Presentations from the 78th annual National Beer Wholesalers Convention, being held at the Caesers Palace in Las Vegas, concluded this afternoon with a panel of industry leaders who discussed, among other topics, the pending tie-up of the world’s two largest beer companies. Five prominent brewery executives (listed below) joined the panel, which was moderated by Mike Gretz, president of Gretz Beer Company, a wholesaler in Hatfield, Penn.
Craft Brew Alliance today announced that Kurt Widmer, the co-founder of Widmer Brothers Brewing and the current chair of the CBA board, would resign at the end of the year. In an effort to support the transition as CBA’s board of directors selects a new chairperson, Kurt Widmer — who started the brewery with his brother Rob Widmer in 1984 — will remain in his role through December 31, 2015 and assume the honorary title of Chairman Emeritus upon exiting, the company said.
Revolution Brewing has announced plans to officially expand distribution to Massachusetts, signing with Massachusetts Beverage Alliance (MBA) for statewide coverage beginning Nov. 2. The decision to begin selling beer on the east coast is more of a personal one for Revolution founder Josh Deth, who was born and raised in Newton, Mass., a Boston suburb.
Brewbound is pleased to announce its initial lineup of speakers for the 2015 Brewbound Session, taking place on Dec. 3 at the Paradise Point Resort & Spa in San Diego, Calif. The Brewbound Session, an engaging full-day business conference for beer industry professionals, will provide craft brewery entrepreneurs and executives with an opportunity to learn and network with hundreds of like-minded brewers, distributors and retailers.
Tweet Away, California Brewers At last, California-based beverage alcohol producers will be able to encourage purchasing via twitter and other social media platforms. Gov. Jerry Brown last week signed Assembly Bill 780, which enables brewers, distillers and vintners to identify retailers of their products on social media, according to the San Francisco Business Times. The… Read more »
The craft deals keep coming, this time north of the border. Labatt Breweries of Canada, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, today announced it has acquired Toronto’s Mill Street Brewery. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Constellation Brands is making its first foray into craft, this week introducing a new line of beers made in partnership with celebrity chef Rick Bayless and inspired by traditional Mexican ingredients. Operating under the identity “Tocayo,” which loosely translated means “of the same name,” Constellation’s first product, Tocayo Hominy White Ale, is a Belgian-style witbier brewed with hominy, a white corn popular in Central American and Mexican cuisine.
Recently reborn as an “aggressively laid-back” beer company, Stony Creek Brewery is living up to the tagline by quietly scaling production to more than 10,000 barrels during its first 12 months since taking up residence in a newly constructed Branford, Conn. brewing facility. Originally formed in 2010 by Manny Rodriguez and Peggy Crowley, the wife of former Dichello Distributors co-owner Ed Crowley, Stony Creek first launched as a contract-produced craft brand focused on beers named after regional area codes.
SABMiller, the world’s second-largest beer company, this morning rejected a third takeover bid, worth $104 billion, from the larger Anheuser-Busch InBev saying that the offer “substantially undervalues” the company. After a meeting, SABMiller’s 16-member board, excluding three directors nominated by U.S. tobacco company Altria Group Inc., its largest shareholder, formally considered and rejected A-B InBev’s third proposal of 42.15 pounds per share in cash (USD $64.49)
Otter Creek Brewing yesterday broke ground on an expansion that will more than triple its annual production capacity, ultimately making it Vermont’s largest brewery by volume.
Hopheads rejoice: Alpine Beer Company’s acclaimed double IPA, Pure Hoppiness, is getting ready to make its national debut next month. It’s the first significant move for an Alpine brand that last November was acquired by Green Flash.
After aggressively adding more than 350 craft beer clients in 18 months, Crown Beverage Packaging — a leading supplier of aluminum cans for beverage manufacturers — is now struggling to keep up with demand from the very customers it sought, and is considering altering the ways it services craft customers. Over the last week, Crown began informing a number of craft breweries that it would no longer be able to fill orders of printed aluminum cans, Brewbound has learned.
Always do your homework. That’s the advice Castle Island Brewing founder Adam Romanow had for other entrepreneurs during this week’s Brew Talks meetup, held inside of his aforementioned and soon-to-launch Boston-area brewery.
