With Canadian barley crops marred by frigid temperatures and wet weather, brewers and maltsters alike to dig a little deeper in their pockets for key ingredients, something that could cause prices to surge in the coming year.
The world’s largest brewer today announced a set of global management changes, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2015. Anheuser-Busch InBev said it will transition current North America zone president, Luiz Edmond, into a global role as Chief Sales Officer. Taking over for Edmond will be current Latin America zone president, Jo├úo Castro Neves.
We’re pleased to announce that video playback from this week’s Brew Talks Chicago meetup is now available for video playback. Included below — and also available on the Brewbound YouTube channel — are three entertaining discussions on the business of craft beer with notable Chicago-area beer industry professionals.
Tony Magee, the thoughtful and outspoken founder of Lagunitas Brewing, sounded off on a variety of beer industry topics and trends during Tuesday’s Brew Talks meetup in Chicago. With the inner workings of his own second facility serving as the backdrop to the talk, Magee expounded on mergers and acquisitions, building second breweries, and other issues that have driven much of the national conversation surrounding craft beer of late.
The stage is set for a mega-merger between two of New York City’s largest beer distributors. A tentative agreement between Bronx-based Manhattan Beer Distributors — which will sell and deliver more than 35 million cases of beer in 2014 — and Brooklyn-based Windmill Distributing (d/b/a Phoenix\Beehive Beverage Distributors) is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015, according to Mike Mazzoni, an advisor on the transaction.
Victory has announced plans to install a canning line in its recently opened Parkesburg, Pa. facility beginning in 2015. Victory’s seasonal Summer Love offering will be the first in its portfolio to be canned, the company said. No further decisions have been made about what other varieties will go into the package, according to a company spokesperson.
Michael Kiser, a brand strategist who’s worked for companies as large as Anheuser-Busch InBev and as small as yet-to-launch craft startups, believes there’s a distinct difference between the craft of brewing a quality product and the task of running a brewery business. “You are not a brewer until you know how to sell a beer,” he said during Tuesday’s Brew Talks industry meetup.
A number of craft brewers, including stalwarts Sierra Nevada and New Belgium, are rallying behind new regulation put forth by the Environmental Protection Agency they say will ensure the availability of clean water for their beers.
Brewbound.com is pleased to announce live video streaming of Brew Talks Chicago, a traveling meetup series for craft beer industry professionals. The event, which will be hosted, at the Lagunitas Brewery taproom on Tuesday, will feature two discussions on the business of craft beer.
Ninkasi Brewing will expand distribution to Arizona per an agreement with Golden Eagle Distributors, the wholesaler has announced. In late October, the brewery out of Eugene, Ore. will launch in the Phoenix and Tucson markets before subsequently broadening its reach statewide. Arizona marks the eighth state in the brewery’s U.S. distribution footprint. It also has a presence in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Beginning in October, Stone Brewing Co., the country’s tenth largest craft brewery will begin distributing its beers to bars, restaurants, and other retail outlets throughout the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.Stone has tapped Horizon Beers for market coverage in Canada, and the brewery has a slew of launch events and tap takeovers scheduled for late in the month.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revised its proposed regulations on the transaction of spent grains between brewers and farmers. On Friday, the federal agency finally released its summary of key revisions, writing that human food processors (such as brewers) already in compliance with the FDA’s human food safety requirements “would not need to implement additional preventative controlsÔǪ when supplying a by-product,” such as spent grains.
Long-term success for emerging craft brewers requires an enormous attention to detail, strong brand positioning, clearly defined identities and well-executed product marketing initiatives. That’s why Brewbound is excited to have a pair of Chicago-area entrepreneurs joining Tuesday’s Brew Talks event, which will take place at the Lagunitas Brewery taproom at 5:00 P.M. CST.
Ballast Point Brewing will finally expand its distribution to Colorado, per an agreement with Elite Brands, the wholesaler announced today.The first shipment of beers from the San Diego brewery is expected to arrive in the state before the end of the month. The company had intended to return to Colorado last year, which it had previously left in 2009, but was forced to delay its entry until its secondary brewing facility was built.
