Networking Break and Brewbound 2025 Awards

Speaker 1 [00:23] Let's meet our next brewbound rising star. It's Bravazzi, the hard Italian soda brand. Joining me now is Bravazzi CEO Josh Buckley. Congratulations, Josh. Oh,

Speaker 2 [00:34] thank you so much, Justin. I mean, it's such a It's such an honor and just so cool and, and sort of surreal to, to be here with you doing this interview and, and being a part of it and winning the award. So, uh, the team here couldn't be happier and we're very, very psyched.

Speaker 1 [00:48] So, well, we're psyched to honor you as one of our rising stars this year. And for people who might not be as familiar with Bravazi, can you Bring him up to speed with a quick overview. Sure,

Speaker 2 [01:00] absolutely. Um, started around 8 years ago, Hart Italian soda concepts back when sort of those products and fuller flavor products were coming to market, but that just sort of celebrates Italian lifestyle, Italian way of life. It's made with real fruit, real cane sugar. Um, you know, like we like to say with the perfect amount of fizz and sweetness, so taking advantage of that fourth category.

Speaker 1 [01:22] Bravazi has really leaned into being a fuller flavored product made with real fruit and cane sugar. Why has that worked so well for the brand in a moment where a lot of consumers are talking about health and wellness, a lot of brands are talking about health and wellness, but then on the other end of the spectrum they are seeking out these flavor items.

Speaker 2 [01:42] Yeah, absolutely, great question. You know, for us, and we do so many tastings and samplings in the states that we're present in, and I think really it's the story. I mean you guys have been reporting on it for a while and it's in the industry. It's really about flavor right now and so many people are seeking things that taste great and are a little bit different flavor profiles than what they've had over the past, you know, 1520 years of drinking beer and And I think that's really starting to resonate with the crowds and where the, where the even the younger drinking age folks where we're meeting the consumer where they're at right now, I think is right product, right place, right

Speaker 1 [02:19] time. So you were pacing at around 100,000 cases this year when we last spoke. How is that going?

Speaker 2 [02:26] It's still looking good. Uh, we, you know, we have a little bit of lag in the data. You never know between how the Circana Nielsen stuff comes in and all the different systems folks are on. Uh, but, but it looks like we should be somewhere in that 80,000 to 100,000 case range this year, so. Which represents about, you know, 45, 50% for us. So.

Speaker 1 [02:45] So when you reflect on 2025, what do you count as your biggest win of the year?

Speaker 2 [02:51] Oh, that's a, that's a good question. Um, for us, a really cool event in 2005 was launching in the state of Florida. Uh. That took, boy, I bet the better part of 12 to 14 months to kind of get everything settled and figured out and the documents signed and all the, all the parts that aren't fun to talk about, um, to finally get launched in the state of Florida. That was, that was a pretty big cool thing, um. And then for us again, we've won a couple untapped awards again this year, which is always a special thing for us in terms of, uh, it's always great to when your fans, your public speak and say that they still love the product and still love and enjoy what you're doing. So, those are probably the two biggest highlights, I think for us, um, and can just, you know, continue the success in a, in really a, an environment that, as everybody knows, is challenging. So,

Speaker 1 [03:38] when you look ahead to 2026, what do you see as the biggest opportunity for the Bravazi brand?

Speaker 2 [03:45] Yeah, absolutely. I think for us, uh, really, we keep pressing on premise. We're proud to kind of be one of the, one of the few and one of the pioneers in getting that 4th category product onto draft handles. We're running somewhere around, you know, on a monthly. Look, we're probably around 250 + 300 draft handles depending on the markets and where you're going and, and, and, you know, any given moment with the data. But uh I think keep pressing that success that we've had with the on-premise market through draft um is really the focus for 26 and then just continued working on our innovation pipeline and working on for us, uh, being newer, so working on getting a lot of chain placements and doing those types of things too.

Speaker 1 [04:27] What's your strongest brand on draft?

Speaker 2 [04:28] Blood orange for sure. That is by far the number one favorite flavor for everybody.

Speaker 1 [04:34] And then you mentioned innovation for 2026. What are you looking forward to getting out in the market?

