Brewbound Podcast

3 Tier Beverages consultant Stephanie Roatis shares the beverage alcohol segments trending up (hint, Dry January did all right) and those on the downward swing in her quarterly 3 Up, 3 Down report. In addition to soaring off-premise sales for non-alcoholic beer, imperial ciders – those clocking in at 8% ABV and above – also recorded an impressive amount of growth in scan data, as did cider producers at the regional level, Roatis said. “Cider had a super transformative 2022 – we saw a lot of the dollars shift into regional players and move away from companies like Ace and Redd’s,” she said. “Cider experienced a volume decline of about 8% last year, but regional cider saw their off-premise dollars grow 22 points since 2018. So now regional players, largely in the Pacific Northwest, are making up about 54% of the category.” On the down side of the 3 Up, 3 Down report, craft beer was flat, buoyed only by two styles: IPAs (+4.78% in the 13 weeks ending January 28) and American wheat (+1% in the same period). Eight of the segment’s top 10 styles declined in dollar sales. In addition to Roatis’ report, the Brewbound team analyzes the Drake’s-Bear Republic craft-on-craft merger, breaks down Boston Beer’s full-year earnings report, questions why one of the largest craft breweries in the U.S. isn’t making non-alcoholic beer a focus, and calls for a moratorium on the use of “drinkable.” 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].

A new year brings the return of legislative sessions across the country and a new agenda for leaders of state brewers guilds. Texas Craft Brewers Guild executive director Caroline Wallace and Iowa Brewers Guild executive director Noreen Otto share their priorities in 2023, including advocating for direct-to-consumer sales, protecting existing privileges, working with wholesalers and much more. Plus, the Brewbound team discusses the (over)hype of the Super Bowl ads, the findings from the Brewers Association’s annual packaging report and distribution moves. 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].

To celebrate the Brewbound Podcast reaching 100 episodes, Justin, Jess and Zoe break the format to see how well they know each other (or don’t) after all these years. Brewbound Insider newsletter writer Sean McNulty joins the festivities as quizmaster. The team also breaks down the latest news, including full-year off-premise IRI sales data, wholesaler consolidation, and the Fireball/Sazerac class action lawsuit. 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].

National accounts managers from Odell Brewing, Athletic Brewing, Dry Dock Brewing and JuneShine share how they’ve built their teams and grown sales through chains. This conversation took place in Denver during a live Brew Talks event prior to the Great American Beer Festival. Joining the conversation are: Athletic’s Becca Kieffer Toft, Odell’s Billy Clayton, Dry Dock’s Ryan Call and JuneShine’s Elizabeth Isenbart. They share tips and tricks and discuss the current state of play in the post-COVID-lockdown world. Plus, Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and reporter Zoe Licata review the latest news, dish on the Alliance For Women and Beer Institute meetings, and touch on why a Kroger-Albertsons supermarket mega merger matters for beer suppliers. 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].

How do you innovate at scale beyond the IPA juggernaut? With the various IPA sub-styles accounting for nearly half of off-premise craft beer sales, leaders from Dogfish Head, Sierra Nevada, Atrevida Beer Co. and 3 Tier Beverages explore where the opportunities for growth are in other beer styles and how they’re building their product mix during a Brew Talks conversation in Denver. Plus, we break some news. The Brewbound team checks in from the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s Annual Convention and shares their thoughts on the 2022 edition of the Great American Beer Festival. The team also dives into the latest news, including another deal for Reyes, this time in Hawaii, and a challenge to Hard MTN Dew’s route to market in Virginia. 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].