FIFCO USA will cease production of Portland Brewing Company beers and permanently close the brewery after 34 years, effective on February 5. FIFCO will also transfer production of Pyramid Brewing offerings, which had been brewed in Portland, to the Genesee production facility in Rochester, New York
Total beer dollar sales in off-premise retailers reached nearly $43.8 billion in 2020, according to market research firm IRI. The firm, which tracks category-wide sales at major off-premise retailers, reported a 14.7% increase in dollar sales and a 10% increase in volume sales at multi-outlet and convenience (MULC) stores (grocery, drug, club, dollar, mass-merchandiser and military) through December 27, 2020.
Basketball fans might have noticed a new commercial from a spirits company during Thursday night’s NBA doubleheader on TNT trying to persuade them to ditch beer in favor of a popular cocktail. Suntory-owned Jim Beam launched a new campaign this week titled “Need a Break From Beer” with a TV spot on more than 20 national networks.
The biggest challenge the producer of popular Mexican import brands Corona, Modelo and Pacifico faced in 2020 came in March when the Mexican government ordered the shutdown of all manufacturing industries, including beer. This pause in production led to depleted inventory that was still being replenished into the third quarter and created a gap between shipments (sales to wholesalers) and depletions (sales to retailers) growth.
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Massachusetts lawmakers finally passed franchise law reform legislation. If signed by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, the measure would put to rest a long-simmering debate between the Bay State’s craft brewers and their wholesaler partners.
This week’s edition of the Brewbound Podcast looks back at headlines from late December 2020 and the start of the new year. The Brewbound Team discuss the federal government making the excise tax cuts permanent; the U.S. Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services maintaining the daily servings of alcohol at two drinkers per day for men; the Sheehan family lawsuit; and Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson’s 2020 recap.
Five months after considering a sale of as much as 20% of the company, India’s B9 Beverages is in the process of selling a minority stake in the New Delhi-based company for $30 million to Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Kirin Holdings, according to the Financial Times and Reuters.
The changes at FIFCO USA are continuing into the new year, as the company parted ways with Josh Halpern, who had served as chief sales officer over the last three years.
The federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) gave a belated holiday gift to winemakers and cidermakers on December 29: seven new permitted packaging sizes under the bureau’s standards of fill for products stronger than 7% ABV.
Boston-headquartered alcohol e-commerce marketplace Drizly announced today that its service is now available to the 4.4 million people in Atlanta and its surrounding suburbs.
A dispute in one of the most prominent families in the beer industry — the Massachusetts-based Sheehans, owners of Sheehan Family Companies, which operates beer wholesalers in 13 states and Washington, D.C. — has spilled into the court system. Timothy G. Sheehan and George L. Cushing, a trustee who represents trusts that benefit Tim Sheehan and his brother John T. Sheehan, filed a civil lawsuit in Massachusetts’ Suffolk Superior Court alleging that the patriarch and matriarch of the family, Gerald (“Jerry”) and Maureen Sheehan, have violated their fiduciary duties and misappropriated company funds.
The annual Brewbound Awards acknowledge breweries for their execution of various sales, marketing, and philanthropic initiatives, as well as individuals for their impact on the industry. After the unprecedented disruption and upheaval across the industry over the last 12 months caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 edition of the awards recognizes the ability of those winners to adapt, survive and thrive in a year unlike any other.
Brewbound readers in 2020 sought out news about the pandemic, mergers and acquisitions, brewery closures and job changes. 2020 marked a year of shifts for brewers, as well as Brewbound, which shifted its business model to a subscription model. With that in mind, we’ve pulled the five most-read stories before the paywall was introduced and the five most-read stories after.
Sierra Nevada is calling a time-out on Sufferfest, the athletic-inspired, better-for-you craft beer brand it acquired nearly two years ago. “As we enter 2021, we are pausing production to explore what’s next for Sufferfest Beer Company,” the company wrote on its website.
