In this week’s Last Call: The TTB and Elgin Beverage agree to a $325,000 offer in compromise; Freetail Brewing co-founder Scott Metzger departs the company he helped launch in 2008; Cape May Brewing plans to open a distributorship in 2019; and Massachusetts will become the first state east of the Mississippi to conduct legal recreational cannabis sales next Tuesday.
The Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective today announced plans to open a brewpub — in Asheville, about 30 miles north of Oskar Blues’ production facility in Brevard. Dubbed “The Canarchy Collaboratory,” the new outpost will occupy the soon-to-close Lexington Avenue Brewery (LAB) space.
In episode 10 of the Brewbound Podcast, Cartwright discusses her company’s relationship with Lagunitas, and shares her entrepreneurial journey. She also explains how the craft beer landscape in Texas has changed since she opened Independence in 2004, and shares her thoughts on consumer purchasing habits.
The founders of Owl’s Brew are gearing up for 2019 as they plan to relaunch the brand with a new identity, and raise as much as $10 million as part of a Series B round of funding. The company also recently hired former New Belgium CEO Christine Perich.
After nearby wildfires forced Sierra Nevada Brewing to temporarily cease operations at its Chico, California-based production facility over the weekend, the craft brewery has resumed making beer. The country’s third-largest craft brewery also announced the creation of a fund to help those affected by the blaze.
For over 50 years, Hensley Beverage Company didn’t carry any non-alcoholic beverages in its portfolio and managed to get by just fine. The Arizona-based distribution house, founded in 1955, built its operations — which currently extend to six facilities across the state totaling over 800,000 sq. ft. of combined space and over 1,000 full-time workers — largely on the back of a longstanding agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB) to carry its products exclusively. That partnership ended, however, in 2008, when a combination of factors — a decrease in construction and real estate development caused by the national economic downturn, along with strong anti-immigration sentiment within the state that caused some recent foreign arrivals to move elsewhere — began to negatively affect beer sales, according to the distributor, and compelled it to make a change.
Keith Villa, the legendary brewmaster who retired from MillerCoors earlier this year and launched Ceria, Inc., a cannabis company, is most known for creating the iconic Blue Moon Belgian-style wheat ale. So it’s only fitting that his first play in the cannabis-infused beverage space would be a de-alcoholized version of his popular brew. Called Grainwave, Villa’s first THC-infused non-alcoholic craft beer, a Belgian-style white ale, will hit Colorado dispensaries in mid-December.
San Diego County craft brewers produced more than 1.1 million barrels of beer in 2017, up about 22 percent from 2016 levels, according to an economic impact study conducted by the San Diego Brewers Guild and California State University San Marcos’ (CSUSM) Office of Business Research and Analysis. The total economic impact of the craft brewing industry in San Diego County increased from $870 million in 2016 to more than $1.1 billion last year, according to the study, titled “Economic Impact of Craft Breweries in San Diego County Report.” The study also found that more than 130 San Diego-based breweries generated about $802 million in revenue last year.
After four years of discussions with Sixpoint Brewery founder Shane Welch, Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) finally completed a deal to purchase 100 percent of his Brooklyn-based craft brewery this week. Even though ABV had been courting Sixpoint for several years, it wasn’t until this summer when negotiations really began to heat up, John Coleman, CEO of ABV, told Brewbound.
The continued acceleration of Kona beer sales during the third quarter couldn’t offset company-wide shipment and depletion declines of other Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) offerings, the Portland, Oregon-headquartered company reported today. In Q3, Kona depletions increased 9 percent as the brand grew in both off- and on-premise channels. The depletion growth followed increases of 7 percent and 3 percent in the second and first quarters of the year, respectively.
Yet another small brewery has found itself in financial trouble. The parent company of Boulder, Colorado-based Fate Brewing Company, Fate Restaurants LLC, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. According to the November 1 filing, Fate owes more than 50 creditors between $1 million and $10 million. The company also claims between $1 million and $10 million in estimated assets.
In episode nine of the Brewbound Podcast, Victory Brewing co-founder Bill Covaleski discusses Artisanal Brewing Venture’s appetite for M&A, and shares his thoughts on how craft breweries can reach a broader base of beer consumers as well as opportunities he sees ahead for the Victory brand.
Artisanal Brewing Ventures, the family office-backed holding company formed in early 2016 via the merger of Victory Brewing and Southern Tier Brewing, today announced the acquisition of New York-based Sixpoint Brewery. Specific financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Charlotte, North Carolina-based Sycamore Brewing is “living in fast forward,” according to vice president of sales Archie Gleason. The Kenny Chesney lyric appears apt for the 5-year-old craft brewery, which plans to double its beer and cider production by the end of the year.
