The brand might be in a tailspin, but Snoop Dogg is still demanding a cut. A variety of media outlets reported yesterday that the well-known rapper is suing Pabst Brewing Co. over a cut of the money received following its sale from previous owner Dean Metropolous to a pair of private equity firms.
More than 150 craft brewery owners and state brewers guild leaders descended on Capitol Hill last Thursday to meet with lawmakers and discuss legislative reform, most notably a bipartisan bill that aims to slash the federal excise tax rate imposed on every barrel of beer produced in the country.
The TTB has formally announced Battle’s retirement from the U.S. Treasury, which is tasked with monitoring and enforcing compliance for the expansive beverage alcoholic category. “Battle’s departure marks the end of an era at TTB,” a statement read. The end of an era indeed — Battle processed over 60,000 malt beverage labels in 2013 and 2014 alone. Since just last October, he had already reviewed over 25,000 labels.
Five days after airing its now infamous Super Bowl ad poking fun at craft brewers, Anheuser-Busch attempted to trademark the phrase upon which the ad was built: “Brewed the Hard Way.” Turns out, as noted by Kaider Law, an intellectual property firm, the beer giant was actually beat to the punch. On February 5 — one day before A-B filed its own trademark — a small brewpub in Kansas City called Martin City Brewing filed a trademark application of its own for its “Hard Way IPA.”
In an effort to expand its suite of services for craft brewery clients, First Beverage Group, an advisory and investment firm headquartered in Los Angeles, yesterday announced the hiring of longtime industry veteran David Duffy. Duffy, who has previously held sales and marketing positions for Great Divide Brewing, New Belgium Brewing and Boston Beer, had been working with First Beverage Group as an affiliate advisor, providing a variety of consulting services to craft brewers via his Colorado Craft Advisors outfit.
Two prominent west coast craft breweries today announced pivotal brewing operations hires.
Molson Coors today appointed Geoff Molson, a member of the Molson Coors board of directors, as its new chairman. In accordance with company bylaws that require the roles of chairman and vice chairman to alternate between the Molson and Coors families every two years, Geoff Molson, a seventh generation member of the Molson family, supplants Pete Coors who will become vice chairman.
For the second year in a row, Colorado’s Odell Brewing Company topped Tamarron Consulting’s annual Craft Brewer Performance Survey. With an average performance score of 4.19 (out of 5), Odell led a group that featured seven of the country’s leading craft breweries, including Deschutes Brewery, Dogfish Head, Great Lakes Brewing, Stone Brewing and Summit Brewing.
In a gesture more symbolic than anything else, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Sunday in appreciation of thousands of American Craft Beer Week events as well as the jobs and wages craft has generated in recent years.
Founders Brewing will expand its distribution footprint in the Midwest this month, tapping two new states and broadening its presence in a third.
Less than one year after selling a partial ownership to private equity firm The Riverside Company, Uinta Brewing today announced that it has hired former Duvel Moortgat USA and Boulevard Brewing sales chief Steve Mills as its new chief financial officer. Mills takes over for Uinta founder Will Hamill, who had been acting as CEO and will now focus on brand development and brewery innovation in his new role as a company board member.
Anheuser-Busch InBev subsidiary Grupo Modelo said it will invest approximately $328 million – or roughly 5 billion pesos – to construct a new brewery and can production plant in Yucatán, Mexico.
The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois have negotiated language to include in a bill – HB 3237– that would loosen restrictions on how brewers in the state operate.
Across IRI multi-outlet and convenience channel (MULC) sales data — which comprises grocery, drug, club, dollar, mass-merchandiser (including Walmart) and military stores — total beer dollar sales are up 4.2 percent through May 17. Both the craft and cider categories are experiencing the most dramatic improvements, however, as cider’s dollar sales rose by 39.5 percent. Dollar sales for import beer brands are also up 10.4 percent.
