He was the author of the Declaration of Independence and the third U.S. president. Now, 188 years after his death, Thomas Jefferson can add to his resume. According to a Times Dispatch report, economic developers in Virginia dug up (read: hired an actor to play) Thomas Jefferson to help sell Stone Brewing on the state when the company was still in search of a place to build a facility on the east coast.
10 Barrel Brewing, a craft beer company based in Bend, Ore., today announced it has agreed to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer manufacturer. Official terms of the deal were not disclosed. It’s Anheuser-Busch’s second craft acquisition this year — it purchased New York’s Blue Point Brewing in February — and reflects the beer giant’s growing interest in the craft segment.
Smuttynose Brewing yesterday announced it will begin distributing beer to Arizona per an agreement with Arizona Beer and Cider Company, a new wholesale outfit based in Phoenix. Though this is Summtynose’s first foray into Arizona, it’s not the first time the company has done business with the founders of Arizona Beer and Cider, Jim and Jason Ebel.
The Brewers Association (BA) is once again calling on its members to steer the organization’s response to the U.S Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) controversial spent grains proposal in its most recently revised form. Hoping to inform additional comments, the BA is surveying its craft brewery members to find out how many process their spent grains before selling them to farmers for use as animal feed.
The Startup Brewery Challenge, Brewbound’s bi-annual business pitch competition, will return for a third edition at the Dec. 4 Brewbound Session in San Diego, Calif. Presented by Craft Brew Alliance, the Startup Brewery Challenge gives new U.S. craft breweries a chance to show off their business plans, sample a beer and receive immediate feedback from an expert judging panel.
In an off-beat quest to upend Prohibition-era regulations that many brewers in the state decry as overly burdensome, the Georgia Craft Brewers Guild (GCBG) has launched a crowdfunding campaign in hopes of hiring a lobbyist to work on behalf of the state’s craft beer industry. The Guild has already tapped the services of Atlanta’s Thrash-Haliburton, a government affairs firm, but now plans to use the funds raised on Indiegogo to bring them on full-time.
Brewbound is excited to announce that attendees of the Dec. 4 Brewbound Session in San Diego will have a unique opportunity to gain key consumer insights from Lester Jones, the chief economist for the National Beer Wholesalers Association. Drawing on more than 20 years of experience in applied economics, Jones will explain how craft beer can continue to stay relevant in a crowded marketplace.
Reyes Beverage Group today announced it would acquire South Florida’s Gold Coast Beverage Distributors in a blockbuster deal that brings another 27 million cases to a Reyes Group that, through its 12 wholesale outfits across the country, already sells more than 100 million cases annually. Once complete, the deal would make Reyes comparable in size to the largest distributor in the U.S., Anheuser-Busch InBev, with around 140 million cases.
Brewbound Session Winter 2014, a full-day conference on the business of craft beer, is just around the corner. If you haven’t already registered, there are limited seats remaining so please don’t delay.
Beginning early November, Fort Collins Brewery will ship its core lineup and select seasonal offerings throughout Arizona per an agreement with Young’s Market Company. Named after the northern Colorado town it was founded in, Fort Collins will round its distribution footprint out to 23 states with the launch.
Figueroa Mountain Brewing, one of California’s faster-growing, but relatively unknown, craft breweries, has announced a slew of expansion plans that include a new international presence, adding three new taprooms and turning over distribution rights to a local beer wholesaler. The company plans to start contract brewing in Germany within six months while it searches for a location to build its own facility in the Bavarian region of the country.
Harpoon Brewery today announced it will promote Charlie Story, the Boston-based company’s current vice president of marketing, to the position of president. Storey, who joined the company in 1996, will oversee marketing, retail and festival initiatives and also manage the brewery’s distribution arm.
A Florida restaurant has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court claiming that the state’s ban on 64 oz. growlers is in violation of the U.S. Constitution. According to Sunshine State News, the suit aims to end the ban on half-gallon growlers, which has been a highly controversial issue in the state; currently, 32 oz. and 128 oz. growlers are legal, but the industry standard 64 oz. option is prohibited.
Pushing farther into the state of Pennsylvania, Port Brewing will expand its distribution throughout Pittsburgh, the company announced today. Per an agreement with Wilson-McGinley, the brewery, which is headquartered out of San Marcos, Calif., will begin selling core and seasonal products from its Port Brewing and Lost Abbey labels in the newly added market this year.
