Brewbound Podcast

More signs of the times keep coming in the beer industry, with consolidations, expansions, production shifts and IP sales. Jess, Zoe and Justin reconvene to discuss the latest industry shakeups at Made by the Water, Young Lion, Other Half, RiverWalk, Ipswich and Anchor. Plus, the team shares whether they’ll be participating in Drinksgiving/Blackout Wednesday and looks at the latest Circana convenience store scans, with New Belgium Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA passing Molson Coors’ Blue Moon Belgian White. The show wraps with a game of Another Round or Tabbing Out on the influx of new non-alcoholic beer brands from regional breweries and large-scale marketing activations in the wake of Heineken’s big F1 spend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Listen above and on all popular podcast platforms.

Short’s Brewing CEO Scott Newman-Bale joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the Bellaire Inn, the brewery’s solution to the workforce housing crunch in its northern Michigan home. Thanks to the inn, Short’s was able to remain fully staffed through its busy summer season. Plus, Zoe and Jess break down the week’s news, including Boston Beer’s new vodka-based hard tea, Great Frontier Holdings’ acquisition of Ecliptic Brewing and New Belgium’s new CEO. Listen to the conversation on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google Play and Spotify. Send questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast to [email protected].

In turbulent times, the supply chain rollercoaster delivers more chills than thrills. Fear not – Agrowgate partners Tim Near and David Van Wees joined Justin on the Brewbound Podcast this week to break down everything craft beverage producers need to know. This year, harvests of oats and other grains were down, which could potentially increase costs. Some Pacific Northwest hop farmers have removed acreage of certain varieties, but hop yield declines were not “as severe as maybe would have been thought about last winter,” Near said. “We’ve seen some of the large aroma varieties have a fairly significant reduction in acreage – Citra, Mosaic would be a couple good examples there,” he said. “We’ve also seen acreage being added back in some of the more classic bittering varieties. Columbus, Tomahawk, Zeus actually had acreage increases this year.” One bright spot for bev-alc producers? Aluminum cans are in “ample supply,” and after last year’s record-high prices, there should be “some softening on aluminum prices, or at least some stability.” Plus, Zoe and Jess detail the week’s news, including quarterly earnings reports from Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch InBev, Smuttynose’s parent company’s acquisition of Five Boroughs and Great Divide and Dry Dock Brewing’s new strategic partnership. Listen to the conversation on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google Play and Spotify. Send questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast to [email protected].

Hard tea and spritzer brand Loverboy is getting into the non-alcoholic space with a pair of 6-packs: lemon iced tea and white tea peach. Loverboy SVP of sales Derek Hahm and SVP of commercial strategy Todd Anderson discussed the launch of the brand, and how it will be incorporated into the Bravo reality series. Hahm and Anderson also discuss Loverboy’s goals in the hard tea category, the advantage of working with a Bravolebrity and Loverboy’s strategy of working with beer wholesalers. Listen to the conversation on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google Play and Spotify. Send questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast to [email protected].

Bernstein Autonomous analysts Nadine Sarwat and Trevor Stirling share what they know so far about Ozempic, Wegovy and other diet/diabetes drugs’ effect on alcoholic beverage consumption. Sarwat and Stirling break down why these drugs have entered popular culture conversations, what users are saying about their cravings, comparisons to past diet trends and much more. Also, Jess, Zoe and Justin discuss the latest news, including promotions at Rhinegeist, the failed union effort at Creature Comforts and non-alcoholic beer reaching its limit at retail. Listen to the conversation on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google Play and Spotify. Send questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast to [email protected].

The Brewbound team reconvenes and debriefs following the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s Annual Convention. Zoe and Justin give a field report on the convention, including the issues at the forefront of wholesalers’ minds, the products sampled on the floor and the vibe at the Alliance for Women in Beer and BREW Making Moves event. The team also plays Another Round or Tabbing Out on Welch’s entering the bev-alc chat, kegged espresso martinis and beverages for raging and raving. Listen to the conversation on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google Play and Spotify. Send questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast to [email protected].

It’s National Cider Month and the team at Seattle-based Schilling Hard Cider is “excidered.” Co-founder and CEO Colin Schilling, CCO Eric Phillips and EVP of marketing Rachel Thomas join the Brewbound team to discuss the cidery’s participation in National Cider Month, as well as its debut at the Great American Beer Festival and a retail activation with Whole Foods. To mark the fourth annual National Cider Month, Thomas led the development of a brand agnostic website with drinker education and an events page for participating cideries. October was selected for National Cider Month because it’s also National Apple Month. “It’s harvest season, apples are on folks’ minds, and if you look at the data over the last couple years [cider sales] over indexes naturally anyway,” Colin Schilling said. “That’s because of the harvest season, the change in weather. People are looking for a beverage like cider. So it’s really the perfect time to do it. “We’re so excited this year to be able to bring along so many other folks in our industry and give other people a platform,” he continued. Plus, Zoe, Justin and Jess break down recent headlines – including Molson Coors’ Happy Thursday hard refresher, the Beer Institute’s annual meeting and Duvel USA’s 2024 innovation slate – and sample hop-infused chocolate during Another Round or Tabbing Out. Listen to the conversation on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google Play and Spotify. Send questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast to [email protected].