Pabst Brewing Company has inked its first official U.S. craft partnership, announcing plans today to invest in the marketing, sales and distribution of products from New Holland Brewing. Specific financial terms of deal, which was signed this morning and is slated to begin during the first quarter of next year, were not disclosed.
Ska Brewing yesterday announced that Jason Armstrong, the former national sales director for Stone Brewing, would join the Colorado-headquartered craft brewery as a sales representative in Texas.
Schlafly Beer co-founder Dan Kopman will depart the company after 25 years. In an email to Brewbound, Kopman said the decision to leave the brewery was part of previously agreed upon timeline with Sage Capital, the St. Louis-based private equity firm that acquired a majority stake in the company in 2012.
Chicago-based Finch Beer Co. will reportedly close its original brewery on Elston Avenue, leave the brewpub it launched in June and begin partner brewing with a yet-to-be-named Windy City brewery, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Beer taps hold the secret to what’s trending, according to BeerBoard, the company behind the digital beer menu displays at places like Buffalo Wild Wings and BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. In a press release issued Tuesday, the Syracuse, New York-based company announced the launch of BeerBoard 1000, a monthly index that ranks top-selling beers across the country.
Asahi Group to Purchase Pilsner Urquell and Other Beer Brands for $7.8 Billion
In an effort to establish itself as the country’s top beer curator, Craft Beer Cellar, a popular Massachusetts-based retail franchise, plans to alter how it purchases beer in 2017 by implementing a list of required and banned products from its stores. In a December 1 memo sent to franchisees and obtained by Brewbound, Craft Beer Cellar founders Kate Baker and Suzanne Schalow outlined changes they say will enable store owners to be viewed as “industry leading” retail operators and not just resellers of beer.
The federal government has approved Anheuser-Busch InBev’s acquisition of Texas-based Karbach Brewing Company.
Goose Island is migrating to Europe. Anheuser-Busch InBev is planting a series of pubs branded with the Chicago craft brewery’s name, starting with a pilot launch in London before Dec. 25, followed by a second London location and a third in Belgium, according to the Telegraph. The opening of the Goose Island Vintage Ale House marks the first launch by A-B InBev’s “brand experience” division, which reportedly hopes to gain notoriety for its craft brands. The pubs will offer Goose Island’s barrel-aged beers and American smokehouse-style fare.
Three of the country’s top craft breweries unveiled their 2017 beer release schedules this week, sharing plans to introduce a host of new products and packages over the course of next year.
As cider offerings from larger producers have hit a dry spell, those from smaller, regional producers are gaining market share as consumers continue seeking out sweeter alcoholic beverages. For proof, look no further than Virginia’s Bold Rock Hard Cider, which has seen year-to-date dollar sales (through Sept. 25) grow more than 100 percent, to nearly $8 million, according to market research firm IRI Worldwide. That ranks Bold Rock as the sixth-largest cidery – the top five sellers are all national brands – by market share, even though the company’s products are distributed in just nine states.
Pabst Brewing Company today announced an exclusive import agreement with Mexico’s oldest craft brewery, Cerveza Minerva. Specific terms of the transaction — which is set to begin next spring — were not disclosed, but Pabst said it would launch the brand in “a small number of test markets,” and begin building national distribution for Minerva’s beers over the course of 2017.
There’s a sense of déjà brew when one looks at the trajectory of the cider category: the sweeter stuff has entered a period of weak performance – some even project negative growth – all thanks to the brands on the macro side of the business. It wasn’t always this way. Cider began a steep climb around 2010, when it started posting double-digit volume growth. Sales accelerated for the next few years and increased, on average, nearly 70 percent annually from 2012 to 2014, according to figures provided by the United States Association of Cider Makers (USACM). However, the momentum slowed considerably in 2015 when the volume gain was just over 11 percent.
Less than one week after BrewDog founders James Watt and Martin Dickie announced plans to gamble investors’ money at a roulette table, the Scottish craft beer entrepreneurs appear to have temporarily pulled the plug on the stunt. “The powers that be don’t seem to like gambling as much as we do,” BrewDog wrote in a blog post on the brewery’s website. “We are in discussions regarding the future of BrewDog’s Big Bet. Stay tuned for further updates.”
