Brewbound Podcast

Convergence is all the rage as big beverage companies (Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Monster) dive into bev-alc and lean into becoming “total beverage” producers. Nik Modi, managing director for RBC Capital, and Marty Caballero, editor for BevNet (Brewbound’s sister publication), join the Brewbound podcast to discuss the latest beverage partnerships, what has caused the trend, and if a “complete collapse” of the lines between bev-alc and non-alc is ahead. RBC Capital has been writing about beverage convergence since 2016, and Modi noted he was surprised the large partnerships that are occurring didn’t happen sooner. He credits part of the reason why it’s happening now to companies with large market share in their core beverage categories needing to look elsewhere for growth. “It’s about increasing your use occasions and being more dynamic,” Caballero added. And the blurring lines between beverage categories is just the beginning. “If you were going to ask me what is going to happen in 2032, do I think that we’re going to see combinations of beverage and food companies? Absolutely, no question,” Modi said. “And I think cannabis potentially could bind them.” In this episode, the Brewbound team discusses some of this year’s Super Bowl ads, their fear of robots, and Twisted Tea’s new year-round marketing strategy. Listen to the episode above and on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Have questions, feedback, or ideas for podcast guests or topics? Email [email protected].

The Brewbound team takes on the “Numerator Challenge” in an effort to better understand the differences in the consumption behaviors of Generation Z and millennial drinkers. The team also discusses Boston Beer Company’s tie up with Beam Suntory, gets hit with breaking Reyes news, and dabbles in the various cannabis news of the week. Listen to the episode above and on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday (or so). Check Brewbound’s upcoming events schedule for future podcast episodes and streaming video programming. Email [email protected] with questions and feedback.

This week’s edition of the Brewbound Podcast features a conversation from the first virtual Brew Talks meetup of 2021 about the road to recovery a year into the pandemic. Guests include: Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head co-founder; Julie Verratti, co-founder, Denizens Brewing; Associate Administrator of Field Operations, U.S. Small Business Administration; John Lane, co-owner, Winking Lizard Tavern; Amy Gutierrez, category manager – Beer & DSO Beverage, BevMo! The panel discusses how their businesses are performing a year later, the challenges and opportunities ahead, the government assistance available to small business owners, and much more. Before the featured conversation, Brewbound’s Justin Kendall and Jess Infante discuss Boston Beer Company’s north of the border foray into cannabis. Editor’s Note: The news portion of this show was recorded before the fallout from widespread reports of harassment, abuse and toxic workplaces within the beer industry came to light. Listen to the episode above and on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday. Check Brewbound’s upcoming events schedule for future podcast episodes and streaming video programming. Email [email protected] with questions and feedback.

In early November, Canadian cannabis company Aphria struck a $300 million deal to acquire Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing Company — the maker of the 420 Extra Pale Ale brand and other cannabis-themed products. This week’s edition of the Brewbound Podcast discusses the opportunities and challenges ahead for the combined company, the size of the cannabeer market and more with: Liz Connors, director of analytics for Headset, a firm that tracks cannabis data and analytics; Rick Maturo, associate director of client services for the cannabis practice at Nielsen; And Sean McNulty, host of the Selling Craft Beer podcast. McNulty and the Brewbound team also discuss growing e-commerce player goPuff’s deal to acquire BevMo, Tree House branching out in Massachusetts, Mark Anthony investing in another production facility to make White Claw, Diageo recalling Guinness 0.0 and more. Listen to the episode above, or find it on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday. Email [email protected] with questions, comments or suggestions for future shows and guests.

