A selection of beers from Cisco Brewers recently began cropping up at retail locations in Southern California and Nevada. The Nantucket, Mass.-based beer company began sending its beer farther west in mid-March after leveraging an existing distribution arrangement with the L. Knife & Son wholesale network.

Today is your last chance to take advantage of the early registration discount for Brewbound Session Spring ’13. With an emphasis on the business of beer, the one-day conference provides an excellent opportunity to learn marketing, investment, and distribution strategies, as well as hear case studies of successful brands in a highly collaborative atmosphere.

As craft continues to grow up, an increasing number of small brewery owners — especially those who’ve been in business for more than 20 years — are starting to look for the exit. That means that succession planning is more top-of mind than ever for aging brewery owners looking to retire and cash in on… Read more »

The evolving relationship between craft brewers and their wholesale distributors will be on tap for discussion when Craig Purser, the president and CEO of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) speaks at the Brewbound Session on May 2 in Boston.

While the growth of the craft brewing industry — it’s now north of 2,400 brewers — had many observers at last week’s Craft Brewers Conference fearing a shakeout, J.B. Shireman remains bullish. It’s an opinion that carries some weight because, come May, Shireman, the vice president of craft services for First Beverage Group, will have… Read more »

For the craft beer industry to further germinate and wrest greater market share from domestic beer, brewers will have to identify channels that are either untapped or not yet fully realized. Bill Pecoriello, CEO of GuestMetrics, argued at the Craft Brewers Conference last week in Washington D.C. that the on-premise arena — and especially casual… Read more »

Wirtz Beverage, Illinois’ newest craft beer distributor, will discuss brand building and best practices in craft beer distribution during Brewbound’s next Brew Talks event, which will be held on April 9 in Chicago. The event will be streaming live online starting at 8pm EST for those who are unable to attend in Chicago. Beer industry… Read more »

Nearly everyone attending the 2013 Craft Brewers Conference could tell you: The craft beer space has become more competitive than ever. But amidst the noise about growth, there are trends — consumer, industry, cultural — that are helping to influence demand. Brewbound’s correspondents, in an effort to get beyond growth statistics and stories of sharp… Read more »

An apple a day couldn’t keep Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) away from the cider business. CBA – which already markets the Kona Brewing, Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing and Omission beer brands – today announced the launch of Square Mile Cider Company.

After nearly going bankrupt in 2001, Founders has, in the last five years, become one of the fastest growing craft beer companies in the U.S. In 2008, Founders made less than 12,000 barrels of beer. In 2013, the company expects that number to grow to 135,000.

There is still time to take advantage of early registration pricing for the Spring Brewbound Session – a one-day conference on the business of craft beer – taking place on May 2 in Boston. A discounted rate of $599 has been extended through Friday, April 5.

“Before you get married to somebody, I think you want to meet their in-laws,” said Joe Cekola, president of Imperial Beverage, a craft beer distributor based in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Shifting rather neatly, the craft beer industry continues to grow as colossal brands lose market share. Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association, explained this shift at Wednesday’s opening reception for the Craft Brewers Conference in Washington D.C. Gatza said he wasn’t surprised by the growth, which has been a year-to-year truth at this conference, however he also said that he’s encouraged by the 0.9 percent volume growth of the overall U.S. beer industry