Brewbound Podcast

Marketing and ad executives break down the winners and losers of this year’s beverage-alcohol Super Bowl ad battle. Deb Gabor, CEO of Sol Marketing, and Mario Natarelli, managing partner of MBLM, each share an industry insider’s view on the ads for Bud Light, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Michelob Ultra, Crown Royal, Remy Martin and more. Also, Brewbound reporter Zoe Licata explains the BORG (Black Out Rage Gallon) trend of mixing water, vodka and flavor packets into a gallon jug. 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 another Dry January in the books, how do non-alcoholic beer producers keep up the momentum? Partake Brewing founder and CEO Ted Fleming and Lagunitas CMO Paige Guzman share what’s next for the growing segment and discuss increased competition and what growing retailer support means for NA beer and similar offerings such as hop water. “To see these other companies come in is a testament to what Partake has done and some of the other early companies in non-alc of proving there is a market here,” Fleming said. “For the long-term, it’s good. For the short-term, there’s going to be a lot of noise. There’s definitely some concerns about whether some products are pasteurized and some are not. We’re definitely 100% of our product is pasteurized.” Over time, Fleming anticipates a “weeding out” of brands. “Right now, it’s a bit of a noisy category but in the long-term it’s going to be good to have that variety on shelf and that choice for consumers,” he added. “Any company that puts consumers first is going to do well.” Meanwhile, Guzman noted a growing interest among retailers this January. “In our category, it’s kind of hard to do anything until the retailers are on board, and we saw more non-alc, Dry January portfolio programs or industry-wide programs than we’ve seen before,” she said. “We saw a lot of major retailers putting big space in their ad circulars and displays as well.” All of those efforts, plus marketing investments from suppliers, are helping build awareness for non-alc producers. “As you invest in awareness and visibility tactics with consumers, you’re solving a problem that’s out there, and that’s where the magic happens,” Guzman said. Also in this episode, Brewbound reporter Zoe Licata provides a field report from the 2023 CiderCon conference in Chicago. 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].

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].

Simply Spiked – the hard lemonade Molson Coors launched this summer in partnership with Coca-Cola – has taken the FMB corner of the bev-alc world by storm. Joy Ghosh, VP of marketing for above premium brands and FMBs at Molson Coors, joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the company’s launch strategy, new campaigns and plans to recruit new drinkers. Plus, the Brewbound team breaks down July 4 off-premise sales and craft beer at the midpoint of 2022. Listen to 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].  

Convergence is all the rage as big beverage companies (Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Monster) dive into bev-alc and lean into becoming “total beverage” producers. Nik Modi, managing director for RBC Capital, and Marty Caballero, editor for BevNet (Brewbound’s sister publication), join the Brewbound podcast to discuss the latest beverage partnerships, what has caused the trend, and if a “complete collapse” of the lines between bev-alc and non-alc is ahead. RBC Capital has been writing about beverage convergence since 2016, and Modi noted he was surprised the large partnerships that are occurring didn’t happen sooner. He credits part of the reason why it’s happening now to companies with large market share in their core beverage categories needing to look elsewhere for growth. “It’s about increasing your use occasions and being more dynamic,” Caballero added. And the blurring lines between beverage categories is just the beginning. “If you were going to ask me what is going to happen in 2032, do I think that we’re going to see combinations of beverage and food companies? Absolutely, no question,” Modi said. “And I think cannabis potentially could bind them.” In this episode, the Brewbound team discusses some of this year’s Super Bowl ads, their fear of robots, and Twisted Tea’s new year-round marketing strategy. Listen to 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 leaders from Dogfish Head, New Belgium and Bell’s will do something refreshingly novel: talk about beer (no, not hard seltzer). During the final Brew Talks meetup of 2021, Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione, New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer and Bel’s executive vice president Carrie Yunker will discuss strategies for their brewers’ flagships and core offerings, such as 60 Minute IPA, Fat Tire Amber Ale and Two Hearted Ale. The second Brew Talks conversation will discuss how brands can forge meaningful connections with legal drinking age members of Generation Z. Panelists include Crowns & Hops co-founder Teo Hunter, New Belgium senior brand manager Dave Knospe and COOP Ale Works marketing director Mary Ann Caram. The Brewbound team also discusses Deschutes’ new partnership with the Pac-12 Conference, a lawsuit minority shareholders have filed against New Glarus Brewing and CEO Deb Carey, and Los Angeles-based hard seltzer brand Nectar’s leveraging of TikTok. Listen to the episode above and on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday. Check Brewbound’s upcoming events schedule for future podcast episodes and streaming video programming. Email [email protected] with questions and feedback.