When her husband told her he wanted to start a brewery, Trillium co-founder Esther Tetreault had a pair of questions for him. “Do you want to be a brewer, which is cool, or do you want to start a business in craft beer?” she asked JC Tetreault.
The Brewers Association’s Craft Brewers Conference has taken over Indianapolis, and the Brewbound team gives a vibe check on the first day of the largest meeting of craft brewers in the U.S. Justin, Jess and Zoe recap early presentations from BA board chair Leah Cheston, president and CEO Bart Watson and Trillium founders JC and Esther Tetreault and the overarching theme of resilience in the face of adversity.
Last week, Marty Makary, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, alongside Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., proclaimed the administration’s desire to phase out the use of eight synthetic food dyes by the end of 2026.
Hard seltzer’s sales may have peaked in 2020 at $4.1 billion, but Happy Dad CEO Sam Shahidi believes there’s still a mountain to climb for his company. Speaking to Brewbound earlier this year, Shahidi laid out a three-year vision for challenging White Claw as the top-selling hard seltzer brand.
First time visiting Indianapolis? Same here. To craft my Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) extracurricular gameplan, I consulted some beer-loving locals and ex-pats for their favorite spots both beer-related and not in Indy/Circle City/Naptown (OK, I also consulted Wikipedia for the city’s nicknames).
Audra Gaiziunas is the CFO and co-owner of Asheville’s DSSOLVR, the treasurer of the Brewers Association’s (BA) board of directors and the founder of Brewed for Her Ledger management consulting firm. Since opening the firm, Audra has worked with more than 300 brewery partners to organize and optimize their finances.
With craft brewers facing an overwhelming amount of uncertainty, the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference comes at a good time for those interested in tapping into winning strategies. While I encourage you to be in the room for Brewers Association (BA) CEO Bart Watson’s state of the industry speech at 9 a.m. ET on Wednesday, April 30, there are several other seminars (and parties) worth your time.
Racing fans, we are headed to Indianapolis! It’s my first time in Indy, and I might be sneaking away for some fast car-related excursions while in town (Motor Speedway Museum, anyone?). But I’m just as excited about what’s on tap at this year’s Craft Brewers Conference (CBC).
Something that’s stuck with me from classes taken en route to a master’s degree in integrated marketing communication is that your brand isn’t what you say it is – it’s what your consumers say it is. I’ve identified a few seminars that will help you differentiate yourself in a crowded market by becoming consumer-centric in your portfolio strategy and finding ways to tell your story in your own authentic voice.
As the beverage industry rapidly evolves, professionals from across the sector will converge at BevNET Live in New York City on June 11+12, 2025 to explore the future of the industry and uncover new business opportunities.
Around 10,000 industry members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America (April 28 to May 1). The gathering takes place against a backdrop of growing headwinds for craft breweries and an overhaul of CBC’s host organization, the Brewers Association.
Audra Gaiziunas wears so many hats she could open a Lids. She is the CFO and co-owner of Asheville’s DSSOLVR, founder of Brewed for Her Ledger management consulting firm and treasurer of the Brewers Association’s (BA) board of directors. There is almost no one better to feature in our pre-Craft Brewers Conference edition of A Round With …, the Brewbound Insider-exclusive Q&A with industry leaders.
When Brewers Association (BA) staff economist Matt Gacioch is asked whether craft brewers are optimistic or pessimistic, his response is “brewers are realistic.” “They are understanding that this is a new environment that they are operating in,” Gacioch said during the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast.
Twisted Tea has been a positive outlier for Boston Beer Company in recent years, posting consistent growth for the company and combating declines from its sibling brands, including Truly Hard Seltzer. However, it is now Boston Beer’s spirits-based hard tea, Sun Cruiser, that is pulling the weight.
