Brewbound Podcast

Even as the U.S. craft beer industry swells past 7,000 breweries, you’d be hard-pressed to find a startup focusing as much energy on sustainability as Sonoma County’s Seismic Brewing Company. Launched in 2017, Santa Rosa, California-based Seismic is the brainchild of Chris Jackson and Patrick Delves, former college roommates with a passion for the beer and wine industries. (Jackson’s father Jess created the well-known Kendall-Jackson wine label in 1982.) Their initial discussions about opening a brewery in late 2014 – when the segment was growing double-digits and there were half as many breweries operating – centered around the idea of building a sustainability-minded brand. “We decided, what do we want Seismic to be, at the beginning of this,” Delves said. “Two of the pillars that we build our business on are [being] uncompromising on quality, as well as being sustainable from the ground up.” As part of their effort to build out a sustainable brewery from the onset, Jackson and Delves invested in technology from Cambrian Innovation, provider of wastewater solutions to industrial producers. Located onsite at the brewery, Cambrian’s EcoVolt Mini, a water treatment system, enables Seismic to reuse industrial process water and lower its water usage rate. “Industry average is roughly six-to-seven barrels of water to one barrel of beer, and we are currently hovering around three-and-a-half to four to one,” Delves said. In episode 24 of the Brewbound Podcast, which was recorded at the end of 2018, Jackson and Delves discuss Seismic’s sustainability efforts, what it’s like to sell beer in wine country, early entrepreneurial lessons they’ve learned, and how the emerging cannabis industry could disrupt the alcohol sector, among other topics. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall talk about Anheuser-Busch InBev’s latest acquisition and discuss a pair of compromise bills in Texas that could finally give manufacturing breweries the right to sell beer to-go. Listen to episode 24 of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Furnari and Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 25, featuring Bissell Brothers Brewing co-founder Peter Bissell, will be released on Thursday, February 28. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Fergal Murray spent 31 years with Diageo Ireland, as both a Guinness master brewer and a global brand ambassador. During that time, he poured perfect pints of the iconic Irish Dry Stout for former President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Fallon, and Tom Cruise, among many other international dignitaries and celebrities. But his brewing industry expertise stretches far beyond the draft handle. Over the course of his more-than-three-decades career with Diageo, Murray worked alongside the global marketing and sales teams to help drive awareness of the Guinness brand, and to educate wholesalers and retailers across the world. These days, Murray is consulting for small breweries and distilleries across the world, most notably with Wachusett Brewing in Westminster, Massachusetts. On a recent trip to the U.S., Murray stopped by the Brewbound offices to chat about building brands on-premise, the emerging non-alcoholic beer trend, and the tug of war between the desire to satiate consumer demand for innovative products with the need to hone and perfect core recipes. “Every high-performance something or other comes out with something new with an improvement,” he said. “Brewer — tell me what you’ve done to make your beer better.” In episode 21 of the Brewbound Podcast, Murray discusses the changes to the American beer scene that he’s witnessed during his long career in beer, his latest collaboration with Wachusett and innovations that could drive future category growth. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall share their takeaways from the 16th Annual Beer Business Daily Summit in San Diego. Listen to episode 21 of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Furnari and Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 22, featuring Russian River Brewing co-owner Natalie Cilurzo, will be released on Thursday, February 7. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Josh Landan is back in the beer business. Landan, who co-founded Saint Archer in 2013, sold the San Diego craft brewery to MillerCoors in 2015, and departed the country’s second-largest beer company in 2017, has launched a number of new startup ventures based in Southern California. Those new businesses include a craft-focused beer and wine wholesaler called Scout Distribution, and a new craft beer brand called Harland Brewing, and a wine label called Claxton Cellars. Landan is also the co-founder of Villager Goods, a company that makes non-alcoholic beverages, as well as organic kids juices and snacks. But the impetus to rejoin an ultra-crowded and intensely competitive craft beer segment was not only aimed at building new companies with his closest friends but also helping other alcohol beverage entrepreneurs avoid some of the pitfalls associated with running being a startup. “When I got into Saint Archer, I didn’t know anybody or anything,” he said. “I needed help. There were so many questions. I didn’t know anything.” In episode 19 of the Brewbound Podcast, Landan talks about his time building the Saint Archer brand and the lessons he learned as a first-time entrepreneur. He also discusses the differences between building a beer company and a non-alcoholic beverage company. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall discuss the early 2019 headlines and storylines. Furnari and Kendall also make some predictions for the new year and provide an update on the Goose Island field goal challenge. Listen to episode 19 of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Furnari and Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 20, featuring House Beer founder Brendan Sindell, will be released on Thursday, January 24. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Speaking to hundreds of attendees who traveled to Santa Monica for the Brewbound Live business conference in November, Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway addressed a number of top-of-mind issues that beer industry professionals are keeping a close eye on as they prepare to flip their calendars to 2019. Chief among them, however, was increasing consumer interest in functional or “better-for-you” products such as low- or no-alcohol beer and kombucha. “I think that opportunity is enormous,” he said. In 2016, Brooklyn Brewery sold a minority stake to Kirin Brewery. The Japanese beer producer’s parent company, Kirin Holdings, already has “a number of investments in the health and wellness space,” Ottaway noted, and Brooklyn is “having some real interesting conversations” about how the broader consumer trend toward healthier lifestyles will impact beer. “The consumer is looking for ways to improve themselves, ways to improve their health and ways to live better, and I think that space is virtually unlimited,” he said. Ottaway believes that more beer companies need to “start thinking bigger,” and look beyond beer as a means of staying competitive. “If you look at some of the more successful companies that operate in the brewing space, they are actually multi-beverage, multi-segment, multi-brand companies,” he said, pointing to Boston Beer Company, which makes alcoholic tea and seltzer products, as well as hard cider, as an example. Ottaway’s comments at Brewbound Live came just days before Brooklyn Brewery launched its first alcohol-free beer, Special Effects, in Sweden. In episode 16 of the Brewbound Podcast, Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottaway discusses the growing consumer interest in low- and no-alcohol products, the overall state of the beer business, his company’s global partnership strategy and the shrinking international opportunities for U.S. craft breweries. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall discuss the latest news, including information about Anheuser-Busch InBev’s recent partnership with Canadian cannabis company Tilray, layoffs at Oregon’s Deschutes Brewery, the Brewers Association’s “craft brewer” definition change and ongoing legal disputes for the Craft Beer Cellar retail franchise. Listen to episode 16 of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes. The episode is also available on Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Furnari and Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 17, featuring Brewery Ommegang president Doug Campbell, will be released on Thursday, January 3, 2019. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

