Taking craft beer from the garage to the grocery store
Community Brewing Ventures releases Q1 brand partnerships and explains its ‘disruptive’ business model.
Newton, NC — Community Brewing Ventures (CBV) is a disruptive model that discovers, produces, and promotes the most innovative craft brands in the beverage industry. But what does that even mean? After completing its first round of funding in early 2021, CBV is announcing its first round of brand partnerships, explains its mission, and discusses what’s next for its ever-growing pipeline.
Founded in 2020 by the owners of D9 Brewing Company and a team of investors and craft beer experts, CBV is focused on elevating small and medium-sized breweries over the hurdles and challenges of growing in a highly competitive market. CBV is not focused on acquisition, but on scalability. CBV gives breweries the advantages that come with scale while still preserving the independence, creativity, innovativeness, and passion that makes the craft beverage industry, and that particular brewery, so special in the first place.
“Our focus is to amplify breweries and to introduce them to a new audience… to take them from local to national,” said Aaron MJ Gore, director of strategic partnerships with CBV. “We want to keep the craft in craft beer, and to bring the power back to the brewery. The goal is to take beloved local small to medium-sized breweries and keep them focused on innovation and their brand, while we work on distribution, scaling and getting their product onto a bigger stage.”
Andrew Durstewitz, CEO and founder of CBV, refers to the plight of small craft breweries attempting to become more competitive with larger brands as ‘crossing the chasm.’
“Not all craft beer can cross that chasm to compete with macro-beer due to the economics of high volume segments. Craft breweries are getting wins here and there, but we can’t fully compete with the macros,” said Durstewitz, who is also the founder of D9 Brewing Company. “CBV is building a bridge that will allow breweries to cross the chasm on their own terms, while staying true to their brands and retaining all rights to their products.”
Gore adds, “We want to keep the soul of craft beer intact. CBV focuses on the parts of scalability and capital that smaller breweries aren’t equipped for, allowing them to focus on their craft. People get into this industry because they want to make great beer, and to connect with the people who drink their beer. When you start a brewery, you don’t factor in having to also manage the manufacturing, hospitality, distribution, and sales. So we handle the boring, but essential, stuff that they never signed up to do.“
CBV currently has signed agreements with six partners (five breweries and a kombucha/non-alcoholic brand). Current breweries partnered with CBV include:
- Bay Cannon Beer Company: Located in Tampa, Bay Cannon is a community brewpub known for its frequently changing beer menu offerings.
- Bold Mariner Brewing Company: Based in Norfolk, Virginia, the veteran-owned and operated Bold Mariner Brewing Company is known for its clean lagers and a portfolio of quality ales.
- D9 Brewing Company: Fusing science and unique flavor profiles, D9 Brewing Company is known for award-winning sours and limited release beers.
- Steam Theory Brewing: Located in Dallas, Steam Theory is known for its food and signature cocktails, as well as its artisanal beer. Technology, innovation, and fusing old recipes with modern techniques make the Steam Theory experience one-of-a-kind.
- UpDog Kombucha: Brewed in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, UpDog Kombucha was started in a dorm room by two friends who loved kombucha. UpDog Kombucha is the flagship brand of the non-alcoholic and alternative beverage portfolio of the CBV.
- Urban Brews Lab: Located in Chicago, Urban Brew Labs is a craft brewery focused on locally inspired beer brewed with detail and nostalgia.
In addition to the signed six, CBV has over a dozen other breweries in the pipeline or in the process of signing on in 2021. For those breweries interested in partnering with CBV, there are two factors to consider: product and community.
“Everything with CBV starts and ends with community,” said Durstewitz. “We work with the hottest small breweries and brands around the country and allow consumers who wouldn’t normally have access to these breweries to have the opportunity to enjoy their beer. The breweries we work with are innovative and have high-quality, delicious products. We help bridge the chasm, while allowing breweries to stay focused on innovation, creativity, quality and their overall brand.”
CBV is looking to partner with brands with a good value, strong community connection, and the ability to grow their footprint with the right support. Do you think you have what it takes to be a part of CBV? Let’s talk.
About Community Brewing Ventures
Community Brewing Ventures (CBV) is an organization focused on helping small breweries overcome the challenges that oftentimes prevent them from growing to meet the demand for their beer. By working with contract brewing partners across the Eastern US, they are able to bring great beer to new customers who otherwise may never have had the opportunity. Most importantly, the small breweries that CBV works with stay independent, continuing to drive the innovation and creativity that makes craft beer so special.
CBV grew out of D9 Brewing Company, one of the Southeast’s fastest growing and most exciting breweries. Seeing the opportunity to apply the lessons that he learned through growing his own business to helping others in the industry, founder and CEO Andrew Durstewitz realized that the gap between how big a brewery can become, and how big they should become, was often insurmountable. CBV is able to take on the more labyrinthine elements of logistics and operations, allowing the small breweries to continue doing what they have always been so good at: creating value for the customer.
For more information: https://www.communitybrewingventures.com