Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, October 12, 2024.

It appears that the COORS and WRANGLER folks have teamed up to make a new product custom made for your dating life – beer wash jeans! Yes, what better way to make an impression they’ll never forget than for your car to smell like stale beer when you pick up your date for dinner and a movie?

LDAs can sign up at beerwashjeans.com (hopefully this link works for you – it did not work for me) for a chance to win this new pinnacle of beer couture to show off around town.

Although who knew I was such a product innovator when I inadvertently created this very same product myself 30 years ago on several weekends at college.

THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDEFINED GOALS

• SAZERAC has a goal of growing BUZZBALLZ to 5X its current domestic sales, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights. No timeline was outlined for the brand to hit that $1B mark.
• SAPPORO has a goal of 2X’ing its current share of overall U.S. imported beer sales to 1.8%, according to comments made during its recent annual distributor meeting … also with no timing attached to that.
• Consider me inspired! 🙋I would like to 2X what I’m paid to write this newsletter in the 2026 brand resets, but will also consider a 2X increase in the beer allotment I take from Justin’s basement fridge by the 2025 resets.

You can always count on Lester Jones to bring the fun to any beer party … that involves charts. Away-from-home beer spending hit a 53% share of wallet in July 2024, having surpassed at-home beer spending back in February 2022.

Now … what was going on in 2022? 🤔 Oh right, that was back when I could still get a beer in NYC for under $9. Before tax. And tip. So yeah, that certainly tracks – thanks, Lester!

Yes, the realities of the craft beer business seem to have now also hit the home of Belgian-style brewing tradition in America, as you meet its 2 new additions to the 2025 core portfolio: ALLAGASH LAGER and HAZY IPA.

But the Belgian tradition at least lives on in half of the variety pack (Northeast only), as WHITE and TRIPEL will join the 2 above new additions to round it out.

ALLAGASH will also be releasing its HOP WATER in the Northeast, as the brewery celebrates its 30th anniversary next year.

Well, that was fast – CROWNS & HOPS has pulled out of the alliance it set with the CIRCLE OF CROWNS Beverage Group back in April. The CCBG created a united sales force for C&H with fellow CA and Black-owned brewery FULL CIRCLE, plus SPEAKEASY and SONOMA CIDER.

FULL CIRCLE was also brewing some of C&H’s beer. 

No specific new plans for CROWNS & HOPS were put forth, other than it is also abandoning its already-in-progress location in Inglewood, CA.

Yes, the parent company of JACK’S ABBY is buying the Boston-area craft mainstay in a deal whose financial underpinnings were not disclosed. JACK’S ABBY has already been brewing the majority of NIGHT SHIFT beer since mid-2022.

This will put HFB over the 100K BBL a year mark in 2025, and make it the largest craft brewer that actually makes its beer in MA (sorry SAM). 

No word on layoffs here, other than the “vast majority” of NIGHT SHIFT employees will have jobs at HFB, which was created back in April when it acquired WORMTOWN Brewing.

OK yes, there’s not a lot to know here – but after the above items, I think we can all agree we could use a little positive news to round things out here.

GOOSE ISLAND is bringing its first beer back into nationwide distribution after a 5-year pause, and it doesn’t look like it’s aged a bit. Plus, at 4.3% ABV – Justin and I will each have 2!

The nomination submission process for the 2024 BREWBOUND awards is open until November 1! Submit your choices here on the following categories

• Craft Brewery of the Year
• Large Brewery of the Year
• Beyond Beer Company of the Year
• Person of the Year
• Rising Stars
• Best New Products

I tried very hard for a Best Gif category, but Zoe said that was “too cringy” 🤷. (I’m pretty sure that means too cool, because that’s what my teenage nieces call me all the time.)

LONE STAR BEVERAGES

Chain Sales Director – Anywhere, TX

TRUMER BREWING

Shift Brewer – Berkeley, CA

CROSBY HOPS

CONSTELLATION hired E. Yuri Hermida as the new EVP, chief growth and strategy officer. He is coming over from convenience foods company SOVOS BRANDS, which was bought by CAMPBELL’s earlier this year.

And … well, that HONKERS Ale was nice while it lasted, wasn’t it folks? Now, back to the downer news (thanks BI). It was another down month for U.S. beer to finish out the summer that wasn’t … making for just 3 months out of 8 where U.S. beer shipments were up so far.

Well, unless you’re in imports – that beer volume was +8.9% YoY in August, and is +8.3% for 2024 through 8 months.

Yeah, beer can’t get this right – folks, the goal is to increase volume, and decrease how expensive it is. It’s a vicious cycle out there.

September beer at home was +3.5% YoY, vs. the general CPI of +2.4% .

Beer also continues to uh, “outshine” wine (+0.6%) and liquor (+0.1%) in this regard, as well as total alcohol (+1.6%).

$23.1 million

What TILRAY paid MC for its 4 craft breweries this year, subject to “post-closing working capital adjustments.” 

The BA’s VP of marketing and communications Ann Obenchain joins the pod this week to talk all about the reimagining of the GABF this year to increase the experiential elements for attendees.

Listen here!

AND:

If the goal was to experientially scare Justin this week – mission accomplished. Thanks BA!

• Zoe has ya covered here on the BA’s new financial benchmarking member survey results, looking at things like labor costs, revenue per BBL and much more.
• TN’s JACKALOPE Brewing has sold to an investment firm, but key leadership will be staying on to run the brewery, which made about 6,400 BBL in 2023 according to BA numbers.

The discounted room block for BREWBOUND LIVE at the Marina del Rey Marriott Hotel on Dec 11 & 12 is now open! If Justin says “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here” when he tries to shut down his afterparty, just remind him it’s only 7:30 p.m. and continue on with your merriment.

NEW SPEAKER, WHO DIS? Here are the latest industry speaker additions to the lineup!

• Rebecca Maisel, GULF DISTRIBUTING SVP legal and government affairs;
• Lauren Doll-Sheeder, DOLL DISTRIBUTING managing partner;
• Jennifer Grant, MARKSTEIN Sales general manager and VP;
• Zech Francis, BEATBOX Beverages SVP of global marketing;
• Rebecca Dye Yonushonis, NEW BELGIUM BREWING CMO;
• Lindsay Kunkle, FORESIGHT FACTORY director, head of U.S. Consultancy.

They join previously confirmed speakers:

• 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; 

This week’s beer is going out to hockey fans for showing basketball fans how it’s done, as the opening game for the UTAH HOCKEY CLUB saw over $120K in beer sales alone this week.

That’s a new beer sales record for the DELTA CENTER, even though the UTAH JAZZ have been playing there since 1991. SLC brewer EPIC also got in on the action … sorta, making a new Hip Check IPA. Although, at 7.5%, the ABV was too high for the beer to be made available at the arena.

Way to keep it real, Utah.

Slainté!  

-Sean McNulty