With co-founder and brewmaster Jeremy Warren out the door, new Knee Deep brewmaster Dean Roberts knows he’s got big shoes to fill. But rather than try to make his own mark, both Roberts and CEO Jerry Moore hope that the newly promoted brewer will just plain stay the course. And why not? In 2015, the brand doubled production, to just under 12,000 barrels, and expanded into five new states.
Seattle-based Two Beers Brewing, which also owns Seattle Cider Company, today named Braam as its new president. Braam, who first began working with Two Beers in 2011 on a freelance basis, joined both companies full-time last January as their director of business development and marketing.
In this week’s edition of Last Call, 10 Barrel eyes a San Diego brewpub opening, North Carolina teamsters protest MillerCoors’ closure of the Eden brewery and Shock Top reveals its Super Bowl 50 ad.
In an effort to lift a controversial rule imposed by the state’s Department of Revenue, Georgia craft brewers this week cut a deal with beer wholesalers and recaptured the right to sell beer directly to consumers as a “souvenir” for brewery tour-goers. The agreement, which is still pending an official DOR policy bulletin, will allow beermakers to once again charge variable rates for brewery tours — something craft brewers gained when SB 63, the so-called “beer jobs bill,” was signed into law last July.
For the first time in 12 years, Michigan’s Short’s Brewing Company will add permanent distribution to markets outside of its home state. The move, made in part by a desire to fill excess production capacity, will bring its beer and Starcut Cider brand to two new markets before April: Illinois and Pennsylvania.
The calendar hasn’t quite flipped to February, and already there have been a number of key transitions at some of the industry’s top beer companies. Longtime New Belgium sales director Joe Menetre is departing the Colorado-headquartered craft brewery after about 18 years, Brewbound has learned. Meanwhile, Adam Lambert, another longtime beer industry sales executive who left Dogfish Head for a position at the smaller New Holland Brewing in December 2014, will depart for Anheuser-Busch InBev this month
Six months after promoting then-CFO Kim Jones to CEO, Sweetwater Brewing and the former executive have parted ways, Brewbound has learned. Tucker Berta Sarkisian, a spokeswoman with Sweetwater, confirmed Jones’ departure, saying only that she had moved on. In a separate but related move, Sweetwater has also hired Paul “PK” Kirbabas, the current director of sales administration for Georgia’s United Distributors
Congressional leaders in Alabama have nearly finished writing a bill that will change many of the state’s Prohibition-era laws, advancing the cause of craft brewers in the state. Particularly notable, leaders say, is that Alabama lawmakers managed to bring together representatives from all three tiers to propose the changes. While craft brewers in Georgia and Mississippi appeal to local officials for updated industry regulations, the state’s example is one that some hope will serve the rest of the South.
Hoping to update state laws governing the sale of alcohol, the Mississippi Brewers Guild is in the final stages of drafting a retail sales bill that, if passed, would greenlight direct-to-consumer sales for small brewers. Though unfinished, the proposed piece of legislation, which doesn’t yet have a sponsor, seeks to “create awareness and provide opportunities” for the small set of Mississippi craft brewers who produce less than one percent of all the beer sold in-state.
Founders Expands Warehouse Operations, Adds Second Brewery; Schlafly Bottleworks Plans to Double Capacity at Maplewood Facility; New Delivery Service Aims to Become “Pandora” for Craft Beer Enthusiasts; India’s Bira 91 Gets Venture Backing from Sequoia Capital; ABI Pares Down Bidder List for Peroni and Grolsch
Former Kona Brewing President Mattson Davis has launched his own consulting firm, Ulu Development, a name that pays homage to the breadfruit plant that grows abundantly on the Hawaiian Islands. With a focus on assisting startup food and beverage companies, the firm’s goal is to coach business owners in the areas of entrepreneurship, brand development, go-to-market strategies, creative partnerships and even long-term succession planning, Davis said.
Brewbound is pleased to unveil its entire 2016 events schedule, one that will include six Brew Talks meetups and two full-day Brewbound Session business conferences.
Seven months after separating from the brewery he helped to start, former Knee Deep Brewing co-owner Jeremy Warren is getting back in the game with Revision Brewing, a brewery founded on creative versatility and a name fraught with meaning. In an interview with Brewbound, Warren described the new venture as his second attempt to build a company where he can experiment with the unique styles and production methods that excite him.
After nine months of searching, Craft Brew Alliance has finally selected the site for its new 30,000 sq. ft. Kona Brewing facility in Hawaii. Located near its original brewpub, the 2.6 acre site in Kailua-Kona will be capable of producing 100,000 barrels and serve as a potential gateway to Far East export markets.
