Category: Commentary
Opinion and commentary relating to the alcohol beverage industry
News Taproom And General Business Considerations For The Coronavirus Crisis
With the current virus crisis changing so quickly, it’s easy for a business to misstep and do things that are detrimental to their business and community if not properly prepared. We can’t provide any specifics of what a business should do, other than stay informed with updates from local health departments. But we can provide some common sense business considerations every company should remember during this time of crisis. These apply to any crisis, but particularly in a time like this when everyone is on edge and things are changing rapidly.
(more...)
News The 2019 Purge of Portland Breweries
It had to happen. With the rapid growth of new brewery opening in the U.S. over the last 5-7 years coupled with almost zero closings, the time had to arrive when the rate of brewery closings would increase. This has been the year. It’s not a “bubble bursting,” but for the first time since the late 1990’s, we are starting to notice an uptick in breweries closing down across the American craft brewing landscape.
(more...)
News So…..Who is Kings and Convict?
That is the question circulating through the industry after it was announced this week that Ballast Point Brewing had been acquired from Constellation Brands by a small 600 bbl annual production brewery in Chicagoland. It seemed, on the surface, to be the most unlikely of all of the acquisitions and mergers that have been rampant in the craft brewing industry for 10 years now.
(more...)
News ‘Brewery Collectives’ – the New Future?
One view that was mostly hidden from the astounding news yesterday that New Belgium Brewing sold to Kiri’s is the fact that the deal may coalesce a broader collection of U.S. breweries than most people realize. Magnolia Brewing in San Francisco is owned by New Belgium Brewing and is part of the sale package. That will give Kirin a well-regarded west coast brewery with numerous retail locations. Additionally, Kirin already owns a portion of Brooklyn Brewing, which in turns has ownership in 21st Amendment and Funkworks. Combined that is five diverse breweries across the country.
(more...)
News Bubble Gum IPA – Gone Too Far?
With the craft beer industry already under siege by many who feel that beer style proliferation has gone too far in an attempt to attack attention and entice more sales, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Blue Point Brewing has just released Bubble Brain IPA, a “small batch, bubble gum beer, driven by fruit, spices and yeast,” Barry McLaughlin, marketing director said in a Forbes article.
(more...)
News The Buying Continues – AB Acquires Platform
They are apparently not done yet. After a break of two years since buying its last craft brewery, many in the industry thought Anheuser-Busch might have set aside its buying spree of craft breweries. Not so, as the global company announced today that it has acquired Platform Beer Co. of Cleveland.
(more...)
News Pete Coors Takes on Aluminum Tariffs
Pete Coors, in an op-ed column in the Wall Street Journal, gave the thumbs down to President Trumps notion that tariffs can be “avoided.” Coors, vice chairman of the Molson Coors Brewing Co., wrote “according to President Trump, tariffs can be ‘completely avoided if you buy from a non-Tariffed Country, or you buy the product inside the USA (the best idea). That’s Zero Tariffs.’ Unfortunately, this isn’t quite true for anyone buying aluminum. Thanks to manipulative business practices that appear to permeate the industry, it doesn’t matter if you buy from a tariffed company or an American one—you’ll still pay the same high price.”
(more...)
News Sad But True Department – Pabst Intros Hard Coffee
The “new age” of alcohol beverages is the talk of the industry with hard seltzers, hard kombucha and other innovative drinks seemingly all the rage. Like a race to be the “next new style” of beer created grapefruit IPA’s, Hazy this-and-that and other esoteric flavors, will we now see a surge in “off-flavored” alcoholic beverages? My guess is yes. And look what just popped up; Pabst Blue Ribbon Hard Coffee, a chocolate-flavored malt beverage (FMB) with Arabica and robusta coffee beans, milk, and vanilla.
(more...)
News Pressure is Up – Are Prices Going Down?
No doubt the entry of into the craft segment by Anheuser-Busch and other Big Alcohol giants through craft brewery acquisitions has turned up the pressure in the market place. Competition is as tough for craft brewers as it has ever been. But will Big Alcohol use their size to push pricing down – to squeeze smaller brewers out?
(more...)
News Nick Warming, Boss at Southern Bay Brewery in Australia Resigns after Non-Alcoholic Beer ‘Gay Lemonade’ Comment Backlash
Nick Warming, the boss at Southern Bay Brewery, has been forced to resign after he joked that non-alcoholic beer should be called ‘gay lemonade.’ Warming, CEO received angry backlash on social media to a post he had shared on the firm’s Facebook page.
The post, a meme of an old boxer with the caption: “Non-alcoholic beer. You mean gay lemonade?”
In response to criticism, the now former boss of the Australian company said: “I have resigned as CEO of Southern Bay Brewing Co. The board have accepted my resignation with immediate effect.”
Via: LAD Bible
(more...)
News Industry Converges on Denver for 35th (?) Annual CBC
The very first conference for craft brewers was held in conjunction with the annual Homebrewers Conference in Boulder in 1982., put on by the American Homebrewers Association. At that conference, there was a separate seminar track of topics for commercial craft brewers. But it wasn’t until 1984 in Denver, after the Institute for Brewing and Fermentation Studies had been formed the previous year to represent the emerging craft brewing industry that craft brewers had their very own conference. It was still held at the same time and location as the Homebrewers Conference, but it had its own identity with separate registration and content specific to commercial small-scale brewing.
(more...)
News Good Start – Beer Up YTD
The overall beer category is off to a relatively good start, up 1.4% in volume YTD through Feb.24th versus same period last year in all off-premise channels according to IRI, a Chicago-based research firm (@iriworldwide). Strong pricing was also evident as dollar sales were up 4.1% for beer overall. The growth was driven by domestic super premiums which were up 17.9% volume. The craft category was up 2.1% in volume and 3.0% in dollars.
(more...)
News Corn Syrup Fight Raises Big Question Mark – Bad for Beer?
The industry is still talking about the ABInBev Super Bowl ads that called out Miller Lite and Coors Light being brewed with corn syrup while implying that Bud Light does not. It has been awhile since the big brewers have gone at it directly in front of the consumer via adverting. Maybe that’s because Big Beer has been so concerned about the threat from craft.
(more...)
News Reyes Group Picks Up Constellation in Southern California
In a tectonic shift to the beer distribution network in one of the largest markets in the country, the Reyes Beverage Group has closed the deal on acquiring Constellation Brands beer portfolio from two more Southern California beer wholesalers.
(more...)
News Another GABF in the Record Books
The Brewers Association (BA) hosted the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) for the 37th year in a row in Denver last Thursday through Saturday. And once again, it was bigger than ever. Over 800 breweries poured more than 4,000 beers with approximately 62,000 people attending over the course of the three days. As those in the industry know, this event is far from an intimate industry gathering. And more than any year in the past, the enormous convention center setting took on an atmosphere of part circus, part beer-geek Disneyland and part over-sized carnival. Even the pretzel necklaces took it a new level; instead of wearing a string of pretzels around their neck, many participants had a large BAG of pretzels clipped to their necklace. Yet another sign that this event is all about being bigger, and not necessarily better. But the good news is, people still keep coming.
(more...)
News ProBrewer Wants To Help In This Crisis — ProBrewer Community Covid-19 Crisis Center
Posted by Tom McCormick
Dear ProBrewer Family,
(more...)