More than two decades ago, Keith Villa sat in a room with Coors Brewing executives and glasses of a cloudy, Belgian-style white ale. Some thought it smelled like lemon Pledge. Others thought the beer’s appearance would prevent consumers from buying it. “They tasted it, and they did not like it,” he said. “And from that point forward, they tried to kill off Blue Moon.” In hindsight, it’s probably a good thing Coors leadership — which had paid for Villa to earn his PhD in Belgium (at a cost of just $98 per year, at the time) — didn’t discontinue Blue Moon, because today it’s the largest craft brand in the country. According to Villa — who recently joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss his 32 years of brewing at MillerCoors, and his latest venture, Ceria Beverages — Coors executives tried to do away with the Blue Moon brand multiple times in the early days. That forced him to get creative. “So I created that orange slice garnish in 1997, because Blue Moon had been discontinued in quite a few places,” he said, noting that many grocery stores actually removed the product from their shelves because it wasn’t selling. Villa’s experience of building a brand from the ground up, and finding unique ways to garner interest and support, is proving valuable in his latest venture, Ceria Beverages, a line of cannabis-infused beers. “It is almost like rebirthing Blue Moon,” he said. In episode 37 of the Brewbound Podcast, Villa discusses his days of brewing and selling the iconic Blue Moon brand, and shares his outlook for the future of cannabis-infused drinks. Listen to episode 37 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 Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 38, featuring Steve Fechheimer, the CEO of New Belgium Brewing, will be released on Thursday, May 30. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Iron Hill Brewery, which opened its first brewpub in 1996, is considering a sizable expansion that would grow the company’s footprint to 50 locations. “We’re going to get far past 20 [locations] by 2020, but that’s our first milestone,” Iron Hill CEO Kim Boerema shared during a recent interview for the Brewbound Podcast. “We have ambitions to look all the way from Atlanta to Boston,” he added, noting that the company would identify locations located primarily on the East Coast. If and when it does reach 50 locations across more than just four states – it currently operates 16 locations throughout Delaware, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and New Jersey – the company will be in the “logistics business,” according to Boerema. But even when Iron Hill expanded with a second location, the business changed considerably, founder Mark Edelson said. “It’s the only time in the history of your business where, overnight, you will double your business,” he said. “You all of a sudden have twice as much work to do, and you’re not ever prepared for it. So it’s always the biggest tipping point,” he added. That’s a relevant lesson for today’s taproom-focused brewery owners, many of whom are considering business models built around multiple locations. And when companies do make the jump from a single outpost, into a second or third location, Edelson suggests spending extra time training staff so everything runs smoothly from Day One. In episode 36 of the Brewbound Podcast, Edelson and Boerema discuss the opportunities and challenges of running a brewpub chain at a time when brewery taprooms have become so popular, and explain how they see the taproom-focused business model evolving. Listen to episode 36 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 Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode 37, featuring Keith Villa, the creator of Blue Moon and the founder of cannabis-infused beer company Ceria Beverages, will be released on Thursday, May 23. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected]. Show Notes: 0:00 – 23:10: Furnari and Justin Kendall introduce episode 36 and discuss the latest news 23:30 – 51:40: Furnari interviews Mark Edelson and Kim Boerema 51:40 – 1:15:51: Furnari and Kendall share their takeaways from the interview and rundown segments

The Brewers Association’s official assessment of 2018 craft production growth, brewery openings and closings, and other industry statistics won’t be released for a couple of weeks, but Brewbound Podcast listeners can get a sneak peek at the numbers in this week’s episode. BA chief economist Bart Watson joined Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall in late January to share a few high-level insights, including his projections for 2018 and beyond. Based on the data available at the time of the interview, Watson said he expects beer production at BA-defined craft breweries to grow by about 4 percent in 2018, to more than 26 million barrels. He also projected that between 7,400 and 7,500 breweries operated in all or part of 2018 and that roughly 1,000 new breweries opened their doors last year. “If I had to project for 2019, I would project something pretty similar — about 1,000 openings,” he said. Nevertheless, about 3.5 percent of U.S. craft breweries shuttered in 2018, and Watson estimated the number of closures to be about 250. That figure would be an increase from the 165 breweries that closed their doors in 2017. “We haven’t seen a number spike up into the 500 or 1,000 range and so openings are still going to outpace closings, I think about four-to-one this year,” he said. But moving forward, Watson expects the brewery closings figure to rise, and potentially match the number of openings. “Next year, I’d probably think 300 or 350, and then a few more the year after that, until we see that opening and closing rate really pull back together like we saw in the late ’90s and early 2000s,” he said. In episode 28 of the Brewbound Podcast, Watson shares his early 2018 analysis and discusses the circumstances that have led to an increasing number of brewery closures in recent years. He also answers questions about the BA’s revised craft brewer definition, and the possible future impact of legal recreational cannabis on the alcohol segment. Listen to episode 28 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 29, featuring Allagash Brewing founder Rob Tod, will be released on Thursday, March 28. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected]. Show Notes: 0:00 – 17:50: Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall introduce episode 28 and discuss the latest legislative and leadership updates in the beer industry. 18:50 – 53:50: Furnari and Kendall interview Bart Watson. 53:50 – 1:04:38: Furnari and Kendall share their takeaways from the interview and run down segments.