The San Diego craft brewery scene is once again getting shaken up by the Kings & Convicts. After acquiring the Ballast Point brand from Constellation Brands in 2019, the company is acquiring the brewing facilities and taprooms of Saint Archer from Molson Coors.
The effects of the pandemic on San Diego’s craft brewers were evident in the San Diego Brewers Guild’s (SDBG) 2021 economic impact report released last month, which showed beer production and economic output declines and employment cuts.
Modern Times Beer has named Jennifer Briggs its new CEO and has promoted Danielle Jackson to VP of sales, the San Diego-headquartered craft brewery announced Wednesday. Briggs, a member of Modern Times board of directors, was appointed interim CEO in October after founder and former CEO Jacob McKean resigned in May 2021 and president and chief operating officer Chris Sarette departed in August 2021, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Independent wholesaler Scout Distribution has expanded north from its San Diego headquarters to Los Angeles. Scout, which was founded in 2018 in San Diego and expanded to Arizona with statewide distribution in April, is launching in Los Angeles with 16 brands.
Societe Brewing more than doubled its sales in 2021, increasing +120% vs. 2020.
After a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Russian River Brewing Company is reviving its in-person Pliny the Younger celebration in February 2022. “The entire RRBC team missed seeing our many repeat and first-time visitors from around the world this past year after cancelling the in-person release due to COVID,” the company wrote on its… Read more »
Reyes Beer Division broke ground on a new San Diego-based distribution center for its Crest Beverage subsidiary yesterday. The 400,000 sq. ft.-facility is expected to move more than 16 million cases of beers in the portfolios of Molson Coors, Heineken, Constellation Brands, Lagunitas, Firestone Walker, Coronado and other local offerings.
All of Firestone Walker’s brand platforms have new news in 2022, including new IPAs, more cans, fruited beers and even a hard seltzer.
Firestone Walker Brewing Company is sailing into 2022 “with the wind at our back,” co-founder David Walker said in an intro video to the company’s annual business plan presentation, streamed virtually to distributor and retailer partners late last month. Current projections place the Paso Robles, California-headquartered craft brewery finishing 2021 up about +20%, Walker said, despite the continued challenges of the pandemic.
The near future for Sierra Nevada will see the Chico, California craft brewery launch an upscale “lifestyle” hard tea brand and once again line extend the Little Thing family with a wheat beer.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) Cacti Agave Spiked Seltzer is facing a proposed class action complaint that claims the brand misled consumers to believe Cacti contained agave spirits, rather than agave sweetener.
Los Angeles County will require proof of vaccination to be shown before patrons can enter breweries, wineries, indoor bars, nightclubs and lounges, according to FOX11. LA County public health director Dr. Barbara Ferrer told the LA County Board of Supervisors Wednesday that the order will require patrons to have at least one dose of a vaccine for COVID-19 by October 7. Both doses will be required by November 4.
Reyes’ appetite for acquisitions, especially in California, has yet to be satiated. The largest beer wholesaler in the U.S. today announced an agreement to acquire a large share of Classic Beverage’s beer portfolio in Southern California.
Sierra Nevada has filed a counter lawsuit against Matagrano, Inc., the Chico-headquartered craft brewery’s former South San Francisco-based wholesaler, in the Superior Court of the state of California, County of San Mateo. The trademark lawsuit between Constellation Brands and Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Grupo Modelo over the former’s ability to produce and sell Corona Hard Seltzer will continue, despite Constellation’s motion to dismiss, a federal judge ruled this week.
