Last Call: BrewDog Crowdfunds Hotel Project; California ABC Fines A-B Wholesalers for Pay-to-Play; California Craft Brewers Association Introduces Retirement and 401K Program; Bud Light Sends Dirk Nowitzki 30,000 Beers.
The world’s largest beer company has threatened to pullback a $2,500 sponsorship of South Boston’s famed St. Patrick’s Day Parade if organizers do not allow a group of gay war veterans to march. Anheuser-Busch InBev today said it would reconsider its support of the event after parade organizers, the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, voted 9-4 on Tuesday to exclude OUTVETS, a non-political organization dedicated to honoring the service of LGBTQ veterans.
Legislative Update: Maryland Brewers Association Teams Up with Diageo; Minnesota Lawmakers Pass Sunday Sales Bill; Mississippi Direct Taproom Sales Governor’s Signature Away From Law; Montana Bill Attempts to Raise Production Cap to 60,000 Barrels; North Carolina Brewers Attempt to Raise Cap, Run into Wholesaler Opposition.
U.S. beer volume sales declined 1.2 percent through the first 50 days of the year, according to recent data from market research firm IRI Worldwide. The company, which tracks category-wide sales trends at off-premise retail outlets, said total beer dollar sales were up just 0.1 percent through February 19 in its multi-outlet and convenience (MULC) store universe (which includes grocery, drug, Wal-Mart, club, dollar, mass-merchandiser and military stores).
At least six small breweries have closed or announced plans to close since last December, and at least two other companies have temporarily staved off marketplace exits during that time.
Massachusetts’ Castle Island Brewing Company has expanded its capacity for the second time in 15 months. Brewery founder and president Adam Romanow told Brewbound that increased demand for his company’s core beers — Candlepin Hoppy Session Ale and Keeper IPA — led to the installation of three new 60-barrel fermentation tanks that increased the brewery’s capacity to more than 13,000 barrels annually.
San Diego’s Coronado Brewing will expand its local presence with the purchase of a 15,000 sq. ft. building in Imperial Beach, the company announced last week. The new space — Coronado’s fourth location and its second in Imperial Beach — will include a 10-barrel brewhouse, a small distillery and a restaurant with seating for more than 300, brewery co-founder Rick Chapman told Brewbound.
Beers from Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery will officially land in Texas this month. The brewery has signed with Silver Eagle Distributors for coverage in Houston and San Antonio, and distribution will begin in early March.
Last Call: ABI Buys Stake in Chinese Craft Brewer; Pabst to Open Milwaukee Innovation Brewery in April
Wine and marijuana are cutting into craft beer’s buzz, as growth in each of those segments took some use occasions away from a craft category that slowed to single-digit growth in 2016.
Anheuser-Busch InBev today reported full-year and fourth-quarter earnings, noting depletions declines of 2 percent in the U.S. in 2016 and continued struggles for its flagship Bud Light brand.
Dogfish Head Brewery has added two more states to its distribution footprint. The Delaware-based craft brewery, known for its popular 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPAs, will begin shipping beer to Alabama and the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota later this month.
A pair of California consumers are alleging Craft Brew Alliance tricked them into paying more for Kona beer by marketing it as brewed in Hawaii. The 56-page complaint, filed Tuesday by the Wand Law Firm, details how Craft Brew Alliance allegedly used “false and deceptive advertising” to dupe consumers about the origin of Kona Brewing Co. beer sold in the U.S.
Legislative Update: Maryland Brewers Oppose Special Treatment for Guinness; Minnesota Moves to End Sunday Sales Ban; Virginia Legalizes Canned Beer Concession Sales
