Sun King Brewing has announced plans to open a small taproom and brewery in Fishers, Ind. this summer about a half mile away from where the company eventually plans to build out a larger scale production facility. Construction is currently underway on the 6,000 sq. ft. space inside a shopping center, which the company said would be complete with a 3-barrel brewing system, taproom and event space for community and private events by this June.
Deschutes Brewery will expand its existing partnership with West Side Beer Distributing, and Deschutes beers – including Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Black Butte Porter, Fresh Squeezed IPA and the seasonal Twilight Summer Ale – will be available on draft throughout Detroit’s Wayne County beginning the first of June. Packaged product is expected to be available later in the fall.
In an effort to diversity its portfolio of beverage offerings, American Brewing, a Washington-based, publicly traded craft beer company, has announced the acquisition a fast-growing kombucha brand. As reported earlier this week by BevNET (the sister site of Brewbound), the brewery purchased Búcha, a brand of certified organic sparkling kombucha drinks, from B&R Liquid Adventure, LLC for a combination of $260,000 cash, a $140,000 note payable and $500,000 in American Brewing restricted stock.
Last July, when Harpoon Brewery co-founder Rich Doyle announced he would step down as CEO and sell his interest in a beer company he’d helped to build over 28 years, many in the space wondered what his next move would be. Less than nine months later, Doyle’s future in beer is much more clear.
Newburyport Brewing today announced cellar expansion plans to double the capacity of its production facility to 15,000 barrels, a figure that, when reached, will cement its position as a regional brewery in the Northeast.
Less than nine months after selling at least a 40 percent stake in Harpoon Brewery, the country’s 15th largest craft beer company, co-founder and former CEO Rich Doyle is back in the game. Backed by an investment from San Francisco-based private equity firm Friedman, Fleisher & Lowe, Doyle has launched Enjoy Beer LLC, a consortium aimed at providing back-office support to independent craft brewers.
In just one week, more than 10,000 beer industry professionals will descend on Portland, Ore. for the Brewers Association’s annual Craft Brewers Conference. This year’s event, happening April 14-17 at the Oregon Convention Center, is slated to be the organization’s largest conference ever. Trying to decide which talks to attend is the stuff hangovers are made of. That’s why we’ve hand-selected 9 must-see seminars for the company owner looking to take his business to the next level.
New Belgium Brewing will gift $1 million to Colorado State University to renovate the facilities that host the school’s fermentation science and technology program, the brewery announced this afternoon. Kim Jordan, New Belgium’s CEO, will herself give $500,000 to the school, per a statement from the company. The remaining half million dollars will be allocated over five years through the brewery’s philanthropy arm.
Georgia lawmakers passed a stripped-down version of the so-called Beer Jobs Bill last Thursday, alleviating some sales limitations but ultimately falling short of the sweeping changes originally supported by the state’s craft brewers. As passed, Senate Bill 63 allows for brewers to charge varying fees for tours and in return provide consumers with up to 72 oz. of beer for off-premise consumption as a “free souvenir.”
Coinciding with plans to build out new production facilities in Texas and North Carolina, Atwater Brewery has shaken up its distribution network in each state and taken on new wholesaler partners. In North Carolina, the Detroit brewery has signed with Craft Central for distribution throughout central and western portions of the state. Previously, Freedom Beverage Co. has sold the Atwater brand. The brewery also recently partnered with Brown Distributing in Texas, ending its preexisting relationship there with Mayan Distributing.
While there wasn’t much eyebrow raising movement amongst craft’s more popular styles, there was one shocking statistic: the 180 degree turnaround of the pilsner category. At this time last year, sales of craft pilsners were down 5.4 percent in MULC. Fast-forward 365 days and sales are now up more than 100 percent. Pilsners are now 1 percent of all craft beers sold, according to IRI.
Just in time for baseball’s Opening Day, the Kansas City Royals, in collaboration with Boulevard Brewing and Central States Beverage, have announced the opening a craft-centric beer bar featuring more than 75 craft beers. Appropriately dubbed Craft & Draft, Kauffman Stadium’s newest bar will pour offerings from Boulevard, Lagunitas Brewing, Founders Brewing and other local and well-established national craft players.
Angel City Brewery recently made its first foray outside of Southern California, partnering with Bonanza Beverage Company for distribution throughout Las Vegas, Nevada. Angel City beers, including Pilsner, Social IPA, and West Coast Wheat, are now available on draft and in 6-packs of bottles and cans throughout the city.
January and February were brutal months for industry-wide beer shipments, which declined 6.9 percent, according to the Beer Institute. As harsh winter storms and cold weather ransacked the northeast into early March, DC Brau CEO Brandon Skall stared at tanks full of beer and nowhere to put it.
