As on-premise consumption has ceased almost nationwide in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19, the preservation of capital is now paramount for both packaging and taproom breweries, attorney Mike Drumm advised craft brewers during a Brewers Association (BA) Power Hour session titled “Beer in a Time of Disruption” on Monday.
As the hospitality industry grapples with the impact of mandated closures of restaurants, bars, brewery taprooms and tasting rooms, craft breweries and brewpubs are beginning to announce staff layoffs and furloughs.
The Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer will launch its Wild Berry flavor on draft nationwide on March 2, replacing the unflavored Truly on Tap draft offering that rolled out in August. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company has laid off at least eight employees, according to the Full Pint.
Lagunitas Brewing Company is cutting less than 5% of its workforce as part of a restructuring plan, the Heineken-owned, Petaluma, California-based craft brewery confirmed today to Brewbound.
Richard Mahoney, the chairman of the board of The Wine Group, is the lead investor in Chicagoland craft brewery Kings & Convicts’ acquisition of Ballast Point Brewing Company from Constellation Brands, according to the ChicagoTribune. Brooklyn Brewery restructures sales force.
Molson Coors’ future direction became more clear today following the announcement that the company will restructure its operations and slash its workforce. Prior to late July’s second quarter earnings call, the company announced that CEO Mark Hunter would retire at the end of September, and Gavin Hattersley, the CEO of U.S. business division MillerCoors, would… Read more »
Lompoc Brewing, one of Portland’s oldest craft brewers, announced it will close next week after 23 years in business. “For me, it just felt like this is the right time, and time to back away from the craft brewing scene,” owner Jerry Fechter told Brewbound. Meanwhile, Heineken N.V.-owned Lagunitas Brewing has closed its Portland, Oregon-based… Read more »
Bear Republic Brewing Company will close its Healdsburg, California-based brewpub, which first opened in 1995, on November 22, according to a post on the location’s Facebook page. Speaking to Brewbound, Bear Republic president and CEO Richard G. Norgrove cited mounting building improvement costs at the Healdsburg brewpub location, which the company’s landlord would not cover,… Read more »
Citing increased competition in a crowded marketplace, Boulder Beer Company announced today that it would cease distribution and focus on its brewpub business.
Three key members of Stony Creek Brewery’s team were laid off this week. Stony Creek director of operations Manny Rodriguez confirmed to Brewbound that brewmaster Andy Schwartz, director of sales Jamal Robinson and key account manager Spencer Niebuhr are no longer employed by the company.
Red Bull North America this week announced it would terminate distribution contracts with three Massachusetts beer and non-alcoholic beverage wholesalers in June, as it transitions to a self-distribution model for off-premise accounts. The energy drink maker also announced it would transfer its on-premise business to wine and spirits distributor Martignetti Companies.
Yet another large U.S. beer company is making cuts. Citing a need to restructure its sales organization, Heineken USA (HUSA) announced today it would slash 15 percent of its overall workforce.
In the face of declining on- and off-premise retail sales, California’s Hangar 24 Brewing terminated about half of its production staff last Friday, brewery founder Ben Cook confirmed to Brewbound.
Industry headwinds, brewery acquisitions, the emerging cannabis sector, and the seemingly never ending battle between big and small beer makers were the focus of Brewbound’s most-read stories of 2018.
