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.

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].

Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. president and CEO Chris Swonger joins to break down the opportunities canned cocktails are creating for beverage-alcohol companies. Swonger also pushes back against the beer industry’s stance against expanded market access and lower excise taxes for these products. Also, Justin and Zoe recount the latest Anchor Brewing news, including brewery workers’ bid to buy the company and the response from Sapporo’s spokesperson. Zoe recaps July 4 data in both the on-premise and off-premise channels. Finally, Justin and Zoe close out the show with a game of Another Round or Tabbing Out on Walmart’s unique UPC mandate for seasonals and variety packs, and an e-commerce platform’s marketing target of tallboys. Listen to the conversation on popular podcast platforms, including Apple, Google Play and Spotify. Have questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast? Email [email protected].

On this special bonus episode of the Brewbound podcast, the Brewbound team talks with Full Circle Brewing and Societe Brewing live at the California Craft Beer Summit in Sacramento. Full Circle marketing manager Adam Band and brewer Mike Sumaya talk about what’s changed at the Fresno, California-based, Black-owned brewery since new ownership took over in 2016. The duo also discuss the success of building a community through crowdfunding, and the strategy behind the company’s unique distribution map. Societe Brewing co-founder and CEO Doug Constantiner discusses how the San Diego brewery has changed over its decade of life and how the company keeps things fresh while maintaining its core value to “make great beer.” Plus, Constantiner gives an update on the state of craft in California and the biggest challenges brewers are facing now. Listen to both conversations in-full in the episode above, and on popular podcast platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Have questions, feedback or ideas for the podcast? Email [email protected]

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].