Brewbound Podcast

Peter Bissell is a sound-bite machine. When he’s not running one of Maine’s most popular craft breweries or spending quality time with his family, the energetic co-founder of Bissell Brothers — which he and brother, Noah Bissell, opened in December 2013 – is constantly learning and discovering new ways to improve the way his company conducts business. Over the years, he’s tapped into lessons from entrepreneurs such as Peter Thiel, marketers like Ryan Holiday or New York Times bestselling authors like Daniel Coyle. Those teachings have helped shape his thinking around business, consumerism and growth strategies. But maybe after Peter listens to himself on this week’s episode, he’ll consider writing a book on the business lessons he has learned while building brewing, distributing and restaurant ventures. And while most Brewbound Podcast listeners won’t be able to easily procure a four-pack of Bissell’s hazy flagship, The Substance — which has become one of the most coveted New England-style IPAs in the U.S. – they will be able to tap into some of the more notable business anecdotes he shared during our interview, which was conducted at the Bissell Brothers production facility in Portland, Maine, earlier this month. Here’s a small sampling of what to expect from Peter in episode 25: “Competition in all aspects of our life has never been higher. Someone is going to take what’s yours if you don’t keep your finger on that pulse and keep learning.” “Nothing good happens from stasis.” “The second you start settling and coasting, someone younger and hungrier than you is going to take your job.” Want to hear more? Tune into episode 25 of the Brewbound Podcast. Listen to 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 26, featuring Monday Night Brewing co-founder Jeff Heck, will be released on Thursday, March 7. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Even as the U.S. craft beer industry swells past 7,000 breweries, you’d be hard-pressed to find a startup focusing as much energy on sustainability as Sonoma County’s Seismic Brewing Company. Launched in 2017, Santa Rosa, California-based Seismic is the brainchild of Chris Jackson and Patrick Delves, former college roommates with a passion for the beer and wine industries. (Jackson’s father Jess created the well-known Kendall-Jackson wine label in 1982.) Their initial discussions about opening a brewery in late 2014 – when the segment was growing double-digits and there were half as many breweries operating – centered around the idea of building a sustainability-minded brand. “We decided, what do we want Seismic to be, at the beginning of this,” Delves said. “Two of the pillars that we build our business on are [being] uncompromising on quality, as well as being sustainable from the ground up.” As part of their effort to build out a sustainable brewery from the onset, Jackson and Delves invested in technology from Cambrian Innovation, provider of wastewater solutions to industrial producers. Located onsite at the brewery, Cambrian’s EcoVolt Mini, a water treatment system, enables Seismic to reuse industrial process water and lower its water usage rate. “Industry average is roughly six-to-seven barrels of water to one barrel of beer, and we are currently hovering around three-and-a-half to four to one,” Delves said. In episode 24 of the Brewbound Podcast, which was recorded at the end of 2018, Jackson and Delves discuss Seismic’s sustainability efforts, what it’s like to sell beer in wine country, early entrepreneurial lessons they’ve learned, and how the emerging cannabis industry could disrupt the alcohol sector, among other topics. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall talk about Anheuser-Busch InBev’s latest acquisition and discuss a pair of compromise bills in Texas that could finally give manufacturing breweries the right to sell beer to-go. Listen to episode 24 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 25, featuring Bissell Brothers Brewing co-founder Peter Bissell, will be released on Thursday, February 28. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

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].

