Craft beer has an identity crisis, Bell’s Brewery CEO Laura Bell told an audience of nearly 200 industry professionals attending Thursday’s Brewbound Session in New York City.

Armada Brewing emerged victorious in Startup Brewery Challenge 8, a business pitch competition sponsored by Craft Brew Alliance, which was held during Thursday’s Brewbound Session conference in New York City. John Kraszewski, the founder of Armada Brewing, competed against representatives from four other emerging breweries: M.I.A. Beer Company, Good City Brewing, Black Star Line Brewing Company, and Torch & Crown Brewing.

Independence matters to craft beer drinkers. During Thursday morning’s New York version of the Brewbound Session, Nielsen senior vice president of beverage alcohol practice Danny Brager and associate client manager Caitlyn Battaglia revealed the findings of a new 2,000-person Harris Poll survey co-developed by Brewbound and Nielsen examining whether 29 popular buzzwords used to market beer are resonating with regular craft beer drinkers.

In today’s edition of Press Clips: The New Jersey attorney general calls the Hunterdon fine the ‘largest ever imposed’ in the state; Ballast Point opens its Virginia tasting room; Kevin Durant cracks open a few Bud Lights; and more.

We’re less than 48 hours away from Brewbound Session Summer 2017, taking place at the Metropolitan West in New York City on June 15, and it’s time to introduce our presenters and judges for Startup Brewery Challenge 8. Presented by Craft Brew Alliance, Startup Brewery Challenge is our on-of-a-kind business pitch competition for new and emerging beer companies.

The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) now has a majority of support in the U.S. House of Representatives, with the addition of North Carolina Rep. David Rouzer as the legislation’s 218th co-sponsor.

In today’s edition of Press Clips: Texas craft brewers ask governor to veto taproom bill; the Maryland alcohol task force convenes; a federal court dismisses Total Wine’s pricing challenge; and the NFL allows spirits advertising.

The 2017 Summer Brewbound Session will be live from the New York City’s Metropolitan West at 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, June 15, but hundreds of attendees will get the networking started early during the official welcome reception on Wednesday, June 14. Hosted at the Anheuser-Busch commercial strategy office in Chelsea (125 W 24th St, New York, NY 10011), the welcome reception – taking place at 6:00 PM — will give Brewbound Session attendees their first chance to network with the top entrepreneurs and executives from across all three tiers of the beer industry.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts chief marketing officer Jackie Woodward has joined Craft Brew Alliance’s board of directors, the publicly traded, Portland, Oregon-based beer company announced today. Woodward was elected to CBA’s board during a May 17 shareholders meeting and fills a position vacated by John D. Rogers, who was required to retire after turning 72, a stipulation in the beer company’s bylaws.

Another Sheehan Family Companies subsidiary will pay a multi-million dollar fine after running afoul of state alcohol regulators. Hunterdon Brewing Co. has agreed to pay $2 million to the New Jersey Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) for failing to maintain accurate records and reporting delinquent accounts.

With an investment in Ratebeer.com, global beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev may be showing a craft-focused digital media strategy to accompany its growing stable of craft brewery acquisitions. In addition to buying at least a dozen breweries in the U.S. and abroad in the past couple of years, the company has quietly assembled and invested in a pair of web sites that provide beer industry content.

The Brewers Association this week announced that it would no longer allow large brewing companies and brewery groups to purchase featured sponsorships at the Great American Beer Fest, held annually in Denver, Colorado.

Want to know if phrases like “independently-owned” or “traditional” matter to consumers? Curious if those GABF medals actually help drive purchase decisions?
Brewbound is pleased to announce that, for the second year in a row, it has partnered with Nielsen to co-develop a consumer survey aimed at understanding the consumer familiarity around popular “buzzwords” used to market craft beer.

Craft beer manufacturers are attacking Wisconsin wholesalers over a legislative push to draw stricter boundaries among the three tiers of the state’s alcohol industry.