Featured in this week’s edition of press clips: Boston Magazine suggests craft is moving on without Jim Koch; NPR tackles trend of trademark disputes; Gary Fish, Widmer Brothers opine on the state of the industry and New England Brewing apologizes for ‘Gandhi-Bot.’
To welcome the New Year, Oskar Blues will expand distribution throughout a number of untapped markets in both the Midwest and Northeast. The brewery began shipping its products this week from its flagship facility in Longmont, Colo. to Iowa, Nebraska and downstate Illinois. The brewery will also soon send beer from its second facility in Brevard, N.C. for distribution throughout Maine and Vermont.
Georgia’s craft brewers may have found a couple of allies in the state house. The Georgia Craft Brewers Guild has secured five sponsors for a bill that, if passed, would repeal a number of restrictive, Prohibition-era regulations. Guild members contend that current state laws are stifling the growth of the craft sector and, in an effort to help educate legislators, the guild recently hired Thrash-Haliburton to lobby on behalf of the state’s growing craft beer industry.
2014 was another banner year for craft beer. Now, with the pages of our calendar set to flip to 2015, we take a look back at the years most important — and most read – stories in craft beer. Here are the top 10 stories that the defined craft beer industry in 2014.
One truth made abundantly clear in 2014: Not all cash is created equal. On one side of the equation sit companies like Founders (Mich.), 10 Barrel (Ore.), and Blue Point (NY), all of which were bought out by larger, international beer companies. While those three brands will now be able to use the money and the distribution reach of their new investors and owners to grow, there’s a definitional downside: they’ve left the ranks of the craft realm.
There is little doubt that most beer salesmen would consider a job heading up sales for Dogfish Head to be one of the most coveted positions in craft. And there was a time when Adam Lambert, the man who held that position, VP of Sales, until the end of November, would have agreed. Brewbound recently discussed his decision to leave Dogfish Head, the keys to becoming a successful beer salesman, and what he hopes to accomplish at New Holland Brewing.
Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson checked in with Yahoo Finance yesterday, providing a small snapshot of craft beer’s growth in 2014. In a video interview with multimedia correspondent Akiko Fujita, Watson said shared updated figures on the amount of craft breweries currently operating throughout the U.S. The latest number? 3,250.
Effective the first day of the New Year, Craft Beer Cellar, a small chain of craft-centric retailers headquartered in Massachusetts, will no longer exclude beers from its shelves based solely on who owns the brand. Since its inception in 2010, the company has sold only beer that fits the Brewers Association’s (BA) definition of craft beer.
As breweries in the craft beer sector continue to flourish, established companies, like the 25-year-old Flying Dog, are doubling down and looking to further capitalize on growth with entirely new brewery ventures. The Frederick, Md. beer company yesterday announced plans to launch Farmworks Brewery, a self-described “unique farm brewery destination” located in Lucketts, Va.
Two of the largest beer wholesalers in New York City are working to consolidate, creating one company that will control approximately half of the city’s beer market — but not everyone is happy about it. In a note to suppliers, Manhattan Beer Distributors announced Tuesday that it has entered into a formal agreement with Windmill Distributing (PhoenixBeehive Beverage Distributors), to acquire the company’s beer brand distribution rights.
In an effort to establish itself as a longstanding, multi-generational craft brewery, Founders Brewing today announced it would sell a minority interest to Mahou San Miguel, Spain’s largest brewer. The Michigan-based craft beer company announced Wednesday it would sell a 30 percent stake to the international beer company. CEO and co-founder Mike Stevens described the decision to sell a minority interest as one that would enable Founders to “ensure a legacy.”
Jack’s Abby, one of Massachusetts’ fastest growing craft breweries, is set to embark on a major expansion that will more than triple its brewing capacity. The Framingham-based company today announced its development plans, which will boost annual production capabilities and enable the brewery to expand distribution throughout New England.
Founders Brewing today announced it has sold a 30 percent stake to Mahou San Miguel Brewery, a Spanish Brewing Company founded in Madrid in 1890. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. A full press release with more details is below. Official story to follow.
Sun King Brewing has severed relationships with three wholesalers outside of Central Indiana, cutting back to Indianapolis and Bloomington from a footprint that had spread across the state. The decision to pull out from those territories stems from a state law that caps production for small brewers at 30,000 barrels per year, a figure Sun King projects to brush against this year.
