Let’s face it — Spokane probably isn’t on your bucket list. Tucked away in Eastern Washington, the city of a little more than 200,000 sits on the Idaho border, about an hour away from popular resort destinations to the East. Nationally, Spokane’s best known institution is likely the Gonzaga Bulldogs basketball program.

It’s been nearly two-and-a-half years since CBA tapped Andy Thomas, the former president of Heineken USA, to be its own president of commercial operations. During that time, Thomas has helped CBA — which produces and markets the Widmer, Kona, Redhook and Omission craft beer brands as well as Square Mile Cider — expand production from… Read more »

Green Flash Brewing isn’t a nationally distributed craft brand quite yet, but it’s getting close. The San Diego-based brewery has two states remaining, Utah and Hawaii, and it’s working to clear the remaining hurdles associated with each one. “Hawaii is tricky because we will only ship 100% refrigerated freight,” said vice president of sales Jim… Read more »

Bell’s Brewery is set to ring in the New Year with a Big Apple rollout. The brewery, which is based out of Kalamazoo, Mich., has signed an agreement with Union Beer Distributors to bring most of its year-round offerings as well as its seasonal lineup to New York City and Long Island on February 10… Read more »

Add Delaware’s Dogfish Head to the growing list of craft breweries adding lower-alcohol “session” beers to their year-round portfolios in 2014. Dogfish will transition Namaste, the company’s 4.8 percent, Belgian-style white beer — previously available only in 750 mL champagne-style bottles on a limited basis — into regularly available 12 oz. 6-packs, beginning in January.

Despite several years of volume declines, Anheuser-Busch maintains its massive hold on the U.S. beer industry with a leading 47.6 percent market share and $14 billion in revenue this year, buoyed by expenditures in data-mining and innovation.

In preparation for the christening of its new brewing facility, New Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewing expanded its distribution footprint and began shipping kegs to Michigan last month. The brewery’s new multi-use headquarters in Hampton is slated to open in December. The company is also looking at foreign shores.

Things change quickly in the beer business. On October 16th, Lou Romano — then the director of marketing and wholesaler development at D.G. Yuengling Brewery — was helping the country’s oldest brewery evaluate the Massachusetts market for a possible reentrance in 2014.

The roles and responsibilities of craft beer suppliers and distributors will be under the microscope when Joe Cotroneo, the senior vice president of Crescent Crown Distributing, speaks at the Dec. 5 Brewbound Session in San Diego, Calif. In his presentation, Cotroneo, a wholesaling expert with over 25 years in the beverage industry, will outline the… Read more »

A good craft beer selection has become a key ingredient to restaurant success, a new survey has shown. Food industry consulting firm Technomic released a study today showing that craft beer selection alone is enough to draw 49 percent of consumers to a restaurant.

Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) — which produces and markets the Widmer, Kona, Redhook and Omission craft beer brands as well as Square Mile Cider — today announced that, effective January 1, 2014, Andy Thomas will take over as the company’s new CEO. Thomas, who has served as CBA’s president of commercial operations since June 2011,… Read more »

Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing today announced the hiring of Kimberly Jones, who has been named the company’s new chief financial officer, according to a release. Jones, who most recently served as vice president and corporate controller with SPANX, an Atlanta-based women’s apparel company, brings more than 15 years of executive financial and management experience to Sweetwater.

Let’s face it: the shelf space at the boutique bottle shops is full; the competition for tap handles is fierce. In order to grow a craft beer business, you’ll need to find some new stores. That’s why Brewbound is excited to welcome a trio of retail experts to the Dec. 5 Brewbound Session.