Branford, Connecticut-based Stony Creek Brewery has hired Anheuser-Busch InBev sales and marketing vet Dan Shannon as CEO and David Morrice as VP of sales. Dave Mevoli has joined ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail maker Fishers Island Lemonade as chief operating officer.
After a state court largely rejected its claims earlier this year, Seismic Brewing Company has now filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against DBI Beverage, Reyes Holdings and Reyes subsidiary Harbor Distributing, alleging the beer distributor attempted to maintain a monopoly of California’s beer distribution market.
The U.S. beverage industry has paid more than $1.4 billion in aluminum tariffs since 2018, when Section 232 was implemented, according to a study shared today by the Beer Institute (BI).
Off-premise sales of craft beer are off to a rough start in 2022. Year-to-date through April 2 of 2022, craft dollar sales declines have accelerated to nearly -10% ( $1.24 billion in overall sales) compared to the -6% decline in calendar year 2021, according to Bump Williams Consulting, which shared the latest NielsenIQ (total U.S. — XAOC + Liquor plus Convenience) scan data.
Modern Times is on the edge of entering receivership to begin a court-ordered sale process. Jack O’Connor, a partner with Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger in Chicago, joins the Brewbound Podcast to explain the process.
Beer Institute president and CEO Jim McGreevy is departing the trade association in early May after eight years to take on a yet-to-be revealed role outside of the beverage-alcohol industry.
Mike Percic, Target’s senior director, divisional merchandising manager for adult beverages, will explore how the big box retailer’s accelerator program helps maturing CPG brands scale and connect with other entrepreneurs. For more mature companies, Percic will also share what Target is looking for from its bev-alc brands and how his team likes to be pitched.
The California beer industry is still in a period of recovery, as total beer volume in the state declined in 2021 for the fourth consecutive year (-1.6%), Chris Shepard, senior editor of Craft Brew News at Beer Marketers’ Insights (BMI), said in his keynote speech last week, kicking off the California Craft Brewers Association’s (CCBA’s) members conference in San Diego.
Hammond Beverage Group (HBG) has struck a deal to acquire North East, Maryland-headquartered Northeast Beverage Corporation. Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close June 24, were not disclosed.
A week after the 2022 edition of WWE’s WrestleMania, El Segundo Brewing Company is still feeling the aftershocks of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin crushing Broken Skull American Lagers throughout his first wrestling match in 19 years with a streaming audience in the millions watching.
Another independent canned cocktail maker boarded the “mother ship” last week when Constellation Brands announced the full acquisition of Austin Cocktails. It’s a move that’s in-step with the other global beverage companies picking up fast-growing RTD producers — but observers in the industry caution that the deal may not be the harbinger future RTD acquisitions.
The open rate of bars and restaurants has hit its highest point since on-premise research firm BeerBoard began tracking the pandemic’s effect on the hospitality industry two years ago. “After two consecutive periods at 94%, the open rate (locations open and pouring beer) ticked up to 95% on the weekend,” the company reported.
Boston-headquartered fruited hard seltzer maker Willie’s Superbrew has laid off most of its staff and is considering a sale of the brand, according to Good Beer Hunting.
Molson Coors’ craft beer division leader, Paul Verdu, has exited the company, president of emerging growth Pete Marino announced in a company email yesterday. Verdu’s last day at Molson Coors was Monday.
