More signs of a slowdown are showing as Bridgeport lays off 13 brewing staff workers, Branchline files for bankruptcy protection and Tin Man looks for a buyer.
Following in the footsteps of other large, established U.S. craft beer companies who have introduced flagship line extensions in recent years, New Belgium Brewing today announced plans to release a Belgian White version of its popular Fat Tire brand. Slated for a nationwide rollout beginning August 1, New Belgium’s new unfiltered wheat offering will compete for market share against other well-known wheat beers — including MillerCoors’ Blue Moon Belgian White, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Shock Top Belgian White and Allagash Brewing’s White Ale — in the second-largest craft category by style.
We’re just one week away from next week’s Brew Talks meetup, taking place on Tuesday, April 11 at Penn Social in Washington D.C., and Brewbound is pleased to finally reveal the speaker lineup and official agenda for the event. The industry-only event, hosted in partnership with Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and occurring alongside the 34th edition of the Craft Brewers Conference, will offer brewers, distributors and retailers a chance to participate in three hours of top-level business discussion and networking.
International demand for American craft beer is at an all-time high but, much like the trends domestically, growth is slowing.
In this week’s distribution roundup: Cigar City expands distribution to New Jersey; New Holland and Pabst kick off their nationwide distribution agreement; Harpoon’s UFO Beer lands in Minnesota and Catawba Brewing enters Georgia.
Four months after suspending its operations, Chicago’s Finch Beer Co. plans to begin producing and delivering product once again this month.
Since opening Castle Island Brewing on the outskirts of Boston in December 2015, founder Adam Romanow believes he’s missed out on as much as $50,000 per month in direct-to-consumer sales as a result of not having a taproom. That will change in June, when the Norwood, Massachusetts-based craft brewery opens a 1,500 sq. ft. taproom with capacity for 100 drinkers and 16 rotating draft lines.
In this week’s edition of Last Call: Maryland Brewers and Diageo join forces to amend HB 1283; North Carolina moves toward modernizing the state’s alcohol laws; more breweries close; Yards Brewing Co. reveals plans for its new brewery; A-B divests itself of the former SABMiller’s Central and Eastern European assets; and more.
Cuvee Coffee’s crowler is finally free from the clutches of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). The 20-month saga between the Austin, Texas-based coffee company and the Texas regulatory agency finally concluded with the TABC returning Cuvee’s crowler canning machine, which it seized during a September 29, 2015, raid of Cuvee’s retail store.
Nearly two-and-a-half years after 10 Barrel Brewing Co. was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the Bend, Oregon-headquartered brewery is finally nestled snugly into the global beer giant’s craft and import focused High End division. With the transition complete and several multi-million dollar expansion projects concluding this spring, 10 Barrel’s founders say they’re finally fully focused on the business of making and selling beer and expanding their reach.
Flying Dog Brewery has named Ben Clark as its new brewmaster. The Frederick, Maryland-headquartered brewery announced the move today in a press release touting the promotion alongside the release of Snake Dog IPA.
Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing today announced that co-founder Nikos Ridge would step down as CEO of the company he helped launch more than 10 years ago. Cheryl Collins, who currently serves as Ninkasi’s chief operating officer, will take over as CEO on May 1, the company said. Ridge, meanwhile, will move into the role of president and maintain his seat on the brewery’s board of directors.
In this week’s edition of Press Clips, Speakeasy faces wage claims, more small breweries close and seek buyers, Vermont and Michigan make headlines and more news.
Want to know how much craft beer was brewed in 2016? It’s not as straightforward as you might think, due to the varying definitions of craft and the investment activity in the space. The Brewers Association, which represents the interests of small and independent American brewers, pegged craft brewery production growth at 6 percent, to 24.6 million barrels, in 2016. But that’s just one reading.
