Boston Beer Company, the country’s second-largest craft beer producer, recently helped Carnival, the world’s largest cruise ship operator, build a floating microbrewery on-board its new Carnival Vista vessel. In a press statement, Carnival said it worked with Alchemy & Science, Boston Beer’s wholly-owned subsidiary incubator, to launch version 2.0 of its Key West-inspired bar, the Red Frog Pub, which will now also feature a small brewery.
U.S. craft brewers are now shipping nearly half a million barrels of beer around the world, according to the latest Brewers Association (BA) estimates. In a press release, the BA — which represents the interests of small and independent U.S. craft brewers — said American craft beer exports grew 16.3 percent in 2015, to more than 446,000 barrels and a retail value of about $116 million.
Three sustainability-minded craft brewers from Colorado joined last week’s Brew Talks meetup, held at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colo., to share methods for scaling an eco-friendly brewery with more than 100 industry professionals. New Belgium’s director of sustainability Jenn Vervier, along with Upslope Brewing’s director of brewing operations, Dany Pages, and Taylor Kranz, a brewer with Fort Collins Brewery, explained how their companies have prioritized environmental sustainability over profits as they’ve grown.
Stone Brewing Co. is nearly national and the San Diego-based craft beer maker said it plans to be distributing in all 50 states before the end of 2016. It will move one step closer today, as it rolls out throughout Arkansas, its 42nd state. Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery, meanwhile, said it will continue its 2016 distribution expansion in May with forays into Nebraska, South Dakota and Kansas.
A trio of Colorado’s most recognizable beer industry leaders joined Tuesday’s Brew Talks meetup, hosted at New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colo., to discuss the state of their industry. Odell Brewing co-founder Wynne Odell joined Left Hand Brewing co-founder Eric Wallace and New Belgium CEO Christine Perich to address a myriad of issues impacting the U.S. craft landscape, including mergers & acquisitions, the influx of capital in craft, increasing competition and ongoing distribution challenges.
Full Sail Brewing has updated its look. The Oregon-based craft brewery this week unveiled a new logo and refreshed artwork for several of its core brands. Focusing on natural elements and landmarks surrounding the brewery, the rebrand was intended to emphasize Full Sail’s connection to nature and to modernize the company’s image in a market flooded with thousands of craft beer options.
Deschutes Brewery will continue distributing in the St. Louis area, albeit with a new wholesaler, the Oregon-based beer maker announced today. The company has signed an agreement with Major Brands, the largest Missouri-owned distributor of wine, beer, spirits and non-alcoholic beverages.
Rotation nation is alive and well. Popular craft-centric chain Yard House, which operates 63 restaurants across the U.S. and boasts an average of 130 tap handles per location, this week announced plans to evolve its beer program by adding nearly 1,600 new draft offerings. Beginning March 28, The California-based on-premise retailer, which recently completed its annual “beer review,” said it would tap an average of 20 to 30 new beers per restaurant.
Total craft growth slowed in 2015 as U.S. craft brewers grew volumes by 13 percent and retail dollars by 16 percent last year, according to new data compiled by trade group The Brewers Association (BA). In its annual report on industry-wide growth, the BA said more than 4,250 small and independent U.S. brewers collectively produced about 24.5 million barrels of beer in 2015.
After much-anticipation, Bend, Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery today announced plans to build a second commercial brewing facility in Roanoke, Virginia. The company, which brewed a majority of the 340,000 barrels it produced in 2015 out of a large brewery in Bend, Ore., doesn’t plan to begin construction on the new east coast location until 2019.
Pottsville, Penn.-based D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc. today unveiled its new “Respect. It’s Earned.” campaign, which includes print, digital, and TV marketing as well as retail-specific promotions. Running throughout the company’s 18-state footprint, the new campaign is the largest in the brewery’s history and builds on previous messaging that also touted the company’s heritage and emphasized its flagship Lager.
As sales of Mexican imports continue to grow, Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced plans to bring another label from south of the border into select U.S. markets. In a press release, A-B InBev said it would begin rolling out Estrella Jalisco, a light-flavored 4.5 percent ABV pilsner originally brewed in the city of Guadalajara, across 10 states this month.
New Belgium builds on-site medical facility, hires full time doctor; MarketWatch Highlights SKU-mageddon; Former Green Flash Brewmaster to Open Silva Brewing; Video of the week: Small Batches | Pure Michigan
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week announced plans to delay enforcement of its new menu-labeling regulations until 2017. In a statement, Dr. Susan Mayne, who joined the FDA last January as the new director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said the organization opted to move enforcement from December 1, 2016, to “the date that is one year after it issues final, Level 1 guidance,” as a result of language in the omnibus appropriations bill enacted by Congress on December 18, 2015.
