When we initially booked our special CBC edition of Brew Talks at 10 Barrel Brewing’s Portland brewpub, we wanted to start the afternoon with a dialogue between Joe Bisacca and Dick Cantwell, two of the three founding partners at Elysian Brewing. The goal was simple: have a conversation about succession planning and the circumstances that led Elysian to explore a sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev.
One of the biggest issues facing the craft brewing industry as it continues to evolve is that of franchise laws, the rules that contractually bind manufacturers to their wholesaler partners. Across the country, brewers are trying to find more latitude in how they bring beer to market.
Addressing thousands of beer industry professionals this morning at the convention center in Portland, Ore., Charlie Papazian, the president of the Brewers Association, detailed the significance of craft brewery self-reflection.
Columbia Distributing has bolstered its portfolio of craft offerings, signing agreements with two high-end beer makers from California and Colorado. he MillerCoors-aligned wholesaler, which operates branches in Oregon and Washington, today announced it has signed distribution agreements with Almanac Beer Co. and Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project for coverage throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Craft Brew Alliance today announced it would increase brewing capacity at its Widmer Brothers brewing facility in Portland, Ore. as part of a $10 million expansion project. In addition to adding 200,000 barrels of capacity and increasing total output to 750,000 barrels at its North Russell Street brewery, CBA said it would also complete a “significant brew house enhancement” and construct a new 10-barrel innovation brewery.
Blue Moon Brewing, the preeminent brand of Tenth & Blake, MillerCoors’ craft division, has announced plans to build a new brewery in Denver’s emerging River North Art District.
Brew Hub has again added to its roster of contract partners, bringing Iowa’s Toppling Goliath into its brewing network, the company announced today. Per an agreement between the two companies, Toppling Goliath will soon begin producing a number of its beers – including Golden Nugget IPA and Rover Truck Oatmeal Stout – at Brew Hub’s facility in Lakeland, Fla. Finished product will then be shipped back for distribution throughout Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota, a new market for the brand, according to a company statement.
Beer industry supplier MicroStar Logistics has acquired a keg repair and maintenance operation from Tosca, a national supply chain management company that facilitates the delivery of perishable food and drink items.
Just three months after the brewery he helped start was acquired, Dick Cantwell has resigned from Elysian Brewing and Anheuser-Busch InBev, Brewbound has learned. It makes for a quick end to a union that had been shaky from the start: when the acquisition of the 20-year-old Seattle based brewery was announced in January, Cantwell expressed his opposition to striking a deal with the world’s largest brewer.
The governor of Maine yesterday vetoed a bill passed by lawmakers that would have required businesses that advertise the sale of pints to serve the beer in a glass of at least 16 oz. Dubbed the Fair Pint Bill, supporters had contended consumers weren’t always getting what they were paying for, claiming many establishments serve advertised pints in shorter glasses.
We’re now mere days removed from the takeover of Portland, Ore. by more than 10,000 beer industry professionals, all coming from far and wide for the Brewers Association’s annual Craft Brewers Conference. Inside the Oregon Convention Center next week, attendees will find some of the country’s preeminent industry advocates across the three tiers sharing their wisdom and trying to make sense of this booming trade from hop to truck to glass.
The established craft breweries of the 90s face this dilemma on a daily basis. With new breweries entering the space every day and consumer preferences changing faster than a rotating draft line, older beer companies that aren’t evolving risk losing the interest of today’s promiscuous craft drinker. Thus change has come to Michigan’s New Holland Brewing and after 18 years, the company is making some dramatic alterations to the its flagship IPA and its overall go-to-market strategies.
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.
