Brewbound Podcast

On the final Brewbound podcast of 2021, managing editor Jess Infante and reporter Zoe Licata discuss the top 10 most-read Brewbound stories of the year, including several stories on the incidents of misconduct, sexual harrassment and discrimination reported throughout the year, and related fallout and resignations. Other stories include the launch of some beyond beer brands (Coop Ale Works’ Sonic Hard Seltzer, Happy Dad Hard Seltzer and Truly Hard Punch), and the sunsetting of others (Coors Seltzer), as well as the world’s largest aluminum can manufacturer, Ball, announcing an increase in its minimum quantity for printed cans per SKU. The duo also discuss current industry news (which refuses to take a holiday break), and their plans (or lack thereof) for New Year’s Eve. 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 for the new year? Email [email protected]. The Brewbound Podcast will return in 2022. Happy New Year!

Agustin Ruelas and Ray Ricky Rivera join the Brewbound Podcast to discuss how the SoCal Cerveceros homebrew club is helping build a pipeline of professional brewers. Ruelas and Rivera share their own aspirations, including Ruelas’ Brewjeria Company in Pico Rivera and Rivera’s contract brewed Norwalk Brew House brand and self-distribution business. The Brewbound team also dishes on Halloween Drizly sales, the closure of Stone Brewing’s Napa outpost, and Chicago’s Pilot Project helping entrepreneurs break into the beer business. 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 about every week. Email [email protected] with questions and feedback.

After an eventful National Beer Wholesalers Association annual convention in Las Vegas, the Brewbound team debriefs on all of the middle tier issues discussed over the last week. The team also hits the latest news, including a big wholesaler acquisition in Ohio, comments to the Department of the Treasury by Reyes and others, lawsuits over terminations in New York, and questions over PepsiCo’s entry into alcohol distribution. The conversation then turns to Constellation Brands’ lack of reliance on hard seltzer. 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.

The wholesaler landscape has been shaken up in several states, as industry giants Reyes and Anheuser-Busch continue to merge, acquire and swap wholesaler businesses and distribution rights in major markets such as Chicago, California, and Indiana. This week’s edition of the Brewbound Podcast brings together industry experts to share their perspectives on what it means for smaller craft breweries and if there’s an end in sight to the disruptions. Joining this week’s panel are: Marc Sorini, general counsel for national trade group the Brewers Association Kimberly Clements, co-founder and managing partner of Pints LLC, a beverage advisory firm based in Tucson, Arizona; And Donn Bichsel, the founder of 3 Tier Beverages, a consulting firm based in Chicago. The panel weighs in on the ramifications of Reyes’ acquisition of 16.1 million cases from Monarch Beverages, merger of Windy City and Chicago Beverage Systems and other moves in California. Additionally, they weigh in on think tank pieces calling for the end of the three-tier distribution system, the role of independent wholesalers, and ways the distribution system could be evolved to better meet market demand. Listen to the episode above, or find it on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday. Email [email protected] with questions, comments or suggestions for future shows and guests.

Large beer and CPG companies are trading on the equity of their top brands to try to get a piece of the $3.49 billion hard seltzer segment. The latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast brings together industry experts to discuss new introductions from Anheuser-Busch InBev (Michelob Ultra Organic Seltzer, Bud Light Lemonade Seltzer), Mark Anthony Brands (Mike’s Hard Lemonade Seltzer), and New Belgium (Fruit Smash), as well as Molson Coors’ partnership with Coca-Cola on Topo Chico Hard Seltzer. This week’s panel features: Lester Jones, chief economist of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA); Lisa Derus, communications consultant and certified Cicerone; And Kaumil Gajrawala, managing director of equity research at Credit Suisse. The panel shares their thoughts on if these products can be incremental to existing products, potential for cannibalization and how regional players can gain a foothold in the segment. Additionally, the panel discusses the completion of Anheuser-Busch’s acquisition of Craft Brew Alliance and what it means for the world’s largest beer manufacturer’s 23 craft beer brands, the NBWA’s 83rd Annual Convention, the shortage of aluminum cans and Molson Coors’ flurry of partnerships. Listen to the episode above, or find it on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published every other Thursday. Email [email protected] with questions, comments or suggestions for future shows and guests.

A growing number of beer companies are now positioning themselves as beverage companies. Count Everett, Massachusetts-based Night Shift Brewing among those embracing the distinction. “We’ve let our creative wings go in many directions and set up the team so we can expand in many verticals,” Night Shift co-founder Rob Burns shared during the first episode of the Brewbound Podcast’s third season. “One of the driving forces is to turn Night Shift beyond just a beer company into more of a beverage company. And that’s kind of our guiding light right now.” This is a route that brewers both big (think Molson Coors) and relatively small (Deschutes Brewery) are taking. For Night Shift, the journey to becoming a beverage company started with the launch of its distribution business, Night Shift Distributing. Burns shares Night Shift’s ambitions, including a $10 million bet on building a production facility in Philadelphia, how the 7-year-old company is juggling those projects, delegating responsibilities and much more on this week’s edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Listen to the latest episode above, or find it on popular platforms such as iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published Thursdays. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].

2019 has been a transformational year for San Diego’s fast-rising Societe Brewing. Long available only on draft via its own taproom and self-distribution, Societe, which started in 2012, signed with upstart San Diego wholesaler Scout Distribution in May. Starting sometime next year, the company plans to release cans of its popular offerings, including The Pupil IPA. But those weren’t the only changes at Societe, as co-founder Travis Smith departed the company earlier this year. Societe co-founder and CEO Douglas Constantiner discusses those changes with editor Justin Kendall on this week’s edition of the Brewbound Podcast. “San Diegans want The Pupil in a can so they can take it home,” Constantiner said in the first episode of season two of the Brewbound Podcast, which was recorded during the California Craft Brewers Association’s annual Beer Summit in Long Beach this past September. “We’re doing a disservice to our own citizens to make it draft only.” Constantiner also shared the difficulties of going through a “brewery divorce,” how the company has moved forward and what it’s like to “fail and die or succeed” based on his decisions. “I like the risk,” he admitted. Constantiner also shared his personal journey from investment banking to craft brewing. Listen to Episode 1 of the Brewbound Podcast’s second season above, as well as on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, and Soundcloud. New episodes of the Brewbound Podcast are published Thursdays. For questions, comments or suggestions, please email [email protected].