Brewbound Podcast

Bars, restaurants and social gathering spaces are beer’s “moneyball” opportunity, National Beer Wholesalers Association VP of analytics and chief economist Lester Jones shares during the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Jones is the first of two interviews this week. Adam and Amanda Kroener, the founders of spirits-based cocktail brand Carbliss, also join this week’s podcast to share their slow approach to brand building and goal of becoming a national brand. First, Jones explains why the on-premise channel remains the key to unlocking wins for brewers. “We can go looking for home runs all day long, but at some point, you’ve got to have the base hitters,” Jones said. “You gotta have the guys when they step up to the plate, you’re gonna move the game forward.” While placements in off-premise chains such as Walmart, Kroger, HEB, 7-Eleven and others are analogous to home runs, getting a tap handle is a solid base hit on the way to scoring, and brewers shouldn’t lose sight of those singles. Jones also discusses why he believes craft beer’s funk is potentially ending, why the ethanol pie was cut too many ways, how beer is competing for dayparts and why beer needs to bring fun and socializing back. Then, the Kroeners discuss their methodical approach to brand building and why it has worked for the family-owned and run Midwestern-based canned cocktail brand. They also dish on Carbliss’ entry into warm weather markets such as Florida and being one of the most successful brands that people have never heard of. “The fun part is, when we come out to places like Vegas, if you’re not in the industry, you’ve never heard of us,” Adam says. “But at the same time, if you’re looking at the Circana or Nielsen data, we’re a top three, four, five brand in dollars. So it is a fun, cool thing to be this biggest thing that some people have never heard of.” Before the interviews, Justin, Jess and Zoe recap the latest industry news, including Brooklyn Brewery outsourcing sales to U.S. Beverage, BeatBox’s forthcoming Chillitas line, Surfside’s lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev over Skimmers hard tea and George Clooney joining the non-alcoholic beer game. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

One thing Josh Penney noticed after moving to Brooklyn from Los Angeles late last fall – aside from markedly less sunny weather – was a broader diversity in beer styles across brewery taprooms. “It seemed to be a wider range of things that were really appealing to everybody,” he said. “Because out on the West Coast, you might have a robust porter, but then you have, like, six different IPAs.” Penney is the head brewer at Brooklyn-based Threes Brewing, a role he took on last year after leaving Los Angeles’ Highland Park Brewing. He joins this week’s Brewbound Podcast to share insights gleaned from his bicoastal brewing career, which kicked off in earnest more than a decade ago with a honeymoon-turned-road trip to attend the UC Davis Brewing Program. Penney, his wife Meg and their late dog Bronson (a very good boy) trekked from Massachusetts to California with a camper in tow. In addition to Penney’s pleasant surprise at New York’s varied beer taste, he is also delighted by craft lagers’ moment in the proverbial sun. Lagers make up about 75% of Threes’ portfolio, and almost all non-hazy recipes use lager yeast, Penney said. “It’s nice to be able to have beers like that that are really well-made,” he said. “Those, in my opinion, are the ones that really show your prowess as a brewer, because you can’t really hide behind roasted malts and crazy dry hopping or adjuncts or anything like that. It’s all about the fermentation and selection of your ingredients and making sure that they all coexist in a peaceful way.” Before the interview, the Brewbound team breaks down Molson Coors’ latest corporate restructuring and dives into the scuttlebutt surrounding that ornery New York Times op-ed about one writer’s personal issues with craft beer. Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.

The Brewbound team recaps the 2025 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and the start of the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) Annual Convention and trade show, on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, recorded in Las Vegas. Jess and Zoe share their experiences at GABF, including which legacy craft brewery brought the Party Bomb; festivalgoers’ reception for full-strength spirits; the return of timed special pours; mixing Pop Rocks and BeatBox; and the flamboyant embrace of costumes. The conversation shifts to NBWA convention’s first day, including the key theme of wholesaler independence from supplier interference shared by outgoing NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser and board chair Rebecca Maisel. They also discuss the underlying theme of beer as a social lubricant, including untapped events and occasions that could provide a boost to a soft beer category. Then, in this week’s featured interview, Maisel joins Justin to discuss her call for freedom for “undue supplier influence” and why distributors are questioning their supplier relationships. Maisel also dishes about her last ride on the NBWA board after 11 years, why drinkers are distracted and the growth of intoxicating hemp beverages. Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.

Tonya Cornett thought she would end her career at 10 Barrel Brewing. She had joined the Bend, Oregon-based craft brewery in 2012, piled up competition medals for her beers and created a following at the brewery. She thrived as the brewery’s R&D brewmaster before and after its 2014 sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B). But then Tilray Brands acquired 10 Barrel and seven other brands in 2023. A year later, Tilray laid off Cornett and members of her team in a move that shocked many within the industry. On this week’s Brewbound Podcast, Cornett discusses her journey over the last decade-plus and her next chapter with Upp Liquids, a new venture in the rebranded Immersion Brewing space. Cornett shares her experiences at A-B, how 10 Barrel and her role changed under Tilray’s ownership and her goals with Upp moving forward. As the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) kicks off in Denver, Cornett also explains how medals have served as a stamp of approval throughout her career and why they remain relevant. Cornett’s beers have received numerous competition medals throughout the years, including 28 medals at the Brewers Association’s (BA) GABF and World Beer Cup. That doesn’t include 10 Barrel’s 2024 clean sweep of the German-style Sour Ale category during the 2024 GABF competition. Before the interview, the Brewbound team runs through the latest headlines, including a big leadership shakeup at Molson Coors and Constellation Brands’ struggles as its largest consumer base remains under pressure. Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.

