Once again, a record number of craft breweries were in operation in 2018, according the Brewers Association (BA), a trade organization that represents small and independent breweries. The BA, which released its 2018 craft industry growth statistics today, reported that 7,346 craft breweries operated in the U.S. in 2018. That’s up from 6,490 in 2017.
Mahou San Miguel is upping its stake in Colorado’s Avery Brewing, and the Spanish beer company has teamed up with its other U.S. craft brewery partner, Michigan’s Founders Brewing, on the new investment. Mahou, along with Founders, will purchase a 40 percent stake in Avery Brewing for an undisclosed sum. The newly acquired stake will be combined with Mahou’s original 30 percent minority interest in Avery that was purchased in early 2018.
In this month’s Beer Business Finance column, Wormtown Brewery CFO Kary Shumway examines at what the different products in brewery’s portfolio actually cost to make, and how to price them for the healthiest margins.
In the latest Press Clips: Lion acquires Magic Rock Brewing in the UK; Allagash founder Rob Tod makes James Beard finals; Russian River’s Pliny the Younger generates more than $4 million in impact; the Cleveland Indians name Great Lakes and Miller Lite official beers; and more industry news.
Trillium Brewing Company is expanding once again. The company today announced plans to open two new locations in the greater Boston area. The popular Massachusetts-based maker of hazy New England IPAs will relocate its Canton brewery headquarters to a sprawling 19-acre “forever home” about five miles away from its current facility. It will also open a taproom and retail store in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston.
Craft Brew Alliance today announced the hiring of longtime beverage industry veteran Christine Perich, who will take over as the company’s chief financial and strategy officer on April 1.
Stone Brewing’s initial attempt to prevent MillerCoors from selling rebranded Keystone Light products has come up short. On Tuesday, a federal judge denied Stone’s motion for a preliminary injunction as well as the San Diego-based craft brewery’s attempt to dismiss MillerCoors’ counterclaims.
In episode 29 of the Brewbound Podcast, Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall chat with Allagash founder Rob Tod about how the addition of canned packages will transform the Allagash business in the years to come, how the company is repositioning itself off-premise, why it invests disproportionately in quality-control measures and how it approaches innovation without chasing trends.
An Iowa craft brewery topped the Brewers Association’s (BA) list of the 50 fastest-growing breweries of 2018, but it wasn’t Toppling Goliath. No, the distinction of being the fastest-growing U.S. brewery in 2018 belongs to Lake Time Brewery.
After an eight-month search, the Boston Beer Company has identified its next chief marketing officer. The country’s second-largest craft brewery today named Lesya Lysyj, who is currently the U.S. president of Welch’s Foods Inc., as its new CMO.
Around this time last year, the Beer Institute (BI), a national trade association representing the American brewing industry, warned that President Donald Trump’s aluminum and steel tariffs would cost the beer industry $347 million annually. Well, as it turns out, the BI’s worst fears are coming true. The Washington, D.C., lobbying group tapped Harbor Aluminum — a research firm that specializes in the global aluminum industry – to study and estimate the cost of aluminum tariffs under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 since they were imposed on March 8, 2018.
Boulevard Brewing Company today announced one of the first craft beer endorsements by an active Major League Baseball player. The Kansas City-based craft brewery has inked a deal with Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield to promote its flagship Unfiltered Wheat brand. Additionally, Boulevard announced a sponsorship agreement with 20th Century Fox to make its Space Camper Cosmic IPA the exclusive craft beer of Dark Phoenix, the next film in the X-Men saga.
In the latest edition of People Moves, BrewDog USA changes its leadership team; Reyes taps Tom Day to lead its Beer Division; ex-NY alcohol regulator joins Drizly; and more personnel moves.
Middle-tier consolidation continued this week as Houston-based Silver Eagle Distributors today announced that it would sell a portion of its business to Redwood Capital Investments. In a press release, the beer wholesaler, which is the largest independent distributor of Anheuser-Busch products in the U.S., said it had agreed to a deal that would give Redwood control over three Texas counties — Ft. Bend, Montgomery and a significant portion of Harris.