As an increasing number of consumers shift toward more “functional’ or “better-for-you” drinks with fewer calories, small beer companies are beginning to look toward an emerging hard seltzer category as a potential driver of future growth. In the last two weeks, four craft breweries – Oskar Blues, Perrin Brewing, NoDa Brewing, and Platform Beer Company – have introduced or announced plans to bring alcoholic seltzers to the market. Although the category is dominated by larger brands such as White Claw, made by Mark Anthony Brands, or Truly Spiked & Sparkling, which is produced by Boston Beer Company, a growing number of smaller companies are now getting in on the action. One of those companies is Briggs Hard Seltzer, a Boston-area startup that is exclusively focused on the production of hard seltzer made with 100 percent real fruit. Two longtime friends, Michael Kurson and Neil Quigley, founded the company in 2016. The duo launched their first product, a cranberry-flavored hard seltzer, in 2017. The company has since rebranded and reformulated its original product and added two additional flavors — grapefruit and pineapple – to its portfolio. Earlier this year, Kurson and Quigley stopped by the Brewbound offices to sample their products and share their entrepreneurial story with our Brewbound Podcast listeners. In episode 14, Kurson and Quigley discuss the emerging alcoholic seltzer category, and the opportunities they see for a higher-end brand to gain market share. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall share the latest news, including details about layoffs at Anheuser-Busch, another update on the Trillium Brewing controversy and new data from the Brewers Association. Furnari and Kendall also celebrate the return of segments, including the debut of “Seriously, WTF?” Listen to episode 14 of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes. The episode is also available on Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Furnari and Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 15, featuring Woods Beer Company founder Jim Woods, will be released on Thursday, December 20. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

About four years ago, Hops & Grain Brewing founder Josh Hare began the process of transitioning his Austin-based craft beer company from a licensed manufacturing brewery to a brewpub. He wanted to take advantage of a new Texas law that allowed brewpubs to sell beer directly to consumers for off-premise consumption while simultaneously expanding his operation. So Hare signed a lease on an adjacent space inside the building where his brewery was located and spent nearly $80,000 on the beginning stages of an expansion while he waited for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to approve the switch. Then his request was denied. The problem? A hallway dividing his existing brewery and the new space he was planning to expand into meant that his vision of occupying the entire building would never be realized. “In the state of Texas, spaces under one permit have to be contiguous,” he said. “And that hallway created a non-contiguous space between what was our original space and what we wanted to be the new space.” So Hare opted to maintain his manufacturing permit while he spent the next two years planning another attempt. And then he was denied again. This time, Hare learned that his licensed manufacturing brewery was located in an area of Austin that was not zoned for direct-to-consumer alcohol sales. “Manufacturing is fine. Giving away free beer samples is fine. But if you are actually trying to transact, that doesn’t work unless you sell more than 51 percent of your revenue from non-alcohol sales,” he said. In episode seven of the Brewbound Podcast, Hare takes a deep dive into his company’s complicated four-year process of becoming a licensed Texas brewpub, and why he feels the state’s confusing direct-to-consumer sales laws need modernizing. Hare also discusses how he’s financed Hops & Grain’s growth, why he feels Texas beer wholesalers wield too much power and why current Texas alcohol laws make it difficult for upstart breweries to breakout. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall share the latest news and run down segments. Listen to episode seven of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes. The episode is also available on Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Furnari and Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode eight, featuring Constellation Brands’ Bill Hackett, will be released on Thursday, November 1. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].