Beyond Beer

Irwin Simon, CEO of global cannabis firm Tilray, joins Brewbound Frontlines to discuss the company’s ambitions within the craft beer space following the acquisitions of the Green Flash and Alpine brands, the expansion of SweetWater, and the potential for cannabis legalization with the current Congress.

Cannabis-infused social tonic brand Cann has closed a $27 million Series A funding round, the company announced today, setting the stage for expansion into Canada and bringing a crew of new celebrity investors into the fold.

Mass. Bay Brewing Co. will look to the Harpoon League brand family — including Rec. League hazy pale ale and Big League hazy double IPA — to drive growth in 2022.

Shipments from Mass. Bay Brewing Company – whose portfolio includes Harpoon Brewery, UFO Beer Co., Clown Shoes Beer, City Roots Cider and Arctic Chill Hard Seltzer – declined -10% in 2021, marking a second consecutive year of double-digit production declines, according to estimates from the Brewers Association (BA).

Non-alcoholic (NA) beer maker Athletic Brewing Company will increase prices for many of its offerings, starting February 15, citing inflationary cost pressures from across the supply chain.

“Share of Buzz” may be one of the biggest challenges facing brands looking to enter the cannabis beverage space, according to a panel discussion hosted by Duane Morris LLP and the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp’s (ATACH) Cannabis Beverage Council on Wednesday. The webinar, titled The Cannabis Beverage Revolution: Is Beverage Cannabis’ Next… Read more »

Boston Beer Company founder and chairman Jim Koch discussed the future of core beer and his company’s fourth category offerings – including the forthcoming Hard Mtn Dew collaboration with PepsiCo – during Beer Business Daily’s annual Beer Industry Summit earlier this week.

Anheuser-Busch InBev North American zone CEO Brendan Whitworth shared updates from across the company’s portfolio, distribution network and e-commerce platforms. Nearly a year after Diageo’s acquisition of Far West Spirits LLC, the maker of Lone River Ranch Water, Diageo Beer Company president Nuno Teles and Lone River founder and CEO Katie Beal Brown discussed the brand’s growth under the spirits giant’s guidance.

The fourth flavor of Boston Beer Company and PepsiCo Beverages’ Hard MTN Dew will be Baja Blast.

Convenience retailers expect the hard seltzer segment to grow +10% year-over-year in 2022, according to Goldman Sachs Equity analyst Bonnier Herzog’s latest “Beverage Bytes” report. Hard seltzer sales slowed to +13% at c-stores in Q4, down from +18% in Q3, +32% in Q2 and +94% in Q1 as the calendar cycled against 2020 numbers.

Ojai, California-based hard kombucha and hard seltzer-maker Flying Embers has closed a $20 million series C funding round, led by global spirits giant Beam Suntory.

Independent hard seltzer maker Two Robbers will open its first taproom in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood later this year. The 4,000 sq. ft. taproom – titled Burgers and Seltzers – is the first seltzer taproom in Philadelphia. In addition to a beyond beer-driven menu, Two Robbers will serve smash burgers, beer and spirits.

Monster Beverage Corporation co-CEOs Rodney Sacks and Hilton Schlosberg discussed their company’s acquisition of the CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective and shed light on Monster’s aspirations in the beverage-alcohol space during a conference call for investors Thursday evening following news of the sale. “We’ve been evolving a strategy to enter the alcoholic beverage market and this is, we believe, our best strategy of achieving this objective,” Schlosberg said.

SweetWater Brewing parent company Tilray paid $5.1 million in cash and stock to acquire Green Flash Brewing and Alpine Beer Company last month, financial forms filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed. A purchase price of $5,133,000 for the San Diego-headquartered craft brands values their combined 2020 output of 34,000 barrels at $150.97… Read more »