In this week’s edition of press clips: Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot’s “Reform on Tap Act of 2018” would create a friendlier business climate for the state’s craft breweries, the Senate tax bill gains steam as alcohol industry watchdogs cry foul, and two industry trade groups provide a snapshot of beer industry health through October.
The entrepreneurs behind the once-caffeinated and controversial flavored malt beverage, Four Loko, are diversifying. Following the April launch of Four Loko Shots, a line of flavored spirits checking in at 35 percent ABV, Four Loko parent Phusion Projects, via its Innovative Wine & Spirits subsidiary, last week struck a deal with Pabst Brewing Company to market, sell and distribute its first bourbon brand under the Not Your Father’s label.
Colorado-based Left Hand Brewing Company has filed a lawsuit against yeast supplier White Labs alleging that the San Diego-based fermentation specialists sold the brewery contaminated brewers yeast, which led to a $2 million recall in 2016.
In a move that would create a $12 billion beverage alcohol wholesale giant, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) today announced plans to merge with Breakthru Beverage. The two companies have signed a letter of intent to combine assets and operations, according to a press release.
In this week’s edition of Last Call: A new Brewers Association survey provides taproom insights, Tenth & Blake’s Pete Marino lays out five keys to surviving a shakeout, and Old Town Brewing fights the city of Portland.
With just six weeks left to go in 2017, U.S. beer volume sales are roughly flat, according to recent data from Chicago-based market research firm IRI Worldwide. The firm, which tracks category-wide sales trends at off-premise retailers, reported that U.S. beer volume sales were down 0.7 percent while total beer dollar sales have increased 1 percent through November 5.
Popular Boston-area beer maker Trillium Brewing today announced plans to open a seasonal beer garden inside the historic “Roslindale Substation Building,” located about 8 miles from downtown Boston.
Oakland-based Valley Distributors this week announced plans to acquire Lewiston-based Federal Distributors. Specific financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close during the first quarter of 2018, were not disclosed. Combined, the two companies — which will now operate under the newly created “Valley Beverage” name — will distribute upwards of 4 million cases of beer in 2017.
In our latest Legislative Update: Indiana considers Sunday sales; the Georgia Department of Revenue discusses digital transactions; West Sixth Brewery co-founder is chosen to lead the Kentucky Democratic Party; and more.
For the first time ever, beer excise tax reductions have been included in a comprehensive federal tax reform proposal. On Tuesday night, U.S. Senate Finance Committee chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) released a “Chairman’s Mark” to the Senate GOP’s version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
In a move toward diversifying its portfolio and reaching spirits consumers, Pabst Brewing Company today announced a foray into the crafts spirits space with the launch of Not Your Father’s Bourbon. The 86 proof (43 percent ABV), small-batch bourbon is the first product to be launched in a new line of spirits under the Not Your Father’s label, which includes the popular Not Your Father’s Root Beer flavored malt beverage as well as hard vanilla cream and ginger ale offerings, among others.
Craft Brew Alliance made good on last week’s promise to revisit its brewpub strategy, yesterday announcing plans to shift away from a restaurant-focused brewpub model at the Widmer Brothers brewery in Portland, Oregon. In a post on the brand’s Facebook page, CBA said it would eliminate its full-service kitchen to make way for expanded small-batch brewing capabilities inside of a recently built 10-barrel innovation brewery that opened about 15 months ago.
North Carolina’s Catawba Brewing Co. has reached an agreement to acquire Charleston, South Carolina-based Palmetto Brewing Co. Catawba co-founder Billy Pyatt told Brewbound that his company will acquire “100 percent” of Palmetto’s assets and hopes to close on the transaction by the end of the year.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is once again shaking up its North American executive leadership team, today announcing the appointment of a new CEO to oversee its largest market, among other key changes. Michel Doukeris, the company’s current chief sales officer, will take over as the CEO of A-B InBev North America, supplanting current zone president and CEO João Castro Neves, who will depart the organization after 22 years to “pursue other opportunities.”
