Brewbound Podcast

Jester King Brewery made headlines last month when it announced it was seeking new ownership or significant investment. Co-founder Jeff Stuffings joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the decision.After a slowdown in distributed sales of the mixed fermentation sour ales that earned it national renown, Jester King pivoted to more approachable IPAs and lagers, which now account for 80% of the Austin, Texas-based craft brewery’s business. “We accumulated a lot of debt, some of it good, some of it bad, over the last four-ish years,” Stuffings said. “As far as our future success as I see it, we'll probably need to restructure some of that debt and require a pretty significant influx of capital into the company to take advantage of the demand that we've generated and still have.”All Jester King employees have been briefed on the search as it unfolds, and protecting their jobs is paramount, Stuffings said. “What's motivating me to be very transparent and public about this process is I really love my team, love getting to work with them,” he said. “They're really a super talented group of people and I want to see them set up for success, even though change is inevitable.”Before the interview, the Brewbound team dives into recent headlines, including the departure of Anheuser-Busch InBev North American CEO Brendan Whitworth, Sazerac’s acquisition of Full Sail Brewing’s facility and Wilding Brands’ shuttering of its Denver production hub.Listen here or your preferred podcast platform.

Was craft brewers’ 2025 less bad than we thought? The Brewers Association (BA) issued a revision to its annual production report, which places the industry at -4%, up from previously published -5.1%. In this Brewbound Podcast episode, Zoe and Jess break down what the changes mean for the challenged craft beer industry, as well as several middle-tier deals and recent scan data.This week’s featured interviews highlight Victory Brewing co-founder Bill Covaleski and director of brewing operations Joe Slavick, as well as Odell Brewing CEO Eric “Smitty” Smith. Both conversations were recorded during the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia in April.Covaleski and Slavick discussed the Downingtown, Pennsylvania-based craft brewery’s 30-year journey, from its self-distribution in its early days to the formation of its parent company Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) 10 years ago. Victory, which Covaleski founded in 1996 with childhood friend Ron Barchet, distributed its own beer for nearly four years, Covaleski said. The experience inspired Victory to band with fellow Pennsylvania breweries to oppose a bill that would have outlawed the practice – a legislative episode that spurred the formation of the Brewers of Pennsylvania state guild.“It was phenomenally important because no one wanted to pay what they needed to pay for our beer at a wholesale level,” he said. “We had to go out and prove that there was a market for it, and then, all of a sudden, they got it.”Victory was an early trendsetter in craft breweries’ march toward mulit-brand platforms, which have become near ubiquitous. It merged with Lakewood, New York-based Southern Tier Brewing in 2016 to form ABV, backed by Ulysses Management LLC. ABV added Brooklyn, New York-based Sixpoint Brewery in 2018, and Nellysford, Virginia-based Bold Rock Hard Cider in 2019. “From a business standpoint, it hits a lot of different avenues,” Slavick said of ABV’s brand recruitment. “They did a really good job of being selective of who they brought in, when they brought them in.”In 2025, ABV was the 11th largest craft brewer by volume in the country, according to data from the BA. Its output declined 6% year-over-year (YoY), to 238,697 barrels, excluding hard cider and other non-beer offerings. Odell was the country’s 31st largest craft brewery by volume last year, declining 9% YoY, to 89,364 barrels. 2026 opened with a “good Q1” as the Fort Collins, Colorado-headquartered craft brewery focuses its attention on its core offerings, Smith said. “We had a pretty large portfolio and so it takes some time – you can’t cut everything at once,” he said. “It’s been that slow, methodical getting rid of brands, getting rid of packages, putting our emphasis on the right brands at the right time in the right places.”For Odell, that has meant a laser-focused on flagship Odell IPA in 6-packs, 12-packs and 19.2 oz. single-serve cans in the convenience channel. To bolster that beer, the company has also launched Mountain Standard IPA, Hazer Tag hazy IPA and MDRN IPA. 

Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) continues to unwind, so BevNET spirits editor Ferron Salniker joined the Brewbound Podcast to break down the latest.RNDC, once the country’s second-largest wine and spirits distributor, has been selling-off markets piecemeal to competitors from coast to coast. Announced deals have included 11 markets to the Reyes Beverage Group, brand rights and some assets to Columbia Distributing, operations in 17 control states to Martignetti. (Note: this conversation took place before Breakthru announced it would acquire RNDC operations in Kentucky and Indiana or that it was revealed Quality Beverage would buy RNDC assets in Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.)RNDC’s current state can be traced to the butterfly effect of a host of suppliers leaving its California operations over the last several years, resulting in the company exiting the state.“It’s no surprise that if your biggest suppliers leave your biggest state and beyond, then the rest of your business is going to be affected,” Salniker said. “What’s happening now is no surprise, but it feels like it’s happening all of a sudden.”In addition to her analysis, the episode features conversations with Eco Beverages co-founder Anna Nadasdy and Russian River Brewing co-owner Natalie Cilurzo. Nadasdy discusses her organization’s push to help craft beverage manufacturers navigate Extended Producer Responsibility laws.Cilurzao recapped her brewery’s recent Pliny the Younger launch and Russian River’s latest push to share its sustainability work.Justin and Jess also break down recent beer news, including Lord Hobo and Lone Pine’s pivot to contact production and Q1 earnings from Boston Beer and Molson Coors. 

