Legislative, Government Affairs & Legal Updates

In this week’s edition of Last Call: The California ABC uncovers brewpub violations; more than 1,200 beer companies join Sierra Nevada wildfire relief effort; Wiseacre sells stake to family office; Duvel Moortgat invests in London kombucha company; and more industry news from the week.

After a month of arguments in a Milwaukee courtroom, Pabst Brewing Company and MillerCoors have settled a lawsuit that Pabst claimed could have put the 174-year-old beer company out of business. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

In this week’s edition of Press Clips: Reyes buys the Constellation Brands portfolio from Ace; beer shipments are down 2.1 percent in 2018; the U.S. brewery count eclipses 7,000; Utah mandates tests to ensure 3.2 ABW; and more.

A month after an unauthorized press release cost Scofflaw Brewing an exporting opportunity with BrewDog in the United Kingdom, the Atlanta-based craft brewery is taking steps to repair its reputation abroad. Scofflaw recently hired Scotland-based Media House International, a PR firm that specializes in crisis management and public affairs to help rehab its image abroad. Speaking to Brewbound from the U.K. on Tuesday, Scofflaw co-founder Matt Shirah said he was meeting with various “beer people” in an attempt to secure a new export deal.

In this week’s Last Call: Canada lifts its tariff on U.S. aluminum cans; farmers and brewers downplay climate change’s effect on beer production and pricing; the Brewers Association lands Iron Maiden’s singer as CBC keynote speaker; and more news from the week.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: A study finds the economic impact of San Diego brewers exceeds $1 billion; the Brewers Association analyzes GABF winners; a price-fixing probe in India snares A-B InBev, Carlsberg and United Breweries; and more news from the week.

Buffalo Wild Wings’ presence at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival was merely an appetizer. The chicken wing restaurant, one of the largest chains in the U.S., will be regular menu item at numerous Brewers Association (BA) events over the next two years, including the 2019 GABF, the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) and Homebrew Con. Its presence at additional BA events is part of a three-year sponsorship agreement with the trade group, Buffalo Wild Wings beverage innovation manager Jason Murphy told Brewbound.

In this week’s Last Call: Founders Brewing is sued for alleged racial discrimination; the New Jersey ABC suspends its taproom ruling; the Beer Institute expresses disappointment in continued aluminum tariffs; and more news.

Want to stand out at the Great American Beer Festival? Open your checkbook. At the 2019 GABF, put on by industry trade group the Brewers Association, large activations from deep-pocketed corporations took center stage, drawing throngs of beer drinkers to sprawling setups that included TVs, bar games and live music while 800 breweries pouring 4,000 beers scrapped for attention inside the Denver Convention Center.

In an effort to curb beer’s dwindling share of the broader alcohol market, three major trade associations — the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), the Brewers Association (BA) and the Beer Institute (BI) — have formed a group tasked with improving the health of the beer segment. During the NBWA’s annual convention Monday, outgoing chairman Jim Matesich announced the the formal launch of the “Beer Growth Initiative.” The effort is being spearheaded by alcoholic beverage consultancy Tamarron, along with leaders from the NBWA, BA and BI who are serving on a steering committee.

The faster beer companies embrace segments that are connecting with consumers, the quicker the overall industry can return to growth, Mike’s Hard Lemonade president Phil Rosse told thousands of wholesalers during the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) annual convention in San Diego. “I think that’s what’s ultimately going to give the industry its best chance to get back to growth,” Rosse said during a panel that also featured D.G. Yuengling & Sons Inc. COO Dave Casinelli and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery co-founder Sam Calagione.

Under the specter of Constellation Brands potentially forcing additional sales of its distribution rights in California, leaders from the National Beer Wholesalers Association stressed the importance of protecting state franchise laws to thousands of wholesalers and industry professionals attending the trade association’s annual convention in San Diego. NBWA chairman Jim Matesich, without naming Constellation Brands, pointed to trade press headlines from June when the beverage alcohol company forced Markstein Beverage Co. to sell its distribution rights in northern San Diego County to Reyes Beverage Group. “Terminations without cause, particularly of distributors that took risks and helped build those brands create distrust in trading partners,” he said.

Wine and spirits brands are cutting into the growth of the craft beer segment, according to Patrick Livingston, director of client insights for market research firm IRI. Livingston, who led yesterday’s Power Hour presentation hosted by the Brewers Association (BA), said craft beer dollar sales were up just 1.7 percent in IRI’s multi-outlet off-premise U.S. retail universe (excluding convenience stores) through July 8. Livingston added that craft has begun to plateau in off-premise channels, with volume sales leveling off since late March.

A record 7,000 breweries will be in operation in the United States in 2018, Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson shared Thursday during the opening session of the California Craft Brewers Association’s Craft Beer Summit, Expo and Beer Festival in Sacramento. Watson called it a “virtual certainty” that the industry will reach that milestone this year, and more breweries are on the way with more than 9,000 active permits filed with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau at the midway point of 2018.