One the verge of an important Memorial Day weekend for beer sales, a number of the country’s top-selling brands aren’t on shelves at two of the country’s largest retailers. According to new information from Quri, a San Francisco-based retail intelligence company providing insight into merchandising conditions at major U.S. retailers, many of the country’s largest brands are out of stock at Walmart and Target.
Sales of craft beer are officially slowing, according to new data from market research firm IRI Worldwide, but a closer look shows an important distinction: the biggest brewers and their craft brands are the ones facing the slowdown. While category-wide beer volume sales remain flat across IRI’s measured multi-outlet and convenience channels (MULC — which comprise grocery, drug, club, dollar, mass-merchandiser, Walmart and military stores), up just 0.7 percent through May 15, growth in the craft beer category, which was growing double-digits at this time last year, has slowed considerably.
Officials from the United States Department of Justice are investigating Anheuser-Busch InBev over a controversial incentive plan aimed at rewarding beer wholesalers who focus on selling products from the world’s largest beer maker, according to the Reuters news agency. At the crux of the DOJ probe are anticompetitive concerns over A-B InBev’s Voluntary Anheuser-Busch Incentive For Performance (VAIP) program.
Ballast Point today confirmed plans to purchase a massive 259,000 sq. ft. building in Botetourt County, Virginia, where it will build its first East Coast production facility. According to a press release from the office of Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, the company plans to spend $48 million to build the new outpost.
Another West Coast brewery is set to break ground in Virginia. The mid-Atlantic state has become an in-vogue region for fast-growing craft breweries, with Deschutes, Stone and Green Flash all turning to Virginia to open their East Coast manufacturing arms. And Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced last week that another is on the way. Visiting Boston on an economic development mission, he toasted New England companies and made it clear that an announcement naming the brewery is in the offing.
Ohio Lawmakers Vote to Eliminate ABV Limits on Beer; Dutch Brewer Bavaria to Acquire Belgium’s Palm Brewery; Double Mountain to Open New PDX Taproom; Saltwater Brewery Introduces Edible 6-Pack Rings
Stone Brewing Co. today announced plans to expand its taproom footprint in California, adding a 10,000 sq. ft. pilot brewery and tasting room in downtown Napa. The company plans to install a 10-barrel pilot brew system, which will be used to produce unique small-batch creations and will complement the company’s core beer lineup.
In an effort to preserve its independence and help combat what Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company co-founder Steve Beauchesne believes will be the inevitable consolidation of small Canadian craft breweries, the Ontario-based beer company today announced plans to establish an employee stock ownership plan. Under the terms of the agreement, Beau’s, the largest producer of organic beer in Canada, said it plans to sell approximately 4 percent of the company’s class B common shares to its 150 employees for purchase at fair market value.
Fresh off an importer transition in the United States and the acquisition of fellow Scottish craft beer maker Inveralmond Brewing, Innis & Gunn is preparing to expand its global presence. Best known for its oak-infused line of beers, Innis & Gunn is one of the few globally distributed craft brands with a deliberate focus on growing sales in international markets. Although it is the second largest craft supplier in the U.K., behind BrewDog, approximately 65 percent of Innis & Gunn’s sales come from more than 20 countries where it sells beer.
Currently slated for an early July opening, The Alchemist’s new brewery and visitor center in Stowe, Vermont will once again give thirsty beer travelers an opportunity to purchase the popular Heady Topper double IPA directly from the source. San Diego’s Ballast Point is heading north and will move into an 11,000 sq. ft. restaurant in Long Beach, according to the LA Times.
More than 12,000 beer industry professionals converged on Philadelphia last week for the annual Craft Brewers Conference, organized by trade group the Brewers Association. The weeklong event featured nearly 80 educational seminars, 835 trade show exhibitors and hundreds of brand activation events around town — including our very own Brew Talks meetup with Dogfish Head.
Are some U.S. brewers at risk of expanding faster than their market demand? And should you go with a bathroom or a taproom? Both topics were on the table at last week’s Brew Talks when a panel of brewery owners talked growth and expansion strategies in the craft beer space. Meeting during the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia were Firestone Walker co-founder David Walker, along with 21st Amendment co-founder Nico Freccia and Devils Backbone COO Hayes Humphreys.
About six months ago, headlines were suggesting that Dogfish Head was struggling to grow as fast as its competitors. Speaking to a crowd of 300 beer industry professionals at last week’s Brew Talks meetup, held on May 4 at World Café Live during the 2016 Craft Brewer Conference in Philadelphia, Calagione provided some context.
Russian River Chooses Site for Second Location; Pabst Sues MillerCoors Over Eden Plant Closure; Former MillerCoors Executive Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement; MegaBrew Moves Forward in Australia, Stalled in South Africa; Molson Coors’ Carling Becomes Official Beer Parner of England’s Premier League; Craft Breweries on the Campaign Trail