How does an ready-to-drink (RTD) brand that was built on the beach translate to other seasons? Surfside, Stateside Vodka’s hard iced tea and lemonade canned cocktail brand, is betting big on sports this fall. Stateside co-founders CEO Clem Pappas and president Matt Quigley joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the brand’s meteoric rise, its partnerships across college football and professional hockey and baseball and the newly rechristened Stateside Live!, an entertainment hub at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex where the city’s professional sports teams play. Year-to-date through mid-September, Surfside’s depletions (sales to retailers) reached nearly 8 million cases, about a 150% increase over last year. “We budgeted to be up about 100% on the Surfside brand, and so we’re doing a little bit better than that,” Pappas said. “As we’ve gone through the year and started to lap some bigger and bigger comps, the percentages have slowed down, but the case and the dollar gains have continued to increase, so I think overall, we’ve exceeded expectations.” Surfside rolled out in 2022 and made a bigger splash in 2023 in the brand’s hometown of Philadelphia and at the nearby Jersey Shore. With 100 calories, no carbonation and real iced tea or lemonade blended with premium vodka, Surfside stood out in a sea of hard seltzers. Strong sales trends and positive feedback in the brand’s early days gave the team the confidence it needed to ignore standard bev-alc practices of “go slow on your expansion” and “one territory at a time,” Pappas said. ​​”We really felt like we had a tiger by the tail, and we foresaw that this could be one of the next big things,” he continued. Inspiration struck during rejected sales pitches for Stateside’s vodka soda RTD, which is “extremely popular in our home market,” but failed to gain traction beyond Philadelphia because there was so much competition, Pappas said. Surfside was unlike anything other brands were introducing. “We felt like, ‘Hey, we got something, and opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, and so let’s go out and push this,’” he said. “It’s been an ambitious strategy, and it’s been difficult at times, and it hasn’t been without its stumbles, but ultimately, I think we made the right decision. “We’re in a position where everybody’s pouring into this category, it’s the hot category,” Pappas continued. “We’re in that gold rush phase of the life cycle of this category, and I’m glad we went as fast as we did, because we’d probably be boxed out of a lot of places at this point if we hadn’t.” Prior to the interview, Zoe and Jess break down recent news stories, including the abrupt shutdown of brewpub chain Iron Hill and storied cider maker Martinelli’s pivot to bev-alc. Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.

AleSmith is celebrating its 30th anniversary with momentum behind new products – in and out of beer – and a growing contract brewing business. In this episode of the Brewbound Podcast, AleSmith president Brandon Richards shares how the San Diego craft brewery has evolved to meet drinkers’ needs with new products while fortifying its business by brewing for others. Richards explains how the Party Tricks IPA line and addition of Sun Path fruited lager line have driven growth for the company. Party Tricks has helped “turn the business around” over the last two years, he says. In 2025, AleSmith expects to double its contract volume year-over-year with plans for more in 2026. The company is in the process of completing facility upgrades to enable sports-based RTD production that will expand its consumer base as well as its own product mix. AleSmith is expanding its flagship Speedway Stout brand for its first spirit-based offering with Speedway Espresso Martini, and the company is adding a second spirit-based ready-to-drink (RTD) line with Hoptails, which Richards believes is a first-to-market product as a hard hop water cocktail. Richards also gives insights into what AleSmith is looking for in a contract partner, what he believes the brewery offers its clients and how much volume the company has earmarked for co-packing in 2026. Before the interview, the Brewbound team breaks down the biggest industry headlines, including Charlie Sheen’s non-alc beer, Molson Coors’ new CEO, investors’ lawsuit against Island Brands and Boston Beer’s winning pick for The Summer I Turned Pretty. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

On the latest Brewbound Podcast, the Brewbound team closes the book on a lackluster selling season. Brewbound senior reporter Zoe Licata breaks down the final round of off-premise data, with a letdown from the historically sales boosting summer beer occasions. Zoe along with Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and managing editor Jessica Infante also recap the latest 3 Up, 3 Down quarterly report from 3 Tier Beverages, noting a few bright spots through the halfway point of the year, including alternative packaging styles such as smaller can formats. Plus, the team also hits the latest hot topics, including a major packaging change for Canada’s Moosehead and the ensuing consumer backlash; a Denver brewery’s closing announcement unlike any other; Iron Hill’s decision to shutter three brewpubs; recent taproom consumer trends; and Boston Beer choosing a side in the Team Conrad versus Team Jeremiah debate in an effort to tap into Gen Z culture. And a bonus: More tomato canning talk than you’d expect. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.