Brewbound Podcast

Bars, restaurants and social gathering spaces are beer’s “moneyball” opportunity, National Beer Wholesalers Association VP of analytics and chief economist Lester Jones shares during the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Jones is the first of two interviews this week. Adam and Amanda Kroener, the founders of spirits-based cocktail brand Carbliss, also join this week’s podcast to share their slow approach to brand building and goal of becoming a national brand. First, Jones explains why the on-premise channel remains the key to unlocking wins for brewers. “We can go looking for home runs all day long, but at some point, you’ve got to have the base hitters,” Jones said. “You gotta have the guys when they step up to the plate, you’re gonna move the game forward.” While placements in off-premise chains such as Walmart, Kroger, HEB, 7-Eleven and others are analogous to home runs, getting a tap handle is a solid base hit on the way to scoring, and brewers shouldn’t lose sight of those singles. Jones also discusses why he believes craft beer’s funk is potentially ending, why the ethanol pie was cut too many ways, how beer is competing for dayparts and why beer needs to bring fun and socializing back. Then, the Kroeners discuss their methodical approach to brand building and why it has worked for the family-owned and run Midwestern-based canned cocktail brand. They also dish on Carbliss’ entry into warm weather markets such as Florida and being one of the most successful brands that people have never heard of. “The fun part is, when we come out to places like Vegas, if you’re not in the industry, you’ve never heard of us,” Adam says. “But at the same time, if you’re looking at the Circana or Nielsen data, we’re a top three, four, five brand in dollars. So it is a fun, cool thing to be this biggest thing that some people have never heard of.” Before the interviews, Justin, Jess and Zoe recap the latest industry news, including Brooklyn Brewery outsourcing sales to U.S. Beverage, BeatBox’s forthcoming Chillitas line, Surfside’s lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev over Skimmers hard tea and George Clooney joining the non-alcoholic beer game. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

How does an ready-to-drink (RTD) brand that was built on the beach translate to other seasons? Surfside, Stateside Vodka’s hard iced tea and lemonade canned cocktail brand, is betting big on sports this fall. Stateside co-founders CEO Clem Pappas and president Matt Quigley joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the brand’s meteoric rise, its partnerships across college football and professional hockey and baseball and the newly rechristened Stateside Live!, an entertainment hub at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex where the city’s professional sports teams play. Year-to-date through mid-September, Surfside’s depletions (sales to retailers) reached nearly 8 million cases, about a 150% increase over last year. “We budgeted to be up about 100% on the Surfside brand, and so we’re doing a little bit better than that,” Pappas said. “As we’ve gone through the year and started to lap some bigger and bigger comps, the percentages have slowed down, but the case and the dollar gains have continued to increase, so I think overall, we’ve exceeded expectations.” Surfside rolled out in 2022 and made a bigger splash in 2023 in the brand’s hometown of Philadelphia and at the nearby Jersey Shore. With 100 calories, no carbonation and real iced tea or lemonade blended with premium vodka, Surfside stood out in a sea of hard seltzers. Strong sales trends and positive feedback in the brand’s early days gave the team the confidence it needed to ignore standard bev-alc practices of “go slow on your expansion” and “one territory at a time,” Pappas said. ​​”We really felt like we had a tiger by the tail, and we foresaw that this could be one of the next big things,” he continued. Inspiration struck during rejected sales pitches for Stateside’s vodka soda RTD, which is “extremely popular in our home market,” but failed to gain traction beyond Philadelphia because there was so much competition, Pappas said. Surfside was unlike anything other brands were introducing. “We felt like, ‘Hey, we got something, and opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, and so let’s go out and push this,’” he said. “It’s been an ambitious strategy, and it’s been difficult at times, and it hasn’t been without its stumbles, but ultimately, I think we made the right decision. “We’re in a position where everybody’s pouring into this category, it’s the hot category,” Pappas continued. “We’re in that gold rush phase of the life cycle of this category, and I’m glad we went as fast as we did, because we’d probably be boxed out of a lot of places at this point if we hadn’t.” Prior to the interview, Zoe and Jess break down recent news stories, including the abrupt shutdown of brewpub chain Iron Hill and storied cider maker Martinelli’s pivot to bev-alc. Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.

On the latest Brewbound Podcast, the Brewbound team closes the book on a lackluster selling season. Brewbound senior reporter Zoe Licata breaks down the final round of off-premise data, with a letdown from the historically sales boosting summer beer occasions. Zoe along with Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and managing editor Jessica Infante also recap the latest 3 Up, 3 Down quarterly report from 3 Tier Beverages, noting a few bright spots through the halfway point of the year, including alternative packaging styles such as smaller can formats. Plus, the team also hits the latest hot topics, including a major packaging change for Canada’s Moosehead and the ensuing consumer backlash; a Denver brewery’s closing announcement unlike any other; Iron Hill’s decision to shutter three brewpubs; recent taproom consumer trends; and Boston Beer choosing a side in the Team Conrad versus Team Jeremiah debate in an effort to tap into Gen Z culture. And a bonus: More tomato canning talk than you’d expect. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