Two months into her role as president of Portland, Maine-based Oxbow Brewing Company, Bri Warner is finding her groove and taking on more of the hands-on, day-to-day operations. The leadership transition allows founder Tim Adams to spend more time evangelizing for Oxbow and Rising Tide, which the company acquired in early 2025. Warner joined the brewery from Atlantic Sea Farms, the largest kelp farming operation in the country. The duo joined the Brewbound Podcast for a conversation recorded at Oxbow’s Portland taproom last week, ahead of the New England Craft Brew Summit. “We’ve been very much focused on the art and the beauty and the flavors and all that has been priority No. 1 for a long, long time,” Adams said. “But in order for us to be in this for the long term, we’ve got to tighten things up behind the scenes on the business front. And Bri just is an absolute master at doing that.” With Warner at the helm, Adams has been able to return to the field to represent the brands to trade partners and consumers. Most of this winter has found him at the Oxbow Beer Garden in Oxford, Maine, where the brewery serves beers and pizza in a 200-year-old barn alongside nearly 100 acres of cross-country ski tracks and a disc golf course. “We have four locations, we have two brands, we have a lot of beers – there’s a lot to manage internally,” Warner said. “What that does is it keeps Tim from being out on the road, and I think probably the most power of this is the fact that we get to free him to do the work to continue to grow the brand in a really great and passionate way. “And I think that you see a lot of breweries and a lot of people in the industry that are having a hard time bridging that gap, and hopefully this move will allow that to do that.” Before the interview, the Brewbound team details the latest beer industry news, including Tilray’s acquisition of BrewDog’s Australian operations, Four Loko’s proposed sale and George Clooney and buds’ new NA brand, Crazy Mountain. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform:

New York’s 42 North Brewing has entered its second decade with a new mindset about what it means to be a craft brewer, founder John Cimperman said on the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast. “The days of having great liquid alone? Those days are behind us now,” he said. “It’s really that total guest experience, so we’ve really leaned into that and really focused on training our employees, making our environment as approachable and inclusive as possible, and just not taking any customer for granted.” 42 North Brewing celebrated its 10th anniversary last September. Business at its taprooms in East Aurora and downtown Buffalo has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels with some changes. Food and events make up a larger portion of revenue, and 42 North has embraced both by enlisting a restaurant partner to manage service and booking standing live music performances. “The other part of it is kind of listening to our customers,” Cimperman said. “We’re seeing more younger families in our taproom, and while we’re not going to put a jungle gym in the beer garden, we are leaning into it, whether it’s programming that’s family oriented, smaller portions on the food side for the kids. “We look around the taproom and we look at the demographic, and we say, ‘OK, what is going to appeal to this group and bring them back?’” he continued. Before the interview, Zoe and Jess break down Tilray Brands’ acquisition of BrewDog’s Scotland brewery, global brand and IP and 11 pubs in the U.K. and Ireland, plus the closing of BeatBox’s sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev and the new leadership of the Brewers Association’s board of directors. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

Less has been more with BrewDog’s U.S. business over the last year and a half. On the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast, BrewDog USA chief sales and marketing officer Eric Teodoro Franco explains how the business has “done fewer things better,” leading with a focus on its core brands, which helped the brand increase volume 26% last year, to 89,084 barrels of beer, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA). “We were very, very famous and very willing to be famous for throwing a lot against the wall and seeing what would stick for many, many years,” Franco shared. “We can do that in the U.K. where you have a 50-plus share and you can develop a lot of things and trial and try new things. “In this market, we did that and it didn’t work. We’ve really taken our range plan, we’ve taken our focuses down to really doing fewer and better things.” That’s led to improved wholesaler partnerships and led to a redeployment of BrewDog’s teams to better support its core markets, Franco said. Additionally, BrewDog USA has been given the opportunity to run its operations with some autonomy from its homebase in Scotland as its U.S. leadership team has earned the trust of the global team. “We’re running things the way we need to run them,” Franco said. “Same on the food side and on the retail side of our business. “For many years, we were very much driven by what the U.K. or international bars looked like, and we would apply that narrative, if you will, or business plan to the U.S. bars. That’s gone away as well.” Franco also discusses how the exits of founders James Watt and Martin Dickie have affected the U.S. business, how the company is approaching innovation and how the company has rethought both its distribution footprint and its taproom strategy. Before the interview, Brewbound’s Justin Kendall, Jessica Infante and Zoe Lica break down the impending closure of 21st Amendment Brewery, the removal of a study from the dietary guidelines process and the challenges of making an alcoholic version of better-for-you soda. They also dig into TikTok trends and the latest grousing about Generation Z’s bar habits. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

Columbia Distributing leaders believe they’ve tapped into a pipeline for the next generation of beer industry workers. On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Columbia president and CEO Chris Steffanci, VP of sales, Portland Chris Watzig and former intern Rebecca Logan share the ins and outs of the Pacific Northwest distributor’s Beer Careers Program. Watzig and Logan offer decades-apart experience of the 10-week paid internship program, which introduces participating students to all elements of Columbia’s business and operations. Watzig entered the program in 2015 and has worked his way up the ladder over the last decade. Logan recently graduated from Oregon State University and was in the program’s 2025 cohort. The discussion covers how candidates are selected, why the company believes it’s important to invest in career development programs and what employers can learn from the emerging Gen Z workforce. Before the conversation, Justin, Jess and Zoe share their Labor Day weekend adventures, including an unexpected encounter with a sandwich-hungry seagull. The trio also cover the latest news, including Sierra Nevada’s 2026 plans and Constellation Brands’ negatively revised guidance. Listen above or on your preferred podcasting platform.