In 1997, the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. posthumously released the chart-topping hit “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems.” Biggie’s maxim — one that speaks to the issues that can arise as profits grow — comes to mind when Russian River Brewing co-founder Natalie Cilurzo explains the difficulty of convincing early-stage investors to sell their stakes in one the world’s most highly acclaimed beer companies. “The bigger your company gets, and the more successful it becomes, and the better your cash flows, and the bigger your profits, and the bigger your dividends — the less likely you are going to have investors that want to sell out,” she said. According to Cilurzo, who co-owns the brewery with husband Vinnie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing bought most of the company’s early investors out between 2012 and 2014. At that time, craft beer sales were growing double-digits and startups were flooding the market trying to get a piece of the action. “We ended up having to pay a lot of money to successfully make them whole and buy everybody out,” she said, noting that conversations were “difficult.” In order to reclaim all of their interest in Russian River, the Cilurzos’ went to the bank and put up their “life and limb” as collateral. “We didn’t own land, and so you don’t have really valuable property,” she said. “All you have are all of your assets tied up in your business.” In episode 22 of the Brewbound Podcast, Cilurzo sits down for a wide-ranging conversation that examines the process of managing debt, buying out investors, building a $50 million brewery, exploring industry trends and more. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall discuss Anheuser-Busch’s Super Bowl LIII commercials and Sierra Nevada’s first-ever acquisition. They also give their Warm Shelf/Cold Box nominations of the week, and play a game of “Did Andy Crouch Tweet That?” Listen to episode 22 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 23, featuring Beer Advocate founders Jason and Todd Alström, will be released on Thursday, February 14. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Fergal Murray spent 31 years with Diageo Ireland, as both a Guinness master brewer and a global brand ambassador. During that time, he poured perfect pints of the iconic Irish Dry Stout for former President Barack Obama, Queen Elizabeth II, Jimmy Fallon, and Tom Cruise, among many other international dignitaries and celebrities. But his brewing industry expertise stretches far beyond the draft handle. Over the course of his more-than-three-decades career with Diageo, Murray worked alongside the global marketing and sales teams to help drive awareness of the Guinness brand, and to educate wholesalers and retailers across the world. These days, Murray is consulting for small breweries and distilleries across the world, most notably with Wachusett Brewing in Westminster, Massachusetts. On a recent trip to the U.S., Murray stopped by the Brewbound offices to chat about building brands on-premise, the emerging non-alcoholic beer trend, and the tug of war between the desire to satiate consumer demand for innovative products with the need to hone and perfect core recipes. “Every high-performance something or other comes out with something new with an improvement,” he said. “Brewer — tell me what you’ve done to make your beer better.” In episode 21 of the Brewbound Podcast, Murray discusses the changes to the American beer scene that he’s witnessed during his long career in beer, his latest collaboration with Wachusett and innovations that could drive future category growth. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall share their takeaways from the 16th Annual Beer Business Daily Summit in San Diego. Listen to episode 21 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 22, featuring Russian River Brewing co-owner Natalie Cilurzo, will be released on Thursday, February 7. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Brendan Sindell is on a mission to bridge the gap between major domestic and craft beer offerings. “I grew up drinking major domestics in college and I found myself drinking them out of habit,” he said. So Sindell created House Beer, a sleek-looking lager brand targeted to millennial consumers who “don’t want to drink their dad’s beer.” The Venice, California-based beer company, which counts Ashton Kutcher and the Winklevoss twins among its investors, only makes one product – a “premium crafted lager.” “The strategy behind just creating a sessionable craft lager in five different SKUs allows us to be extremely focused,” Sindell said. He’s betting drinkers still want to drink lager beer, despite the fact that some of the country’s largest brands – Budweiser, Heineken, Pabst, and others – are in decline. “We’re starting to get a lot more attention,” he said. “I think the rise of Modelo, [Michelob] Ultra, Pacifico, Corona has a lot to do with it. The consumer that was once drinking the big four is trading up to those beers, and that is kind of where we lie.” In episode 20 of the Brewbound Podcast, Sindell discusses House Beer’s value proposition, the company’s distribution and growth strategy, the challenges and opportunities of selling a single product offering and why his investors remain interested in the beer category despite declining volumes. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall discuss Super Bowl storylines, the closing of the Widmer taproom in Portland, Oregon, and key executive hires at Sierra Nevada and MillerCoors. They also share some social media accounts to follow and discuss the latest “Beer Twitter” debate over craft breweries using unpaid volunteers on packaging day. Listen to episode 20 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 21, featuring former Guinness brewmaster Fergal Murray, will be released on Thursday, January 31. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

Josh Landan is back in the beer business. Landan, who co-founded Saint Archer in 2013, sold the San Diego craft brewery to MillerCoors in 2015, and departed the country’s second-largest beer company in 2017, has launched a number of new startup ventures based in Southern California. Those new businesses include a craft-focused beer and wine wholesaler called Scout Distribution, and a new craft beer brand called Harland Brewing, and a wine label called Claxton Cellars. Landan is also the co-founder of Villager Goods, a company that makes non-alcoholic beverages, as well as organic kids juices and snacks. But the impetus to rejoin an ultra-crowded and intensely competitive craft beer segment was not only aimed at building new companies with his closest friends but also helping other alcohol beverage entrepreneurs avoid some of the pitfalls associated with running being a startup. “When I got into Saint Archer, I didn’t know anybody or anything,” he said. “I needed help. There were so many questions. I didn’t know anything.” In episode 19 of the Brewbound Podcast, Landan talks about his time building the Saint Archer brand and the lessons he learned as a first-time entrepreneur. He also discusses the differences between building a beer company and a non-alcoholic beverage company. Also in this episode: Brewbound editors Chris Furnari and Justin Kendall discuss the early 2019 headlines and storylines. Furnari and Kendall also make some predictions for the new year and provide an update on the Goose Island field goal challenge. Listen to episode 19 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 20, featuring House Beer founder Brendan Sindell, will be released on Thursday, January 24. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].