Costa Rica-headquartered FIFCO today named beverage industry veteran Rich Andrews as the next CEO of FIFCO USA. Andrews will supplant Adrian Lachowski, whose planned exit from the company was announced last week.
With just one month left in 2019, off-premise beer dollar and volume sales appear poised to finish in the black. Through the first 11 months of 2019, off-premise beer category dollar sales in multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by market research firm IRI are up 5.2%, to nearly $34.5 billion, while volume sales are up 2.3%. The largest dollar sales growth in 2019 thus far has come from flavored malt beverages, including hard seltzers.
Beer, wine and spirits companies are a signature away from another year of federal excise tax relief. The U.S. Senate today passed a tax extender package that includes a one-year extension of the tax relief in the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CMBTRA) that was slated to expire at the end of 2019.
Dennis and Tauna Arnold, owners of Tucson, Arizona-based Barrio Brewing, announced plans Tuesday to sell 100% of their company to employees in a self-funded employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).
New Belgium Brewing Company’s employee owners have voted in favor of selling the company to Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages despite concerns over the Japanese beer giant’s business dealings in Myanmar.
Leaders in the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance committees reached a tax deal late Monday that includes a one-year extension of the federal excise tax relief for alcohol producers and importers.
Allagash Brewing Company estimates its sales volume surpassed the 100,000-barrel mark in 2019, due to packaging its flagship Allagash White and River Trip session ale in cans for the first time. After a successful regional introduction in 2019, the Portland, Maine-based craft brewery announced today plans to expand distribution of its canned offerings to additional markets and the addition of 12-packs.
Alabama’s Straight to Ale and Druid City Brewing merge. Truly Hard Seltzer will be offered on American Airlines flights. Kombucha brewer Local Roots acquires Latitude 33’s production facility. Anheuser-Busch InBev returns as official beer sponsor of the NHL and launches larger partnership with the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.
Stone Brewing CEO Dominic Engels and Karl Strauss Brewing CEO and co-founder Chris Cramer discussed their respective companies’ operations and strategies last week at the Brewbound Live business conference in Santa Monica. Both San Diego companies are listed on not-for-profit trade group the Brewers Association’s (BA) list of the 50 largest craft breweries. However, Engels and Cramer offered varying perspectives for attendees and viewers.
California businessman John Gallegos has increased his investment in SouthNorte Beer Company, buying out Coronado Brewing’s minority stake in the brand and making him the majority owner of the San Diego, California-based microbrewery. SouthNorte was founded in 2016 as a partnership between Gallegos, San Diego-based Coronado Brewing, SouthNorte head brewer Ryan Brooks and Brandon Richards, the former CEO of SouthNorte and Coronado and the current president of AleSmith Brewing Company.
FIFCO USA CEO Adrian Lachowski will exit the company on January 15, 2020, Costa Rica-headquartered global beverage company FIFCO (Florida Ice and Farm Co.) announced Wednesday. FIFCO expects to announce Lachowski’s successor in mid-January.
After seven years, Foolproof Brewing founder Nick Garrison is seeking a buyer for his Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based craft brewery. Foolproof’s assets include its 30-barrel brewhouse and 1,000 sq. ft. taproom, as well as the building and land the brewery sits on.
Nancy Palmer has left her post as the executive director of the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild to become the director of government affairs at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. Palmer, the first woman to receive the Brewers Association’s F.X. Matt Defense of the Industry Award, started at the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in November. She had served as executive director of the guild since being promoted to the post in July 2014.
Craft brewers are on pace for another year of low single-digit growth, the Brewers Association announced today in its annual “The Year in Beer” review. The not-for-profit trade organization representing small and independent U.S. craft breweries projects 2019 volume growth of 4%, down slightly from the 2018 number.