Speaker 2 [04:39] Yeah, so we're, we're working on a couple of things right now. Um, I think, you know, as venues become more important and you're seeing the venue play, or at least here in our home state of Tennessee and I think some other states. Uh, I think larger format sizes, so your 192 size starts to, to play more, and working on getting that rolled out. Um, and then of course, You just see so many different versions and like you said, the better for you and some of those products and people like that are more calorie conscious, um, you know, is working on different versions and lighter versions of the product, and then also some working on some other flavor profiles that that resonate with the customers.

Speaker 1 [05:17] So when do you expect those 192s to hit and which brands are you going to put in it?

Speaker 2 [05:23] Yeah, absolutely. I think we'll probably in select markets try doing the 192's in 26, tend to see being one of those and Since it's our home market. Um, and then, yeah, obviously the blood orange, it's, it's the crowd favorite. It's far and away the right one. so we'll start there and work on some of that. We, in 25 had some earlier success using 16 ounce cans, but, but we've kind of worked with some of the concessionaires and some of the folks and just heard taking their feedback and heard that the, the 192 world is where their preference is, so. Um, we'll do that. And then of course just looking at some of the other brands that are out there that have been so successful with the products they're making, trying to find those products, you know, you can get into the single digits with sugars and get that calorie count down to around 100 calories, um, is a goal of ours. I don't know if we'll get that product to market in 26, but we're certainly, we're going to work hard to try to do it. So

Speaker 1 [06:14] any new flavors that you're playing with that you want to get into the market too?

Speaker 2 [06:18] Not that we're probably ready to talk about it yet. We're, uh, we're having some fun with it and, you know, it's always fun to have some samplings here and, uh, and send them off to your friends and see what they think. But, but yeah, we're still, we're still working on finding that right. I think for us, we've made such a commitment on the other flavors to really do them well and have good, clean, crisp taste. It's a, it's a labor of love, but we got to work hard to make sure that they align with the, with the, what the consumer already knows is our product and the quality of it, so.

Speaker 1 [06:46] What's one thing you learned in 2025 that you're gonna, one lesson that you learned that you're going to carry forward to next year and beyond?

Speaker 2 [06:55] You know, it's, it's, I would say it's classic, right? There's some things that, uh, that over the history, I would say of beverage have worked, and you got those time-honored traditions and you got to remember those and respect those. So I would sort of say, Hey, um, one of those classic things that has always worked for us and the big differentiator for beer has always been the draft scene, right? You build the brands on draft, um, you know, brands are built on barstools, and, and you got to do that work. You got to put that effort in, um, on the, on the draft side. But you also have to build out the off-premise. So respecting those traditions, those time-honored things that have always worked in beer. But on the new side is bringing that idea of, hey, bravazzi is this fuller flavored, uh, gluten-free alternative for folks out there in the market, and, and that you also have to bend what has worked or try new things and innovate and get more of those products out there. So like many things, it's always find that healthy balance and so really leaning in and And doing a little bit more of that, I would say in 206 is, is trying to, trying to get that innovation out into the marketplace and, and, and listening to your consumer. So, lots of classic advice that, that, that everyone knows. Always hard to follow though.

Speaker 1 [08:12] Oh, for sure. Well, congratulations, Josh. We're excited to honor Bravazi as one of our rising stars this year. Thanks for doing this interview.

Speaker 2 [08:22] Oh, thank you so much, Justin and, and Jess and Zoey. I know you're out there somewhere in the, the digital space, but you'll be there when this airs. Uh, no, thank you so much for y'all and what you do for the industry, um. You know, we here at Bravazzi are big fans and we're always listening and learning from y'all and, and, and honestly take a lot of uh guidance and advice from the work y'all do in the market and the industry. So, uh, in some small way, you're part of Team Bravazzi, we wouldn't have been able to get to where we are without y'all in, in the work you're doing. So thank you so much and such a huge honor to, to be considered for this and to win and uh thank you so much, everybody. It's awesome.

Speaker 1 [09:01] Welcome to a special Brewbound Live sponsored interview. My name is Justin Kendall, and I'm the editor of Brewbound, and it's crop report season, which is always a big moment for the industry. The brewers Association just released its annual harvest report, and 2025 appears to be a pretty consequential year. So joining me now to discuss are Monica Duggan, Southwest Territory sales manager for John I Haas. Thanks for being here, Monica.

