Molson Coors Beverage Company will begin distributing offerings from Eugene, Oregon-based Hop Valley Brewing east in 2021, as the company’s Tenth and Blake craft division takes the brand national in the new year.
Eugene, Oregon-based Ninkasi Brewing Company has instituted “organizational and operational changes” over the last month that has led to cuts within its field sales, hospitality and management teams, Ninkasi Brewing CEO Nigel Francisco confirmed to Brewbound.
VPX Sports, the maker of Bang Energy, is seeking an injunction against PepsiCo to stop it from making threats to its customers and wholesale distributors, as the two companies’ dispute over a long-term distribution contract moves into the legal phase.
With two months left in 2020, beer category sales at off-premise retailers remain elevated, as on-premise establishments continue to grapple with capacity restrictions and, in some states and cities, on-site service shutdowns. Year-to-date through November 1, beer category dollar sales are up 15.5%, to $37.4 billion, at off-premise multi-outlet grocery stores, mass retailers and convenience stores, according to market research firm IRI.
2021 will mark a “big bet” year for Golden Road within Anheuser-Busch. The world’s largest beer company via its craft business unit, the Brewers Collective, will increase its investment in the Los Angeles-based craft brewery that it acquired in 2015 by seven times in 2021.
The Brewbound Pitch Slam will take place December 8 and 10, starting at 4 p.m. EST both days. The competition is free to stream on Brewbound.com, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook. This year’s Pitch Slam semi-finalists include a diverse array of businesses creating products in various segments of the beer category.
Lou Romano, who had served as president of Flying Fish Brewing for the last three years, is exiting the Somerdale, New Jersey-based craft brewery; Sierra Nevada has appointed Kyle Ingram as its brand director; and more job changes in the beer industry.
Grand Rapids, Michigan-headquartered Founders Brewing Company laid off 89 retail workers at its taprooms in Detroit and Grand Rapids, effective November 18, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filed that same day with Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Workforce Development.
2020 has been transformational for Beer Kulture. In July, the St. Petersburg, Florida-based lifestyle brand reinvented itself as a nonprofit with a mission to introduce craft beer to communities of color. In September, it launched a job board to introduce breweries to job seekers outside the stereotypical craft beer realm of young white men. By November, the board featured more than 85 jobs.
Elysian Brewing will try to rocket flagship Space Dust IPA to another stratosphere in 2021. The Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned, Seattle-headquartered craft brewery’s goal is to make fast-growing Space Dust the nation’s top selling IPA.
Pennsylvanians looking to reunite with former classmates at their hometown bars on the night before Thanksgiving will have to do so over Zoom, as the commonwealth has banned on-premise alcohol sales from 5 p.m. on Wednesday until 8 a.m. on Thursday. The ban applies to “bars, restaurants, and private catered events,” according to a press release. It intends to keep large groups of people from gathering.
Goose Island is getting into the lemonade flavor game — but not with a hard seltzer. The Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned, Chicago-headquartered craft brewery will release a line extension of its flagship 312 Urban Wheat Ale this coming spring, with 312 Lemonade Shandy.
As craft breweries continue to struggle under on-premise restrictions and closures during the fall surge of the COVID-19 pandemic, the nation’s largest trade association representing craft breweries is encouraging consumers to include visits to local breweries as they kickstart their holiday shopping.
Contrary to an anonymously sourced report in Bloomberg News, contract brewer City Brewing is not for sale, according to a La Crosse Tribune story. Bloomberg reported last week that City Brewing leadership had not reached a decision on whether or not to sell, but could go for as much as $1 billion.
