Southern Tier Brewing is strengthening its executive roster. The company yesterday announced it hired Brendan Smith as its new vice president of sales and marketing. The move comes nearly two months after a recent capital infusion from private equity firm Ulysses Management LLC. Smith most recently held the role of senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Smithfield Foods, a global food processor with $13 billion in annual sales.
When the National Beer Wholesalers Association tapped Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill to speak at its annual conference this past summer, the network of distributors knew they were getting someone highly qualified to dole out wisdom on the topics of “leadership, decision-making, operating in uncertain environments and how to become the ‘best of the best.’” That’s how the network pitched his appearance in a July press release, anyway.
10 Barrel co-founder Jeremy Cox said the decision to sell was driven largely by his company’s rapid growth and the need for a more mature infrastructure. “We had some challenges growing the business,” he said “About three months ago, we realized we needed to find a strategic partner to help us with that.”
He was the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president. Now, 188 years after his death, Thomas Jefferson can add to his resume. According to a Times Dispatch report, economic developers in Virginia dug up (read: hired an actor to play) Thomas Jefferson to help sell Stone Brewing on the state when the company was still in search of a place to build a facility on the east coast.
10 Barrel Brewing, a craft beer company based in Bend, Ore., today announced it has agreed to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer manufacturer. Official terms of the deal were not disclosed. It’s Anheuser-Busch’s second craft acquisition this year — it purchased New York’s Blue Point Brewing in February — and reflects the beer giant’s growing interest in the craft segment.
Smuttynose Brewing yesterday announced it will begin distributing beer to Arizona per an agreement with Arizona Beer and Cider Company, a new wholesale outfit based in Phoenix. Though this is Summtynose’s first foray into Arizona, it’s not the first time the company has done business with the founders of Arizona Beer and Cider, Jim and Jason Ebel.
The Brewers Association (BA) is once again calling on its members to steer the organization’s response to the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) controversial spent grains proposal in its most recently revised form. Hoping to inform additional comments, the BA is surveying its craft brewery members to find out how many process their spent grains before selling them to farmers for use as animal feed.
In an off-beat quest to upend Prohibition-era regulations that many brewers in the state decry as overly burdensome, the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild (GCBG) has launched a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of hiring a lobbyist to work on behalf of the state’s craft beer industry. The Guild has already tapped the services of Atlanta’s Thrash-Haliburton, a government affairs firm, but now plans to use the funds raised on Indiegogo to bring them on full-time.
Reyes Beverage Group today announced it would acquire South Florida’s Gold Coast Beverage Distributors in a blockbuster deal that brings another 27 million cases to a Reyes Group that, through its 12 wholesale outfits across the country, already sells more than 100 million cases annually. Once complete, the deal would make Reyes comparable in size to the largest distributor in the U.S., Anheuser-Busch InBev, with around 140 million cases.
Beginning early November, Fort Collins Brewery will ship its core lineup and select seasonal offerings throughout Arizona per an agreement with Young’s Market Company. Named after the northern Colorado town it was founded in, Fort Collins will round its distribution footprint out to 23 states with the launch.
Figueroa Mountain Brewing, one of California’s faster-growing, but relatively unknown, craft breweries, has announced a slew of expansion plans that include a new international presence, adding three new taprooms and turning over distribution rights to a local beer wholesaler. The company plans to start contract brewing in Germany within six months while it searches for a location to build its own facility in the Bavarian region of the country.
Harpoon Brewery today announced it will promote Charlie Story, the Boston-based company’s current vice president of marketing, to the position of president. Storey, who joined the company in 1996, will oversee marketing, retail and festival initiatives and also manage the brewery’s distribution arm.
A Florida restaurant has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court claiming that the state’s ban on 64 oz. growlers is in violation of the U.S. Constitution. According to Sunshine State News, the suit aims to end the ban on half-gallon growlers, which has been a highly controversial issue in the state; currently, 32 oz. and 128 oz. growlers are legal, but the industry standard 64 oz. option is prohibited.
Pushing farther into the state of Pennsylvania, Port Brewing will expand its distribution throughout Pittsburgh, the company announced today. Per an agreement with Wilson-McGinley, the brewery, which is headquartered out of San Marcos, Calif., will begin selling core and seasonal products from its Port Brewing and Lost Abbey labels in the newly added market this year.