Speaker 3 [09:29] Thanks, Justin. Always glad to see you. And

Speaker 1 [09:31] Andrew Jaquis, John Iha's procurement specialist for supply chain management. That's a long title, but I'm glad you're here, Andrew.

Speaker 4 [09:40] Yeah, great to be here. Thank you, Justin.

Speaker 1 [09:43] So Monica, I'll start with you, and I just want to know right off the bat, what's the headline for 2025?

Speaker 3 [09:50] Yeah, a big headline for 25. US crop uh delivered excellent quality with high oil, strong aromatics, and great consistency, um, even with uh acreage reductions and some drought issues.

Speaker 1 [10:06] So let's dig into acreage. It's always a big topic. What happened in 2025, Andrew? It

Speaker 4 [10:13] was another year of reductions. We've been, as a whole industry in the US, uh, been reducing quite a bit of acreage the last few years. Um, we dropped down another 6% in 2025 and it puts us right above 42,000, about 42,200 acres. Um, that's about 30-31% decrease from our peak, which was in 2022, which I believe was around 62,000 acres, maybe a touched more. Um, It's been a big impact for the growers, obviously, but, um, these corrections, as far as the acreage, uh, directly correlate with the volume, obviously, that we, that we get from, uh, from the crop. So, uh, these cuts are necessary as an industry, especially with our overage, um, our oversupply. Um, and we are seeing that. We're seeing, um, we're seeing the stocks, hop stocks come down, which is good. That's a good sign. That's why we're making these cuts, um, to make these corrections, and, uh, it looks like it's working.

Speaker 1 [11:23] Now, let's dig into quality. What did we see in the growing regions this year?

Speaker 4 [11:27] So it's the 4th consecutive year of drought conditions in Washington State. Uh, we, the Yakima River system, which supplies most of the irrigation throughout the whole Yakima Valley, hit an all-time low of 12% capacity. Um, that really puts a strain on growers, um, throughout the year, especially near the end of the year, uh, when the, the irrigation systems, the irrigation districts were, uh, cutting back water supply to these growers. Um, luckily, you know, a lot of these growers have made great advances in their irrigation technology, um, using drip tube. Everybody uses drip tube now, which cuts back on the water consumption tremendously, um, along with moisture meters and monitors to where people can really dial in their, their irrigation practices, um, which helps in years like this where, where we have those challenges. Um, Oregon, Idaho, no issues on irrigation. Um, they're doing just fine. Um, in Washington, we had a little scare with smoke. Uh, there was a fire that, that happened that started up here in the Cascades pretty close to us, um, late August. And went into the first week or so of, of September and um luckily the smoke for the most part stayed, stayed high, high altitude and, and didn't really, um, couldn't really smell it too much. You could see it, but that was kind of a concern. Um, what a few growers did, uh, ourselves included, is when we actually did start to see those higher AQI levels, um, once they were starting to hit around 100 or so, we would actually, uh, move our harvest practice. So, instead of, um, harvesting something like, like crush or dulcita during that time period, we actually switched over and, and started harvesting high alphas. Just to try to avoid any smoke taint in the, in those, uh, aroma varieties. And, um, in the end, I, it, it worked. Our sensory team, we didn't pick up any smoke taint lots throughout all three states. Um, so that was a success and, and that worry, um, went away. So it, it, it ended up being a pretty good year, uh, growing condition-wise.

Speaker 1 [14:03] That's great to hear because I know smoke is always a concern for brewers out there. Monica, so, brewers are also always asking about contracts. Where does the US stand going into 2026?

Speaker 3 [14:16] There's a lot of brewers out there still long in contracts with previous crop years, and those that are in better spots are hesitant to contract sometimes. My biggest advice, uh, to brewers right now, just to be really intentional with their contracts, uh, acreage is decreasing, and the spot market is not gonna stay as robust as it's been the last few years. Um, growers are hesitant to plant new varieties as well, so if those aren't contracted, You run the chance of not being able to get it at all. Um, I don't think we'll go back to crazy high hot prices like in, you know, years past, but with acreage reductions and rising costs, the, the days of the super low like spot pricing, it's just not going to continue.

Speaker 1 [15:03] What should brewers expect this year? Because, I mean, we've covered quality, you know, what are we gonna see though with the hops that are coming out?

