Stone Brewing Co. today announced plans to expand its taproom footprint in California, adding a 10,000 sq. ft. pilot brewery and tasting room in downtown Napa. The company plans to install a 10-barrel pilot brew system, which will be used to produce unique small-batch creations and will complement the company’s core beer lineup.
Less than two months after Boston Beer introduced its Truly Spiked & Sparkling line of hard seltzers in select markets, the company this week announced plans to expand distribution nationwide. Truly, a 5 percent ABV, 100-calorie sparkling water made from fermented cane sugar, comes in three flavors and will hit national retail shelves in June.
Two small Asheville, N.C.-based beer companies are tying up as the Thirsty Monk Pub and Brewery chain, which produces its own batches of beer and pours those from other U.S. outfits, today announced it would acquire neighboring French Broad Brewery. In a press release, Thirsty Monk owner and president Barry Bialik said the company planned to “grow the French Broad Brewery brand” and incorporate its beers into Thirsty Monk’s locations.
In an effort to preserve its independence and help combat what Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company co-founder Steve Beauchesne believes will be the inevitable consolidation of small Canadian craft breweries, the Ontario-based beer company today announced plans to establish an employee stock ownership plan. Under the terms of the agreement, Beau’s, the largest producer of organic beer in Canada, said it plans to sell approximately 4 percent of the company’s class B common shares to its 150 employees for purchase at fair market value.
The 2016 Brewbound Session Brooklyn is about three weeks away, and we are excited to announce the day’s scheduled agenda, featuring more than 20 craft beer industry founders, executives and experts who will take the stage on June 9.
Ahoy! Brooklyn Brewery will move its Williamsburg headquarters and build a 50,000 barrel brewery at the Brooklyn Navy Yard by 2018. The company yesterday announced plans to open a new brewery, corporate offices and rooftop beer garden overlooking the waterfront within the Navy Yard’s newly-renovated Building 77.
Fresh off an importer transition in the United States and the acquisition of fellow Scottish craft beer maker Inveralmond Brewing, Innis & Gunn is preparing to expand its global presence. Best known for its oak-infused line of beers, Innis & Gunn is one of the few globally distributed craft brands with a deliberate focus on growing sales in international markets. Although it is the second largest craft supplier in the U.K., behind BrewDog, approximately 65 percent of Innis & Gunn’s sales come from more than 20 countries where it sells beer.
Rhode Island will soon become the 45th state added to New Belgium Brewing’s national footprint. Less than a week after announcing plans to begin selling beer in Connecticut this June, the nation’s fourth largest craft brewery today announced it had signed a wholesale agreement to simultaneously launch throughout neighboring Rhode Island via C&C Distributors this summer.
Hardly a week goes by now where we aren’t receiving some kind of announcement regarding a branding update. So at the 2016 Craft Brewers Conference, held last week in Philadelphia, Brewbound asked several attendees for their thoughts on the recent uptick in craft rebrands and how companies should approach the process of updating their looks.
Currently slated for an early July opening, The Alchemist’s new brewery and visitor center in Stowe, Vermont will once again give thirsty beer travelers an opportunity to purchase the popular Heady Topper double IPA directly from the source. San Diego’s Ballast Point is heading north and will move into an 11,000 sq. ft. restaurant in Long Beach, according to the LA Times.
In this week’s distribution roundup: New Belgium enters Connecticut, Deschutes signs with Blue Ridge Beverage in Virginia and Short’s Brewing rolls out in Wisconsin.
Alaskan Brewing Company yesterday announced that longtime chief operating officer Linda Thomas would take over as the company’s CEO. Citing their desire to continue building the “pioneering legacy” of Alaskan Brewing, company founders Geoff and Marcy Larson said promoting Thomas to CEO would enable the pair to spend more time “focusing on innovation and the spirit of craft brewing.”
More than 12,000 beer industry professionals converged on Philadelphia last week for the annual Craft Brewers Conference, organized by trade group the Brewers Association. The weeklong event featured nearly 80 educational seminars, 835 trade show exhibitors and hundreds of brand activation events around town — including our very own Brew Talks meetup with Dogfish Head.
Are some U.S. brewers at risk of expanding faster than their market demand? And should you go with a bathroom or a taproom? Both topics were on the table at last week’s Brew Talks when a panel of brewery owners talked growth and expansion strategies in the craft beer space. Meeting during the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia were Firestone Walker co-founder David Walker, along with 21st Amendment co-founder Nico Freccia and Devils Backbone COO Hayes Humphreys.
