Over the years, Duvel Moortgat has grown through international acquisition. In the last 10 years alone, the company has bought Brewery Ommegang, Brasserie d’Achouffe, Brouwerij Liefmans and Brouwerij De Koninck. Now, however, the Belgium-based brewing company is looking to strengthen its position in the U.S. craft beer market by purchasing other American breweries.
In the craft beer community, there are few pilgrimages more revered than the trip to upstate New York for Duvel Moortgat USA and Brewery Ommegang’s annual Belgium Comes to Cooperstown (BCTC) beer festival. The brewery barely breaks even on the event, but the word of mouth and positive vibes can be astonishing.
A report from research firm Consumer Edge Insight indicates the ballooning preference of consumers for heavier beers. That’s shown not through a lineup of even more craft beer style holidays, like IPA Day, but through a decline in consumers’ taste for light beer, long the best-selling premium style.
It’s almost impossible to believe, but in its 33-year history, Sierra Nevada Brewing has never produced what has become standard issue for many older craft brewers, the seasonal-variety 12-pack. “Other than our specialty ‘Beer Camp’ pack, it is the last significant segment that we haven’t approached,” said Joe Whitney, Sierra’s director of Sales and Marketing.
Any craft brewer can tell you, it’s difficult to keep wholesalers and retailers happy when you’re having trouble keeping beer on the shelves. Most brewers will claim that it’s a good problem to have and, for the majority of brick and mortar operations, the solution is simple: buy more fermentation tanks. But when you’re a… Read more »
Oskar Blues Brewery is on pace for its ninth straight year of double-digit growth. The Colorado-headquartered craft brewery today announced that company-wide depletions increased 38 percent through the first six months of 2013. The impressive first half numbers were led by 40-percent growth of its flagship offering, Dale’s Pale Ale, which currently makes up 58… Read more »
The Brewers Association (BA) — the trade group representing small and independent breweries — today reported strong mid-year numbers for America’s craft brewers. U.S craft brewers continued their incredible growth through the first half of 2013, boasting 15 percent dollar sales growth and 13 percent volume growth over the same time period last year.
It’s a period of transition, a period of discovery. Craft beer is available and abundant, like most consumer goods in Las Vegas, but the realization of its marketability and demand — in a city that thrives on its marketability and ability to fulfill any desire — has only just begun.
After 16 years, Founders Brewing has finally found its flagship offering. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based brewing company introduced All Day IPA in March, then only as a seasonal product. But consumer demand and record sales quickly catapulted the 4.7 percent session ale to Founder’s largest volume brand, forcing the company to think about offering it… Read more »
The list of craft breweries expanding their distribution footprints is growing. Last month, a number of notable craft beer companies — like Delaware’s Dogfish Head and Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery — announced new wholesale agreements and this month, a few more noteworthy craft beer companies joined the list.
It’s an ambitious endeavor, but Sierra Nevada Brewing will celebrate the opening of its new Mills River, N.C. brewery with one of the largest collaborative undertakings the craft beer industry has ever witnessed. The Chico, Calif.-based company announced Monday, plans to partner with 12 U.S. craft breweries on the creation of a ‘Beer Camp Across… Read more »
Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) — which produces and markets the Redhook, Kona, Widmer Brothers and Omission Beer brands — today announced a new partnership with theCHIVE.com, a popular entertainment website known for featuring salacious photo galleries of scantily-clad women and humorous viral videos.
In an effort to expand its distribution footprint to include all 50 states by 2018, New Belgium Brewing today announced plans to begin selling beer in Delaware on August 19. The Fort Collins-based craft brewery has signed an agreement with N.K.S. Distributors, a member of the Anheuser-Busch wholesaler network.
Rumors can spread quickly in the beer business. In May, when New Belgium brewing announced an adjusted construction timeline for its secondary brewing facility in Asheville, NC, the chatter began. Was the move to a 100 percent employee-owned business model the wrong decision? Would the Asheville brewery even open? Had Fat Tire sales gone flat?