Speaker 3 [15:12] Yeah, you know, quality is better than ever. Um, you're going to expect to see really high oil content across your major aroma varieties. Um, look for crisp, expressive citrus and tropical notes from Citra and Mosaic. Um, I think it's really important too to mention the US is producing more sustainable, resilient varieties than ever, um, not just giving brewers better performance, but doing so while helping growers manage water, pests, and heat issues.

Speaker 1 [15:42] Now we talked about the US. We've got to zoom out and talk about the global hop market. What are we seeing globally?

Speaker 3 [15:49] Yeah, globally, 2025 was pretty mixed. Um, Europe struggled a bit. Uh, Germany saw really hot, dry conditions and below average yields across many of their aroma varieties. Um, acreage dropped again, and both downy and pow powdery mildew were challenges for them. Uh, chat crop was pretty average, with sage showing a higher than usual, um, alpha, 3.3%-ish, um, and some really promising results though from their new heat resistant varieties. Australia had a really great year, yields came in above expectation, and HPA's new Hop Central facility helped deliver really great consistency. Um, I like to say Galaxy is really back, um, and smelling super fantastic this year, so look for some Galaxy beers in the market. Um, overall, from a global perspective though, the US and Australia really carried the quality story.

Speaker 1 [16:46] Sustainability is always a big theme. What's in the breeding pipeline that brewers should be watching for in 2026?

Speaker 4 [16:54] Yeah, so our breeding program, uh, HBC, it's a joint venture with Yakima Chief Ranchers. And, um, their biggest focus is agronomics, um, like you mentioned, sustainability, obviously going forward, and that starts at the farm. So, the, the breeders are really looking for, before they even go selecting for your aromas or anything, they're really looking for disease resistance. That's gonna give us less sprays, less chemicals out in the field, less tractor passes, less burnt fuel. It's also, they're looking for high yields as well. So if we can be more efficient in our farming practices and grow more volume per acre than what we had been doing in the past with older varieties, that's really the goal with that breeding program. And then once they get past that standard of a high yielding disease resistant plant, then they're going to start actually going out and selecting for the aromas or the alpha or whatever their goal is. But um, Really, uh, that, that's the driving focus is that agronomic value. And with the HBC program as well. We're trying to come up with some of these newer varieties, uh, more of a noble type US variety. Um, this Goes along with the sustainability aspect too, where if we can provide these characteristics of hops that we've been purchasing historically from overseas, but if we can grow them here on our own US soil, that's a huge win for growers here as well and for brewers, I think, because that could put the, put, put that noble type of hop into US production. We can keep it here. We're not shipping around the world. You have access to that right here, and they're going to be so much more agronomically. stable than than the than the historic classic nobles over in in the EU and And uh Europe.

Speaker 3 [18:56] HBC has been working really hard on the Noble, um, varietys, as Andrew was saying, 11:34 showing great promise. It's just a really nice floral lagering hop. Um, seeing a lot of it being used here in California. Uh, in the pipeline too, there's 1,493, uh, which should hopefully work out to be a SA replacement, um, but that one's still in development. Brewers can't quite buy that one yet, so, keep on the lookout for that one next year.

Speaker 1 [19:26] Final question for you both. What's the one thing brewers should take away from the 2025 crop report?

Speaker 3 [19:32] Yeah, uh, contracting matters. Work with your suppliers, get right size contracts in place. It's really a year of opportunity, so right size market, new sustainable varieties make this one of the most stable hop outlooks we've had in years.

Speaker 4 [19:47] With these acreage reductions, we're actually seeing a huge quality and yield increase on, on, on these farms. Um, mostly due to when, when we are reducing acreage, um, obviously, the grower is gonna take out their sick virus fields, the low producing yards, the ones that just don't perform as well. So, when we're coming down in, in acreage overall, we're actually seeing the, the average, uh, yield starting to rise and the quality as well. So, that's kind of the silver lining on the acreage reduction in the US.

Speaker 1 [20:22] Well, Monica, Andrew, thank you for doing this. We appreciate the time.

Speaker 3 [20:26] Yeah, thanks, Justin. And

Speaker 1 [20:28] thanks to John I. Haas. Let's get back to Brewbound Live.