In the final scene of Back to the Future, after Marty McFly has improved the arc of his fate by correcting errors of the past, his mentor, Dr. Emmett “Doc” Brown, sends his flying DeLorean time machine careening into McFly’s driveway. You might have fixed the mistakes of the past, he says, but in the future, your offspring are jerks. Let’s move to the final scene of another video, now, on April 22, 2009, at the Brewers Association’s annual conference – when toasts are raised by a room full of brewing entrepreneurs, who have just viewed the debut of the provocative “I am a Craft Brewer” video to great acclaim.
In this week’s edition of Press Clips: Stone Brewing fires back at MillerCoors; BrewDog buys a UK cider maker and eyes an IPO; Reuben’s Brews identifies a new production space; and Tow Yard Brewing closes.
Since signing up its first four craft breweries about a year ago, Night Shift Distributing has inked agreements with 14 new brewery partners and expanded its reach into non-alcoholic beverages, wine and spirits. The Massachusetts-based company today announced distribution partnerships with seven new companies, including a cold brew coffee maker, an organic plant-based water producer and a variety of other brands.
It took two months, but MillerCoors has finally responded to Stone Brewing’s trademark lawsuit. In February, the San Diego craft brewery filed a lawsuit against the multinational beer company alleging that its rebranded packaging and advertisements for the Keystone brand infringed upon Stone Brewing’s own “Stone” trademark. Early this morning, MillerCoors answered back with several counterclaims.
You’ve probably never heard of Craftroots Brewing in Milford, Massachusetts, but it was just named the fastest growing craft brewery in America by industry trade group the Brewers Association (BA). According to Craftroots co-founder Maureen Fabry, production at the small brewery grew 1,440 percent last year, from 20 barrels in 2016 to 308 barrels in 2017.
Starting this summer, Bell’s Brewery will begin selling beer throughout New England and New Jersey, expanding its footprint to 39 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico in the process. The Michigan-based craft brewery will partner with 11 beer distributors across Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New Jersey.
Less than one month after announcing plans to purchase Smuttynose Brewing Company from Provident Bank, New Hampshire’s Runnymede Investments has finalized its deal for the struggling Portsmouth-area craft brewery and launched a 90-day plan aimed at helping it return to growth.
The latest snapshot of beer category health is out. Market research firm IRI Worldwide, which tracks category-wide sales trends at off-premise retailers, reported yesterday that dollar sales of beer at multi-outlet and convenience stores were up 1.5 percent through March 25.
Less than two weeks after Chicago’s Revolution Brewing announced a deal for a branded taproom at Guaranteed Rate Field, Anheuser-Busch-owned Goose Island, also based in the Windy City, has inked a multi-year deal to become the “official craft beer” of the Chicago White Sox.
Boston-area craft beer maker Castle Island Brewing is doubling down on its home market, today announcing a multi-year agreement for a seasonal beer garden located just three miles from the brewery’s namesake landmark at a recently developed site known as Underground at Ink Block.
In an effort to capture a growing contingent of consumers who are drinking both beer and spirits during a night out, Anheuser-Busch and Beam Suntory have inked a multi-faceted cross-merchandising program and collaborative brewing project. As part of the partnership, the two companies, via their flagship Budweiser and Jim Beam Brands, will “begin appearing together at bars and retail venues across the country,” according to a press release.
For the second consecutive year, U.S. craft beer exports grew in the low-single digits. However, growth of international shipments has slowed considerably as the export market has matured and competition from brewers in those foreign markets has increased. The Brewers Association (BA) announced Tuesday that U.S. craft beer exports grew 3.6 percent, to 482,309 barrels, in 2017.
Brewbound today announced its speaker lineup for the upcoming Brew Talks meetup, taking place May 1, in Nashville, Tennessee, during the 35th edition of the Craft Brewers Conference. The industry-only event, presented by Dogfish Head, will feature two thought-provoking panel discussions on the state of beer marketing and retailing.
