Reyes Holdings has completed its purchase of Florida’s Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, according to the company. Official terms of the transaction were not disclosed, though when news first broke in November, multiple industry sources valued the deal at $1 billion.
Colorado’s Oskar Blues plans to keep its foot firmly pressed on the gas pedal in 2015, aiming for another year of double-digit growth, company officials told Brewbound. Fresh off a year in which the craft brewery grew overall depletions by 28 percent, Oskar Blues – which also operates a manufacturing facility in North Carolina – will look to brew more than 190,000 barrels and grow shipments by more than 35 percent this year.
A sweeping bill recently filed by a Florida lawmaker could potentially loosen a number of restrictive regulations faced by craft brewers while simultaneously streamlining rules pertaining to the state’s three-tier alcohol distribution system. House Bill 107, in its current form, would overhaul the mechanics of franchise agreements, settle the state’s ongoing growler debate(link?), clarify brewery retail rights, and more.
Ninkasi Brewing is in the process of realigning its wholesale network in the Pacific Northwest, the brewery announced this week, leaving two houses owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) in order to partner up with a pair of independent distributors. Per a statement from the company, Ninkasi has agreed to deals with Bigfoot Beverage Distributors and the Odom Corporation for coverage throughout downstate Oregon (the company’s home state) and western Washington, respectively.
Anheuser-Busch may have to find another way to distribute its beer in certain areas of Kentucky if one lawmaker gets his way. On Friday, House Speaker Greg Stumbo (D-Prestonburg) filed a bill that would prevent larger brewers from taking over wholesale operations and distributing their products directly to retailers, reports the Courier Journal.
Lagunitas Brewing founder Tony Magee said on Tuesday his company will drop a trademark infringement lawsuit against Sierra Nevada Brewing, following backlash from what Magee called “the court of public opinion.” The announcement — which Magee made via his personal Twitter account late on Tuesday evening — comes just one day after Lagunitas asked a judge to issue a restraining order that, if issued, would have prevented Sierra Nevada from releasing its new Hop Hunter IPA.
Two retail advocacy groups and a couple of powerful wholesaler networks in Florida are challenging a state law that allows brewers to operate as vendors, leaving many in the craft industry in fear that their businesses may be at risk. Brewers in the state have been able to operate on-site tasting rooms outside of the framework of the traditional three-tier distribution system thanks to a tourism exemption, originally written to allow Anheuser-Busch to sell beer products at Busch Gardens, a theme park the company owned at the time.
The two largest craft brewers in California are now embroiled in a trademark dispute over craft’s most ubiquitous style — the India Pale Ale. On Jan. 12, Lagunitas Brewing Co. filed a lawsuit against rival Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., the second-largest craft brewery in the country. According to the suit, a new Sierra release, Hop Hunter, infringes on Lagunitas’ trademarked logo designs and packaging for its own Lagunitas IPA — particularly the company’s famous labels that feature the stylized, oversized letters “IPA.”
The Beer Institute is soon expected to announce the introduction of bipartisan legislation that would, if enacted, reform the federal beer excise tax. While the BI is withholding specific details at the moment, including the name of the bill and its sponsors, Chris Thorne, the organization’s vice president of communications, said it would provide relief for every brewer and beer importer.
White Labs Inc., the California-based fermentation sciences lab, has announced plans to build out an East Coast laboratory in the burgeoning craft beer town of Asheville, North Carolina. The company plans to acquire a 26,000 sq. ft. property from the city, for its new lab, and will invest $8.1 million over the next five years, according to a statement released by the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC). The project is expected to create 65 new jobs.
Later this month, Sierra, craft beer’s second-largest company, will release Hop Hunter IPA, a new, year-round offering that brewery officials are hoping will benefit from the growing attention beer fans are paying to wet hop and fresh hop styles. Sierra is betting that its reputation for a mastery of hops, coupled with an intense focus on innovation, will allow it to consolidate leadership in the evolving subcategory of those wet hop beers.
For the fourth time, members of Congress have filed a bipartisan bill that, if enacted, would dramatically cut the federal beer excise tax that the nation’s small brewers pay on every barrel of beer they produce. The Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act – Small BREW Act for short – seeks to implement a new tax structure to better reflect the evolving nature of the country’s booming craft beer industry, according to a statement from the Brewers Association.
Contract brewing outfit Brew Hub has announced two key hires, one to see through the construction and subsequent operation of its St. Louis outpost and the other to serve in an executive leadership role. Brew Hub has appointed Jim Ottolini, a longtime industry veteran and former Brewmaster at The St. Louis Brewery (best known for the Schlafly line of beers) as its new chief of brewing operations and head brewmaster.
Using the crowdfunding platform Bolstr, an online marketplace where entrepreneurs can access capital from accredited investors, the San Francisco brewery raised $150,000 in less than 24 hours. With the money, Magnolia will purchase additional brewing, packaging and laboratory equipment to expand production, and to roll out a line of packaged beers. To date, Magnolia products have been available only on draft and in growlers.
