Anyone looking for an answer to when craft’s current era of compounding hurdles and declines will come to an end received a reality check Wednesday during Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bart Watson’s state of the industry address, held at the start of Day 2 of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Indianapolis.
Around 10,000 industry members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America (April 28 to May 1). The gathering takes place against a backdrop of growing headwinds for craft breweries and an overhaul of CBC’s host organization, the Brewers Association.
Two new members have been elected to the American Cider Associations (ACA) board of directors, the hard cider industry trade group announced last week.
Cans are a hot topic for the nation’s brewers, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of bars and restaurants for several months. Without on-premise venues to visit, Americans began to drink more beer at home, and cans picked up the slack in the market left by draft beer. Ball, the world’s largest manufacturer of aluminum cans, said inventory is likely to be sold out or severely tight for the remainder of the year.
With the nation’s can supply tightening, President Donald Trump yesterday announced the reimposition of a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum, claiming that America’s neighbor to the north was flooding the market.
Kalamazoo, Michigan-headquartered Bell’s Brewery will enter its 42nd state later this year, with the addition of distribution to Oklahoma. Bell’s, the seventh largest Brewers-Association-defined craft brewery, will be partnering with Republic National Distribution Company of Oklahoma.
Iconic Portland, Maine craft brewery Allagash returns to Florida for a limited time; Carlsberg and Marston’s announce proposed JV; April domestic tax paid Shipments decline 4.9%; judge approves bid for bankrupt Craftworks; and more headlines from the week.
The near-nationwide shutdown of the on-premise channel will result in a loss of $8 billion for the beer industry if it continues into June, National Beer Wholesalers Association chief economist Lester Jones said during a State of the Industry webinar hosted by the NBWA and the Beer Institute (BI).
German officials today cancelled the country’s famed Oktoberfest celebration due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Craft Brewers Association — a nonprofit trade group that represents the interests of the state’s craft brewers — announced today the cancellation of its “Craft Beer Summit,” which was scheduled for September 9-12 in Long Beach.
The beer industry has been deemed essential under guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), something the heads of beer trade associations worked to secure.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed the $2.2 trillion stimulus package Friday afternoon and sent the bill to President Donald Trump, who signed the bill into law at 4 p.m. ET in the Oval Office. U.S. brewers shipped 11,350,000 barrels in February, a decline of 0.7% compared to February 2019, according to national trade group the Beer Institute.
Ball Corporation has added production of 32 oz. crowler cans and expects to have a supply ready to hit the market in two days. The U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the $2 trillion stimulus package to aid the public health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Deschutes Brewery founder Gary Fish told the Bend Bulletin that the company has laid off about 60% of its staff.
As the coronavirus disease known as COVID-19 spreads across the U.S., beer companies are adjusting their businesses for a reality in which being social is discouraged. Many companies are bracing for a downturn in on-premise business, including brewery taprooms.
The crowd-sourced fund to support the families of victims of the shooting at Molson Coors Brewing Company’s Milwaukee campus last month has topped $1.1 million. The fund, which reached $1,178,770 as of press time, was set up on behalf of the National Compassion Fund, a program of the National Center for Victims of Crime. All funds collected will go directly to the families of the five victims.
Newly named Massachusetts Brewers Guild’s president Sam Hendler wants to finally resolve the contentious franchise reform debate with the state’s wholesalers. Hendler, a co-founder and co-owner of Framingham, Massachusetts-based craft breweries Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers and the Springdale Beer Company, acknowledged that the franchise law reform effort has been dragging on long before he was of legal drinking age. “I was a high school senior when it started,” he told Brewbound.
Long-time brewmaster Andy Schwartz has landed the top brewing job at Milford, Connecticut-based Dockside Brewery. Milford, Delaware-based Mispillion River Brewing has hired Claus Hagelman as its new director of sales. Non-alcoholic craft brewery Athletic Brewing has hired Rosalie Kennedy as its first marketing manager.
Federal excise tax (FET) relief for makers of beer, wine and spirits is locked in place through the end of 2020. President Donald Trump today signed into law a tax extender package that includes the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), which passed both chambers of Congress this week.
