Category: Beverage Industry News
- Business of Beer 776
- Commentary 159
- Crisis Response 190
News Maui Brewing Initiates ‘Kokua Project’ to Help Victims of Fire
The craft brewing industry has always inspired its community to help others in times of need. There are hundreds of examples of craft breweries who have raised funds to support local causes. Garret Marrero, CEO and co-founder of Craft ‘Ohana (Maui Brewing/Modern Times) in Kihei, Hawaii and chair of the Brewers Association board of directors, has created the Kokua project to support the ongoing needs of the people affected by the tragic fires that took place last week on the island of Maui.
(more...)
News Craft Beer Down 2% Mid-Year – Number of Breweries Continues to Increase
The Brewers Association (BA) mid-year look at the numbers shows that BA defined craft breweries are down 2% through the first half of 2023, the first decline of the industry since the BA began tracking numbers, with the exception of the pandemic year 2020.
(more...)
News Follow the Leader – Molson Coors Buys Blue Run Whiskey
In another sign that large global brewers are continuing to chase after growth beverage segments outside traditional beer, Molson Coors announced that they will purchase Blue Run Spirits, makers of premium Blue Run Kentucky Bourbon. It is another step forward in the evolution of large brewing companies turning more and more into ‘beverage companies.’
(more...)
News Brewers Publications Releases ‘Brewery Safety: Principles, Processes, and People’
Brewers Publications has released their newest book, Brewery Safety: Principles, Processes, and People. The latest in the Business of Beer series aims to equip breweries and teams of all sizes with strategies for preventing, controlling, and eliminating hazards.
(more...)
News AB Sells Off Eight Craft Brands to Tilray Including10-Barrel, Widmer, Redhook, Breckenridge and Shock Top
Large global brewers have been slowly selling off their acquired craft brands in recent months. That trickle is now a deluge as Anheuser-Busch announced that they will sell eight craft beer, cider, and energy drink brands to Tilray Brands Inc. The sell-off includes 10-barrel Brewing, Widmer Brothers, Redhook, Breckenridge Brewery and Blue Point Brewing along with the AB in-house craft brand Shock Top.
(more...)
News Molson Coors Shows Strong Qtr. 2 Financial Results Despite Market Challenges
It’s that time of the year when the large global brewers announce their mid-year financial results, giving a good indication how the year will look for each company and the industry as a whole. Molson Coors posted 11.8% growth in second quarter net sales, its best quarterly brand volume trend since the MillerCoors Joint Venture in 2008.
(more...)
News Heineken Reports Profit Decline in First Half 2023 After Price Increase
Dutch brewer Heineken saw operating profit drop by 22% on an adjusted basis in the first half of 2023. The drop was attributed primarily to an unexpected decline in profits in the Asia-Pacific region, but the decrease in profits was especially notable since the company took a 14% increase in pricing last year.
(more...)
News AB to Layoff 2% of Workforce Due to Consumer Boycott
Anheuser-Busch said it would be laying off about 350 employees following five straight months of double-digit declines in sales of Bud Light due to the consumer boycott. The layoffs are said to be at all tiers of the company, including some corporate positions.
(more...)
News Major Upgrade for Stone Breweries to Brew Sapporo Beer for US Market
Sapporo is gearing up to produce Sapporo beers for the US market at both Stone Brewing Co. breweries by making a significant investment in new equipment and expanded capacity. Although the recent closure of Anchor Brewing in San Francisco seems to have signaled a failed experiment, the two Stone breweries offer a more modern facility to make Sapporo beers.
(more...)
News Portland, Oregon Sees Flurry of Craft Brewery Closures
The closure or impending closure of seven small breweries in Portland, Oregon in just the last month is yet another sign of stress in the craft beer industry. The beer-centric city went through a series of closures last winter, and this second round of closures could be a bellwether for the industry as a whole.
(more...)
News Efforts Take Shape to Buy Anchor Brewing
It was expected that various forms of interest in buying Anchor Brewing would surface after it was announced last week that the historic brewery was closing. Now, two separate attempts to buy the historic brewery are gaining attention, although both appear to be a long shot.
(more...)
News Coca-Cola Forms New Subsidiary for Alcoholic Beverages Called Red Tree Beverages
Coca-Cola, the largest beverage company in the world, has established a new division to develop and manage its alcohol beverage business. The move spotlights the diversification and fragmentation of the alcohol industry, as the largest beverage manufacturers look for ways to benefit from the growing demand for non-traditional alcohol products such as FMB’s, RTD’s and other alcohol-infused drinks.
(more...)
News The Demise of Anchor Brewing – A Wide Angle Perspective
Many questions have been asked since Anchor Brewing announced last week that the iconic brewery was closing. And many reasons have been assigned as to what caused the demise of the beloved San Francisco brewery. But the story, and the outcome is both varied and complex.
(more...)
News ‘We Were All Brewers’ – Longtime Anchor Employees Talks About Brewery Closure
David Burkhart was an employee at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco for 31 years; half of his life. Like many in the industry, it seems inconceivable to him that Anchor is gone forever, and he envisions an angel, “hovering over the brewery, who sees the value in a small business that makes unique, local, delicious, beautiful products — San Francisco in a glass.”
(more...)
News Diageo to Roll-Out Non-Alcoholic Guinness on Draft in Ireland – Increase Capacity by 300%
In a testament of confidence in the growing non-alcoholic beer category, Diageo has made a major investment to its famed St. James Gate brewery in Dublin to increase the capacity by 300% to make Guinness 0.0. The company will begin to roll-out the non-alcoholic stout on draft across Ireland this summer.
(more...)
News Beer Production Declines 7.7% in May – Down 4.4% for the Year
Beer production in the US had another downward month. The Beer Institute’s estimate of domestic tax paid shipments by beer brewers in May 2023 was down 7.7% compared to last year. Production for the year through May is now down an estimated 4.4%.
(more...)
News Is ‘Premiumisation’’ on the Decline?
Premium alcoholic beverages have been outperforming other price categories for many years, helping to drive the steady growth in craft beer. But the first half of 2023 has begun to show some cracks in premiumization, which may not bode well for craft beer, which is already slowing due to multiple other factors.
(more...)
News Tilray Deal Highlights the Rapid De-Evaluation of Craft Beer Brands
Posted by Tom McCormick
Tilray Brands, the pharmaceutical, cannabis and consumer packaged goods company that just purchased eight craft brands from Anheuser-Busch, paid an astonishingly low $85 million for approximately 8 million cases combined. That’s about $150 per barrel, a far, far distance from the height of the craft beer industry when brands sold as high as $1,000 per barrel only 6-8 years ago.
(more...)