Brewbound Podcast

BeerAdvocate founders Jason and Todd Alström are “planning for the end” of their company’s print publication. Launched in 2006, BeerAdvocate Magazine has long served as one of the country’s premier print publications covering an array of topics that beer industry professionals and enthusiasts alike have come to enjoy. Along the way, the magazine has established itself as a reputable platform for beer writers such as Andy Crouch, Ken Weaver, and Joshua Bernstein, among many others, to not only hone their skills as writers and develop their personal brands but also to share compelling stories from all corners of the craft beer community. But rising production costs have forced the Alströms to begin preparing for what they said in late 2017 was inevitable — the shift to an exclusively digital publication. In anticipation of that eventual change, in 2018, the Alströms moved from a monthly to a quarterly publication and raised the subscription price. However, those changes weren’t enough to help BeerAdvocate avoid ceasing publication of its print magazine, a fate All About Beer, Draft Magazine and Celebrator Beer News have already come to terms with. The reality, according to Todd Alström, is that costs associated with running a print publication are high, and advertising revenue is dwindling. “The last year has been a struggle,” he said. “Advertisers are moving away from it, so we have to as well.” As BeerAdvocate, which was established in 1996, prepares for the eventual end of its print publication, the Alströms have begun focusing more energy and investment behind their beer festivals, a key revenue driver for their company. They’re also preparing to overhaul the BeerAdvocate website and launch a new mobile app. In episode 23 of the Brewbound Podcast, Jason and Todd Alström sit down for a discussion about the business of beer festivals, the future of print journalism within beer, A-B InBev’s investment in competitor beer ratings website RateBeer, and what it’s like to be at the center of a controversy that is unfolding on the BeerAdvocate forum. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall discuss forthcoming acquisitions by a well-funded cannabis company, brewery closures in Portland, Oregon, and the disturbing allegations of sexual misconduct by the owner of a small craft brewery in Ohio. Listen to episode 23 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 24, featuring Seismic Brewing’s Chris Jackson and Patrick Delves, will be released on Thursday, February 21. 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].

Lost Abbey co-founder Tomme Arthur has been making world-class beer for the last 22 years. When he launched San Diego’s Port Brewing and The Lost Abbey in 2006, there were around 1,400 breweries in the United States. It’s 12 years and nearly 5,600 breweries later, and the industry in his own backyard – and across the country – is somewhat unrecognizable. “For me, it has been personally difficult because there are so many people operating breweries that I don’t know at the same high level that I used to,” he told Brewbound. “It’s made it a little bit challenging for us as a brewery to be as collaborative as we used to be, because I don’t know everybody by a first name basis, or their stories, or I haven’t connected with exactly how they came to be.” The sheer amount of new craft breweries that have opened their doors since Arthur entered the business has created growth challenges, and it’s also caused Arthur to think critically about the ways in which the craft beer industry is evolving and innovating. “If everyone is making a beer that has no sense of space or place, how are we supposed to identify why it’s regionally important or otherwise?” he asked. “There has, all of a sudden, become this ‘it doesn’t matter where it comes from, it just has to participate,’” he added. “And as long as you participate, you’re going to get paid. And I don’t feel like the industry should be a part of a thing that says, ‘I just need to catch my dollars on this, so I can move along to the next thing.’” In the third episode of the Brewbound Podcast, Arthur joins Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall in a wide-ranging discussion on the state of innovation within the beer category, the challenge of creating new drinking occasions, and the characteristics of breweries that will succeed and survive a potential shakeout. Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper also joined the audio broadcast to discuss his possible presidential bid in 2020, the impact of steel and aluminum tariffs on small businesses, an emerging cannabis industry and the evolution of the craft beer category since he opened Denver’s Wynkoop Brewing in 1988. Following those interviews, Furnari and Kendall introduce two new segments — “First One’s Free,” and “Beer Twitter.” You can listen to episode three of the Brewbound Podcast above, as well as on iTunes. The episode is also available on Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud, among other listening platforms. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast, which is co-hosted by Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall, are published every Thursday. Episode four, featuring Braxton Brewing co-founder Jacob Rouse, will be released on Thursday, Oct. 4. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].