A new generation is now leading the day-to-day operations of 30-year-old Grand Teton Brewing Company at a time when competition has never been stiffer. Last year, Chris Furbacher and his wife, Laura, moved to Victor, Idaho to help his parents, Steve and Ellen Furbacher, run the 30-year-old craft brewery.
In this week’s edition of Last Call: Yakima Chief Hops faces a breach of contract lawsuit; Greg Koch to be on the big screen Sunday; 5 Rabbit’s fight with Donald Trump set to screen; and more news from the week.
We’re less than four weeks away from our two-day Brewbound Live business conference, taking place November 27 and 28 in Santa Monica, California, and we’re pleased to unveil a first look at the agenda. Featuring numerous presentations and panel discussions, as well as a “Crash Course” designed for early-stage companies, the 2018 conference will be Brewbound’s most comprehensive to date.
In episode eight of the Brewbound Podcast, Constellation Brands’ Bill Hackett discusses the strategies that have allowed the Corona brand to flourish in the U.S. over the last three decades, and how he sees the beer market evolving in the years to come. He also talks about the taproom phenomenon, the importance of brand building at a time when 7,000 craft breweries are fighting for mindshare, and what he drinks when he’s not tipping back a pint of beer.
Molson Coors reported its third-quarter earnings today, which were highlighted by a 1.8 percent increase in worldwide net sales, to $2.9 billion. Year-to-date, Molson Coors — whose brands include Coors Light, Coors, and Miller Lite, among others — has recorded $8.4 billion in net sales, down 0.8 percent from 2017 levels.
The Brewers Association board of directors today informed members of proposed changes to its bylaws that would significantly alter the trade organization’s official craft brewer definition, and create a new voting member class, Brewbound has learned. The board also intends to form a political action committee that is aimed at more aggressively lobbying for permanent federal excise tax cuts that currently save craft brewers upwards of $80 million annually.
A month after an unauthorized press release cost Scofflaw Brewing an exporting opportunity with BrewDog in the United Kingdom, the Atlanta-based craft brewery is taking steps to repair its reputation abroad. Scofflaw recently hired Scotland-based Media House International, a PR firm that specializes in crisis management and public affairs to help rehab its image abroad. Speaking to Brewbound from the U.K. on Tuesday, Scofflaw co-founder Matt Shirah said he was meeting with various “beer people” in an attempt to secure a new export deal.
Samuel Adams might be the official beer of the Boston Red Sox, but it was cross-town competitor Harpoon Brewery that scored a prominent World Series commercial, a first for the company, just days before the start of Game 4. In between the singing of the National Anthem and the first pitch on Saturday night, Harpoon Brewery co-founder and CEO Dan Kenary could be heard on televisions across the greater Boston area.
In the latest edition of People Moves: Heineken USA sales chief set to depart in 2019; Melvin Brewing sales director trades beer for cannabis; Matt Brewing Company hires a new brewmaster; and O’Connor Distributing names a new president.
In this week’s edition of Last Call: Constellation Brands seeks $3 billion for U.S. wine brands; the New York Prohibition Party seeks alcohol ban; BrewDog takes to the skies; and another wave of brewery closures hits.
Boston Beer Company’s growth continued in the third quarter, as the company’s revenue increased 24.2 percent, while shipments (+23.5 percent) and depletions (+18 percent) also grew. During a call with investors and analysts Thursday evening, Boston Beer founder Jim Koch credited the company’s “key innovations” — Angry Orchard Rosé, Truly Berry variety pack, Truly Wild Berry, Samuel Adams Sam ’76 and Samuel Adams New England IPA — with driving the growth.
Boston Beer Company today reported its 2018 third-quarter earnings results, which were highlighted by a 24.2 percent increase in net revenue, to $306.9 million. The company — which makes the Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea, and Truly Spiked & Sparkling products — credited the revenue growth to a 23.5 percent increase in shipments during the quarter, which ended September 29.
Despite ongoing shipment and depletion declines in the United States, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s global revenues were up 4.6 percent through the first nine months of 2018. A-B, the world’s largest beer manufacturer, posted global revenue growth of 4.5 percent, to more than $13.2 billion, during the third quarter, as revenue per hectoliter increased 4.2 percent. The company’s gross profit increased 3.5 percent, nearly $8.3 billion.
In episode seven of the Brewbound Podcast, Hare takes a deep dive into his company’s complicated four-year process of becoming a licensed Texas brewpub, and why he feels the state’s confusing direct-to-consumer sales laws need modernizing. Hare also discusses how he’s financed Hops & Grain’s growth, why he feels Texas beer wholesalers wield too much power and why current Texas alcohol laws make it difficult for upstart breweries to breakout.
