When Yuengling announced it would be launching into Massachusetts and Rhode Island earlier this year, Narragansett Beer president Mark Hellendrung expected sales to take a hit. The question was whether it would sink the brand. Hellendrung feared that sales of his company’s flagship lager — which makes up about 75 percent of ‘Gansett’s total production — would decline.
Cigar City’s search for a second production facility took the company to the Carolinas this week. As reported this morning by the Citizen Times, Joey Redner, founder of the Florida-based craft brewery, has been scouting locations in Western North Carolina as well as in Upstate South Carolina, in hopes of finding a place to build a new brewery comparable in size to its flagship facility in Tampa.
Continuing to build out a footprint on the eastern half of the country, Deschutes Brewery has announced plans to expand distribution throughout Washington D.C. and northern Virginia early next month. The brewery, headquartered out of Bend, Ore., has signed agreements with Premium Distributors — part of the Reyes Beverage Group — in both markets.
During next week’s Brew Talks meetup, Brewbound’s Dave Eisenberg will sit down with a trio of local beer industry members to discuss some of the legislative issues impacting Texas’ craft brewers. Joining the discussion will be Jester King managing partner Ron Extract, Independence Brewing co-founder Amy Cartwright and Texas Craft Brewers Guild executive director, Charles Vallhonrat.
Craft brewers from all over the country are putting their weight behind an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal that would extend the federal government’s power to enforce the Clean Water Act. In total, 40 craft brewers have teamed up with the Natural Resources Defense Council to push for the proposed rule, which aims to clarify the EPA’s regulation parameters relating to small bodies of water.
The pay-to-play debate has erupted again, this time on twitter. Dan Paquette, the co-founder of Boston’s Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project took to the social media platform at 12:53 A.M. to complain about what he — and many other brewers — call the dirty habit of pay-to-play — under-the-table transactions, where brewers or wholesalers offer cash and incentives to retailers and bar owners in exchange for guaranteed placement.
The city of Richmond, VA is throwing in more than $30 million in grants and bonds to help Stone Brewing build out an east coast facility that could be operational as early as late next year. As reported by Richmond Bizsense, the Richmond mayor’s office will issue $23 million in bonds to fund development of the project and kick in another $8 million in bonds for the brewery’s restaurant and beer garden.
San Diego’s Green Flash Brewing today announced it will begin construction on its second location, a 58,000 sq. ft. brewing facility in Virginia Beach that will eventually be capable of producing 100,000 barrels of beer per year. Officially scheduled to open in 2016, the $20 million brewery will be built on a 9-acre lot in the area’s Corporate Landing Business Park.
Last week, Brewbound traveled to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colo. to ask brewers how difficult it has become to launch a new beer in today’s crowded landscape. Those responses are featured in our final video segment from the 2014 GABF, included above.
As Brewbound looks for creative ways to discuss business issues at our live events, it is with distinct pleasure that we introduce a triple-threat food/beverage/spirits startup expert, Clayton Christopher, to our Oct. 21 Brew Talks meetup in Austin, Texas. Christopher, who has helped launch food and beverage companies like Sweet Leaf Tea, Deep Eddy Vodka and Rhythm Superfoods, will discuss lessons from his entrepreneurial journey.
After months of waiting, Stone Brewing finally broke its silenced yesterday, announcing that it would build a second U.S. brewing facility in Richmond, Va. While the announcement was a big win for the city, it was a loss for another in the state. Norfolk, just two hours north of Richmond, was among the three remaining cities with a shot at landing the country’s tenth largest craft brewery.
Last week, we traveled to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, Colo. to ask attendees how market segmentation was impacting the retail landscape. Many noted that growing interest in small local brands is making it tougher to compete while others were more optimistic about the potential growth of shelf space. Hear those responses in our latest video segment.
we’re excited to announce that the penultimate Brew Talks event of 2014 will be held outside of the brewhouse, and inside the headquarters of one of the country’s most trafficked websites. On October 21, Brewbound will travel to Austin, Texas to host Brew Talks at the offices of popular entertainment website, theCHIVE.com.
The suspense is over. After months of speculation, Stone Brewing Co. has formally announced its intent to build a new brewery in Richmond, Va. Pending local approvals, the country’s tenth largest craft brewer said it will build an east coast brewing facility in Richmond’s Greater Fulton Community. The San Diego brewery has signed a formal letter of intent with the city and plans to invest $74 million to construct a production brewery, packaging hall, restaurant and retail store.
