Brewbound Podcast

The Brewbound team is joined by Beer Marketer’s Insights senior editors David Steinman and Christopher Shepard to put a bow on 2022. They discuss the most impactful stories of 2022, the blurring of beverage lines, supplier and wholesaler M&A and much more. Listen to the full interview in 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 and Insider newsletter writer Sean McNulty discuss the most-read stories on Brewbound.com in 2022, including the sale of Stone Brewing to Sapporo, the annual Brewers Association rankings of the top craft breweries by volume, and more. Then, McNulty takes the mic and quizzes Justin, Jess and Zoe and drags a few predictions out of them. Listen to the full interview in 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].

Opening a brewery in any year is a challenge. In 2022, amid inflation, rising cost of goods and labor shortages, what’s it like to try to move from brewery-in-planning to open with a full taproom? Sarah Real and Mike Dell’Aquila, the co-founders of Hot Plate Brewing, share their experience and the challenges they’ve faced in trying to open a brewery Western Massachusetts before the end of the year. Real shared that equipment costs jumped from when they shopped to when they signed the contract to buy. “When we got our first quote in the spring of 2021 to when we signed our contract for the equipment in February 2022, steel went from $1.50 a pound to $6.50 a pound,” she said. “That’s ridiculous. We’re essentially paying for an extra fermenter that we’re not getting.” Dell’Aquila, who is handling the marketing for the new brewery, added that one challenge will be drawing people to downtown Pittsfield. “We’re going to live and die by taproom sales,” he said. “So there’s going to be this need to drive people to our taproom and also for locals to drive that behavior change back to coming downtown.” Listen to the full interview in 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].

Jet lagged but (mostly) unbroken, the Brewbound team regrouped following the Brewbound Live business conference to recap the event. Jess, Zoe and Justin share their favorite parts of the event and recount the latest news stories. Listen to the full interview in 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].

With its 2022 Pitch Slam competition just days away, the Brewbound team caught up with past winners of the Shark Tank-like competition held annually at the Brewbound Live business conference. Lunar Hard Seltzer co-founder Sean Ro discusses his company’s growth since its 2020 victory. Then, Crowns and Hops co-founders Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter, winners of the 2019 competition, share where they are in the process of opening a 14,000 sq. ft. brewery and restaurant and dish on the roll out of their new e-commerce platform. Listen to the full interview in 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 rounds up the latest news heading into the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, including Allagash’s 2023 plans, layoffs at Odell Brewing, Molson Coors exiting a pair of partnerships, and much more. Editor’s Note: This episode was recorded before it was widely known that Atrevida Beer Co. co-founder Rich Fierro was the person who helped subdue the shooter at Club Q mass shooting that left five people dead and 19 injured in Colorado Springs, Colorado. We send our deepest condolences to the Fierro family as they recover from injuries sustained in the shooting and mourn the loss of daughter Kassy’s boyfriend Raymond Green Vance, as well as the families of other victims. Listen to the full interview in 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].

Nearly four months after the completion of the sale of Stone Brewing to Sapporo, Stone CEO Maria Stipp joins the Brewbound Podcast to share how the integration process is progressing, when the first Sapporo beers produced at Stone’s U.S. facilities will hit the market, the expansion of the Buena family into spirits-based canned cocktails, and what’s next in 2023. Stipp told Brewbound that the two companies got off to a “fast start” with the integration process, which started with sales and marketing. Stone will begin brewing Sapporo beers at its facilities in Escondido, California, and Richmond, Virginia, in December. Stipp said the brewery has achieved flavor match with the Sapporo’s beers imported from Japan, and she expects the first Stone-produced Sapporo beers to begin hitting retail shelves by Q3 2023. Although wholesaler alignment is typically a next step following the sale of a brewery, Stipp reaffirmed that the craft brewery’s beer will continue to be distributed by Stone Distribution in Southern California. (Stone Distribution was carved out of the sale of the brewery operations.) Stipp added that in markets like Chicago and Florida, the Stone brand has been traded for the rights to Bell’s Brewery’s brands, as New Belgium works to align distribution of those two brands. Stipp stressed that continued growth for the Stone beer brands outside of the combination with Sapporo remains important moving forward. “We’re looking at continued growth for Stone,” Stipp said. “We’ve got a solid three-year plan on what we’re looking to do and how to accomplish that. We have focused on our core brands … over the last couple of years, which is somewhat different from how Stone has operated in the past. We’re putting in a lot of time and effort on our brand families, with Delicious and with Buena. And it’s working, and we’ve been very disciplined in our pricing approach as well.” Stipp added that Stone has had to acknowledge that there are consumers who have either never tried its beer or who have not had it recently. “We know that by adding Buenaveza [Salt & Lime Lager], we brought in new fans,” she said. “And that’s good news, and so we want to continue to do that, but we also want to make sure that we don’t forget about our core consumer, the people who have been there for us for years. Among the priorities for Stone in 2023 are a refreshed Delicious brand family and the Buena family, which has been extended beyond the lager brand to include Buenavida Hard Seltzers and Buenafiesta, a line of spirits-based canned cocktails recently launched in the Southern California market. Those brands are about opening the Stone brand up to “new fans.” “We’re really being thoughtful about what we’re bringing in that’s new, to not only have the craft beer drinker be excited but to maybe people who don’t drink IPAs or other kinds of craft beer,” she said. “We’ve made Buenaveza our No. 1 priority for the last few years, and it’s become our No. 3 brand overall and our No. 1 draft brand,” she continued. “This coming year, we’ve pivoted to refreshing our Delicious IPA brand with new packaging, a new look, and a mix pack with two additional flavors. And that will be a big driver for us in 2023.” Listen to the full interview in 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].