Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, July 27, 2024.

Congratulations beer, you did it! Beer was chosen as the alcoholic beverage of choice for the summer (66%) over wine (54%), liquor (50%) and cocktails (43%) in a brand new survey of 2,087 LDAs. 

What’s that? Who paid for the survey? Well, I mean is that really important? OK fine, it was the BEER INSTITUTE (who enlisted MORNING CONSULT to conduct it on its behalf), but I’m sure they totally would have released the results even if wine had come out on top, ahem. 

GET A ROOM!: The discounted room block for BREWBOUND Live at the Marina del Rey Marriott Hotel in December is now open! If you get the room next to Jess, please no loud noises before 8 a.m. – every little bit of extra shuteye counts when away from a toddler.

PITCH AWAY!: Applications to compete in this year’s Pitch Slam competition are also now open through September 30th here.

The event is returning to Marina del Rey, CA, on Dec. 11 & 12 for 2 days of insightful conversations and analysis, plus top-notch industry networking opportunities. You can register now here!

Confirmed speakers include:

• Mary Mills, consultant for 3 Tier Beverages;
• Arthur Moye, owner and CEO of FULL CIRCLE Brewing;
• Kaleigh Theriault, director of thought leadership, beverage alcohol vertical at NIQ;
• Brian “BK” Krueger, VP of business development and portfolio strategies at Bump Williams Consulting;
• Natalie Cilurzo, RUSSIAN RIVER co-owner;
• Peter Skrbek, CEO Deschutes Brewery;
• Lester Jones, NBWA chief economist and VP of analytics; 
• Jennifer Hauke, DRAFTLINE TECHNOLOGIES founder and president; 
• Rebecca Maisel, GULF DISTRIBUTING SVP of legal and government affairs 

Well, that headline about says it all, really … and the -2.1% number comes from the BA’s Bart Watson. 

Although, as Bart notes, the number relies significantly on the self-reported surveys from BA members, so it may skew a little better than what’s actually happening out there. Participation in the mid-year survey is not as robust as the full-year survey, and could skew more toward people who are doing better vs. those that aren’t.

Given production changes since mid-2023, it seems that 2024 trends are “fairly similar” to 2023, although I’m certain the same description cannot be made about Bart’s sock collection. 🧦

These volume numbers certainly track with NIQ-data in the off-prem through June 15:

• Independent craft: -2.1% YoY
• Other craft: -4.4% YoY

Breweries in operation at the mid-way point:

• 2024: 9,528
• 2023: 9,456
• Net gain: 72 (+0.8%)

Here’s what we got coming in November:

• BCB Original Stout (14.7% ABV)
• BCB Vanilla Rye Stout (TBD ABV)
• BCB Macaroon Stout (TBD ABV)
• BCB Proprietor’s Barleywine (TBD ABV) – Chicago only
• BCB Bardstown Cask Finish Stout (TBD ABV)

REUBEN’S BREWS

General Manager – Seattle, WA

BURLINGTON BEER CO

Marketing and Event Specialist – Williston, VT

FOOTHILLS BREWING

ATL’s MONDAY NIGHT BREWING COO Rachel Kiley has left the company to become CEO of her own spirits brand, SNEAKY PETE’S, which she founded with her husband – MONDAY NIGHT’s brewmaster Peter Kiley – and in which MONDAY NIGHT is an investor. 

• MONDAY NIGHT VP of sales Clint Wood has been promoted into the COO role.

Former longtime ALLAGASH sales exec Naomi Neville has a new gig as a program manager for the MAINE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS.

Beer industry vet Adam Lambert joined NA beer brand RationAle as its new VP of wholesale and sales operations. 

That’s at least according to a new report from major hop supplier BarthHaas, which breaks down by the top 5 major countries as such:

• China: 301 million BBL (19% share, and -.4% in volume)
• U.S.: 161 million BBL (10.2% share, and -5.6% in volume)
• Brazil: 125 million BBL (7.9% share, and +1% in volume)
• Mexico: 119 million BBL (7.6% share, and +1% in volume)
• Germany: 71 million BBL (4.5% share, and -3% in volume)

Your top 5, by brewer:

• A-B: 424 million BBL (26.9% share)
• HEINEKEN: 203 million BBL (12.9% share)
• CHINA RESOURCES SNOW: 93.5 million BBL (5.9% share)
• CARLSBERG: 85 million BBL (5.4% share)
• MOLSON COORS: 70.5 million BBL (4.4% share)

Specifically, we’re looking at:

• Shipments (sales to wholesalers): -6.4% (was -4.5% in Q2 ‘23)
• Depletions (sales to retailers): -4% (was -3% in Q2 ‘23)

Essentially, BOSTON’s hard tea brands (TWISTED TEA and SUN CRUISER) couldn’t offset declines from TRULY in the quarter. 

As a result, BOSTON BEER is revising its 2024 shipments & depletions projections downward to be flat or to decline low-single-digit, vs. the previous “down low-single-digit to growing by a low-single-digit” projection.

The company is also going to take price in the +1% to +2% range this year. 

ALMOST FRIDAY co-founder and CEO Jack Barrett and CORESTONE CAPITAL founder and CEO Will McDonough join the pod this week to talk about their FRIDAY BEERS lager brand, and the state of beer meme culture and social media landscape at large.

Plus, the BREWBOUND trio discuss the 2023 hop production numbers, THC regulation changes in Iowa and a new look & branding for CIGAR CITY’s Jai Alai.

• MA brewery EXHIBIT A is closing up shop in Framingham, and heading 90+ miles west to Williamsburg (err, MA, not NYC … because yeah, that’d be cheaper 🙄). 
• VINTAGE WINE ESTATES, parent co. of ACE CIDER, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company has $310 million in “outstanding loans and commitments.”
• ALBERTSON’S and KROGER have hit pause on their merger plans, while the Feds and attorneys general on the state level continue their investigations into the deal.
• SOUTHERN GLAZER’S WINE & SPIRITS is buying MA’s HORIZON BEVERAGE GROUP to add both MA and RI to its footprint, and the company’s branding will switch to SOUTHERN GLAZER’S once the deal is street legal.
• TILRAY is rebranding the SWEETWATER Fort Collins, CO taproom as a BRECKENRIDGE Brewery location next month.
• Nebraska’s governor is proposing to raise the excise tax on distilled spirits by +287%, as well as raise other “sin taxes” on things like cigarettes, vaping products, keno, etc., as a way to provide property tax relief to the state’s property owners. 

This week’s beer is going out to Zoe, for showing us all how to take a proper vacation – and let’s make it a KALIK 🍻 as she’ll be enjoying quite a few on her upcoming remote tropical island trip to the Bahamas.

I’d give a side beer to Jess, but apparently she’s too busy knocking down SURFSIDES on the Jersey Shore while her mom babysits – btw I’m good for a $10 wager that she brings a case back to the Boston area with her next month, just in case it’s sold out when she gets back home. Eh, better make it two cases.

Justin on the other hand . . . is using his time off to go to Comic-Con (he knows he can fly to other things besides conventions when he leaves Iowa, right?). 

While some may find it a curious choice to attend a chaotically loud convention with 130,000 people, and wait on hours-long lines alongside folks dressed in blaring cosplay all around you as one’s choice of escape from the chaotic life in a house with a two-year-old – playas gonna play.

Enjoy your well-deserved summer time off, folks! One of these days, I hope to get a week off from this thing myself 🙏. Justin told me he thinks we’ll have a slow enough week in 2028 🤞.

Slainté!  

-Sean McNulty 

(you can always reach me here on LinkedIn)