During Episode 44 of the Brewbound Podcast, myself and Chris Furnari, in discussing a story on beer influencers of Instagram, had a conversation that was in poor judgment and poor taste. We missed the mark, and that discussion does not reflect the thought-provoking conversations that we strive to have at Brewbound.
The landscape in the Pacific Northwest has changed considerably since Josh Pfriem, Ken Whiteman and Rudy Kellner opened pFriem Family Brewers in Hood River, Oregon in 2012. Now on the verge of its seventh anniversary, pFriem is in the midst of a pair of expansion projects that will double its capacity in 2020.
We at BevNET — the parent company of Brewbound — owe an apology to our podcast listeners, readers, and members of the community we serve. The intent of the Brewbound podcast is to engage in discussion and illumination of various aspects of the unfolding craft beer story. What our hosts said about influencers in that episode was inappropriate and offensive to our listeners and community, as well as the people who were mentioned by our hosts by name.
Rumors of a large layoff at Massachusetts’ Lord Hobo Brewing Company began circulating Thursday evening on social media. Reality was much different. Lord Hobo founder Daniel Lanigan told Brewbound that the company cut eight jobs across sales, marketing, production and taproom staff this week, which he classified as part of the “normal course of business.”
A week after pulling back from a planned IPO of its Asia-Pacific operations, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced today an $11.3 billion deal to sell its Australian subsidiary, Carlton & United Breweries, to Asahi Group Holdings.
The New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) on Wednesday finalized a $1.25 million settlement agreement with Heineken USA (HUSA) for 42 alleged violations of the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) law. The New York fine comes three months after HUSA agreed to pay the largest offer in compromise ever — $2.5 million — to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for alleged trade practice violations related to its proprietary “BrewLock” draft systems.
In episode 45 of the Brewbound Podcast, McGreevy discusses his group’s effort to extend tax cuts for all brewers and importers. He also discusses the importance of fighting aluminum and steel tariffs.
The critical summer selling season is underway, and total beer, cider and FMB sales are off to a strong start. According to market research firm Nielsen, dollar sales of beer/cider/FMBs grew 4.9 percent in off-premise retailers during the Fourth of July holiday week (ending July 6) compared to the same timeframe last year. Hard seltzer was largely responsible for driving the nearly 5 percent growth this Independence Day, accelerating sales 147 percent, Nielsen reported.
John Bryant, the founder of Spokane, Washington’s No-Li Brewhouse, doesn’t mince words when describing the state of the beer industry in 2019. “It’s chaos,” he told Brewbound during a recent interview. The beer industry veteran — whose three-decades-long career includes stints at Deschutes Brewery, Odell Brewing and Oskar Blues — is, of course, referring to the 7,500-plus craft breweries fighting for distributor, retailer and consumer mindshare.
The global cannabis market today — both legal and illicit — stands at $344 billion, according to New Frontier Data. With only an estimated 263 million users worldwide, the segment is poised for tremendous growth as regulatory barriers break down and consumers become more interested in the space.
The nearly decade-long debate over Massachusetts’ controversial franchise laws resumed Monday, as the state’s craft brewers and beer wholesalers packed a meeting of the Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. Brewers and wholesalers remain divided on how to reform strict franchise laws, which brewers claim lock their businesses into nearly unbreakable relationships with wholesalers. Each side presented revised proposals, which they argued would benefit each other.
Molson Coors has acquired financially troubled London craft brewery Hop Stuff. In a blog post, Hop Stuff founder James Yeomans said the company had been facing “financial difficulties in the recent months” that forced it to enter “administration,” a process similar to bankruptcy in the U.S., on July 12.
In this week’s Last Call: Budweiser becomes the ‘official beer’ of the National Women’s Soccer League; California revises the definition of ‘beer’; A-B back away from its Asia Pacific IPO; Founders Announces the end of CBS; and more news.
Lagunitas Brewing Company has named Kelly Murnaghan, the former vice president of marketing at Vans, as its new chief marketing officer. The Heineken-owned craft brewery announced Murnaghan’s hiring on Thursday afternoon. Murnaghan, who started earlier this week, will join the Petaluma, California-based craft brewery’s leadership team and report directly to CEO Maria Stipp.