Less has been more with BrewDog’s U.S. business over the last year and a half. On the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast, BrewDog USA chief sales and marketing officer Eric Teodoro Franco explains how the business has “done fewer things better,” leading with a focus on its core brands, which helped the brand increase volume 26% last year, to 89,084 barrels of beer, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA). “We were very, very famous and very willing to be famous for throwing a lot against the wall and seeing what would stick for many, many years,” Franco shared. “We can do that in the U.K. where you have a 50-plus share and you can develop a lot of things and trial and try new things. “In this market, we did that and it didn’t work. We’ve really taken our range plan, we’ve taken our focuses down to really doing fewer and better things.” That’s led to improved wholesaler partnerships and led to a redeployment of BrewDog’s teams to better support its core markets, Franco said. Additionally, BrewDog USA has been given the opportunity to run its operations with some autonomy from its homebase in Scotland as its U.S. leadership team has earned the trust of the global team. “We’re running things the way we need to run them,” Franco said. “Same on the food side and on the retail side of our business. “For many years, we were very much driven by what the U.K. or international bars looked like, and we would apply that narrative, if you will, or business plan to the U.S. bars. That’s gone away as well.” Franco also discusses how the exits of founders James Watt and Martin Dickie have affected the U.S. business, how the company is approaching innovation and how the company has rethought both its distribution footprint and its taproom strategy. Before the interview, Brewbound’s Justin Kendall, Jessica Infante and Zoe Lica break down the impending closure of 21st Amendment Brewery, the removal of a study from the dietary guidelines process and the challenges of making an alcoholic version of better-for-you soda. They also dig into TikTok trends and the latest grousing about Generation Z’s bar habits. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

Columbia Distributing leaders believe they’ve tapped into a pipeline for the next generation of beer industry workers. On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Columbia president and CEO Chris Steffanci, VP of sales, Portland Chris Watzig and former intern Rebecca Logan share the ins and outs of the Pacific Northwest distributor’s Beer Careers Program. Watzig and Logan offer decades-apart experience of the 10-week paid internship program, which introduces participating students to all elements of Columbia’s business and operations. Watzig entered the program in 2015 and has worked his way up the ladder over the last decade. Logan recently graduated from Oregon State University and was in the program’s 2025 cohort. The discussion covers how candidates are selected, why the company believes it’s important to invest in career development programs and what employers can learn from the emerging Gen Z workforce. Before the conversation, Justin, Jess and Zoe share their Labor Day weekend adventures, including an unexpected encounter with a sandwich-hungry seagull. The trio also cover the latest news, including Sierra Nevada’s 2026 plans and Constellation Brands’ negatively revised guidance. Listen above or on your preferred podcasting platform.

Almanac Beer got lots of people (including the hosts of this podcast!) talking earlier this summer when it announced it was ditching the word “taproom” and rechristening its Alameda, California-based location as Almanac Adventureland. There was a lot more than alliteration and snappy branding behind the move. Eschewing the “taproom” part of its name made way for Almanac to embrace all the other things it had become: a gathering space for all members of the community, whether or not they drank beer. In the fourth and final installment in the Brewbound Podcast’s Learning Lounge: Taproom Tactics series, Almanac EVP of sales Kevin Scoles details the brewery’s transformation of its own-premise location from a taproom to a full-blown, family-friendly entertainment space. With the new name, Almanac also installed kid-friendly activities for younger patrons to enjoy while their parents tasted the brewery’s offerings. Scoles explained the pivot’s purpose was to demonstrate that Almanac wasn’t merely tolerating the families who visited on weekends, it was embracing them. “We just didn’t say we’re family friendly and slap a sign on the building saying kids are welcome,” he said. “We started building sandboxes. We started adding pinball machines and arcade games. You can book out a private event space at the brewery and have a bounce house or a ball pit included in that, so I think really providing things for families to enjoy is the big part of that equation, versus just saying ‘Hey, you’re welcome to come out here.’” In addition to Scoles’ conversation with Brewbound managing editor Jess Infante, this episode highlights news from Calicraft Brewing and New England Brewing Company, as well as Brewbound reporter Zoe Licata’s trip to Chicago, and remembers New Albion Brewing co-founder Jack McAuliffe. Listen here or on your podcast platform of choice.

Worth Brewing co-owner Peter Ausenhus has some advice for fellow craft brewers looking to become innkeepers (or just short-term rental hosts): digital keypad locks and a reliable cleaner. “It’s absolutely hands-off for me,” he said of Worth’s two-bedroom apartment, which is available for rent on Airbnb. In Episode 3 of the Brewbound Podcast’s Learning Lounge: Taproom Tactics series, Ausenhus discusses the ins and outs of adding on-site accommodations to the Northwood, Iowa-based brewery. Since listing it for rent last summer, the apartment pulls in roughly $1,000 in monthly revenue. Guests have included people visiting family in the area or passing through during work trips. In addition to this week’s featured interview, Justin, Jess and Zoe recap the latest headlines, including Barrel One Collective’s new CEO, Sloop Brewing’s strategic partnership with Hendler Family Brewing, the legal drama surrounding Hulk Hogan’s Real American Beer, and an interview with the national director of Ales for ALS. Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform. And catch up the prior episodes in Brewbound’s Learning Lounge: Taproom Tactics series: How Coffee Fortified Death of the Fox’s AM/PM Business How Hard Slushies Became 10% of Red Bus Brewing’s Summer Beverage Sales