foot traffic.

Total U.S. beer dollar sales grew to more than $35 billion in 2018, according to retail data provider IRI. The Chicago-based market research firm, which tracks category-wide sales at major off-premise retailers, reported a 1.8 percent increase in beer dollar sales, despite a 0.3 percent decline in volume sales at multi-outlet and convenience (MULC) stores (grocery, drug, club, dollar, mass-merchandiser and military) through December 30.

Craft Brew Alliance has extended CEO Andy Thomas’ employment contract for another three years, according to an SEC filing. Thomas’ new contract, which is slated to terminate on December 31, 2021, replaces a previous agreement that was scheduled to expire on June 30, 2019.

Industry headwinds, brewery acquisitions, the emerging cannabis sector, and the seemingly never ending battle between big and small beer makers were the focus of Brewbound’s most-read stories of 2018.

Craft Brew Alliance CEO Andy Thomas set the tone for last week’s Brewbound Live business conference by asking the nearly 200 beer industry professionals who attended the two-day event a simple question: Who is really your competitor?

Building on the longest standing craft beer sponsorship in the NBA, Widmer Brothers Brewing and the Portland Trail Blazers have launched co-branded 16-ounce cans of the brewery’s flagship beer, Hefe.

For something a bit different, but still perfect for the winter season, Redhook brewed a hoppy dark lager for the 34th iteration of Winterhook.