Contract Brewing

A legal dispute between two Pacific Northwest cider brands is bringing into question what defines a “recipe” and how airtight – and specific – agreements between bev-alc brands and their manufacturing partners need to be. Schilling Cider has filed a civil complaint against Incline Cider and its parent company Compass Brands, LLC, alleging Incline breached a “recipe agreement” and shared confidential information with a competing company

Hendler Family Brewing (HFB) and Sloop Brewing have forged a strategic partnership in which the Framingham, Massachusetts-based brewery platform will take over production, sales and marketing for the Hopewell Junction, New York-based craft brewery’s portfolio, including flagship Juice Bomb IPA (6.5% ABV).

Three East Coast craft breweries have teamed up to launch a new multi-facility contract brewing platform. B3 Beverage Company is a joint venture from Stratford, Connecticut-based Two Roads Brewing, Philadelphia-based Yards Brewing and Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania-based Bald Birds Brewing.

A foreclosure filing against Lakeland, Florida-based Brew Hub caught some people by surprise last week … including Brew Hub’s CEO. Brew Hub CEO Tim Schoen cited “miscommunication” between the contract brewery’s majority investor, private equity firm Yucaipa Companies, and Live Oak Bank, for the foreclosure filing, according to an email sent to Brew Hub clients on Thursday.

Pabst Brewing Company has tapped Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) to help contract brew its beer, the company announced today.

Boston-based Dorchester Brewing is wrapping up its contract brewing business, the company announced last week. The brewery opened in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood in 2016 with a dual business model of contract production and brewing under its own brand for distribution and taproom service.

Beer industry trends have been largely discouraging lately, but one retailer – albeit a mostly private label one – is bucking them. “We are crushing it in beer right now,” Aldi director of buying for adult beverages Arlin Zajmi told Brewbound.

Production of Modern Times Beer will shift to AleSmith Brewing in San Diego as part of a new contract brewing relationship with Craft ‘Ohana, the portfolio company that includes Maui Brewing, Modern Times and Kupu Spirits.

New Belgium will take over production of Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light in the U.S. when the Japanese lager brand’s contract brewing agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) expires later this year, New Belgium announced today. New Belgium is a subsidiary of Kirin-owned, Australian-based Lion.

Japanese brewing giant Asahi aims to reach 1 million hectoliters – more than 850,000 barrels – in production in the medium-term following its acquisition of Wisconsin contract producer Octopi Brewing. Victoria Segebarth, managing director of EMEA & Americas at Asahi Europe & International, discussed the company’s plans for Octopi’s facility in Waunakee, Wisconsin, the acquisition… Read more »

Japanese brewing giant Asahi announced it has struck a deal to acquire Waunakee, Wisconsin-based contract brewer Octopi Brewing.

Ipswich Ale Brewery, one of the oldest craft breweries in Massachusetts, will transfer most of its production as part of an expanded partnership with Newburyport, Massachusetts-based RiverWalk Brewing, both breweries announced last week.

Flow Water is continuing to expand operations at its Aurora, Ontario, production facility while simultaneously seeking its divestiture, announcing today a five-year manufacturing partnership with alcoholic RTD party punch maker BeatBox Beverages set to kick off next summer. The deal, due to commence sometime between May and July 2024, marks Flow’s first move into beverage-alcohol… Read more »

Most production at New Orleans-based Faubourg Brewing will cease next month, Faubourg parent company Made By The Water (MBTW) announced this week.