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Four Black-owned craft beverage-alcohol brands are uniting in California to create a strategic alliance greater than the sum of its parts.

The Circle of Crowns Beverage Group (CCBG) includes Inglewood-based Crowns and Hops, Fresno-based Full Circle Brewing and its sister brands Speakeasy Ales and Lagers and Sonoma Cider. 

Crowns and Hops CEO and co-founder Beny Ashburn told Brewbound: “This alliance is a monumental opportunity to unite four exceptional Black brands that have individually made significant waves in the industry. By banding together, we're not just shaking up the industry, but we're almost rewriting the DNA when you think about it, because an opportunity like this has never existed before for BIPOC brands in the market.”

No equity will change hands under the strategic alliance, but all four brands will share resources and a combined sales force to cross the necessary hurdles for placement in chain retailers – all but a requirement to succeed in distributed sales in California. 

Ashburn and co-founder and head of brewing operations Teo Hunter began discussing a partnership in 2021 with Arthur Moye, CEO and owner of Full Circle. Moye acquired Speakeasy in April 2023 in a deal that made his company the country’s largest Black-owned craft brewery by volume. 

An impetus behind the chats was the fact that national chain retailers had pledged to support Black-owned brands in 2020 after the Black Lives Matter movement swelled in response to the murder of George Floyd. Often, those retailers required distribution and volume commitments beyond what many Black-owned craft brewers could achieve. 

Collectively, the alliance can produce up to 25,000 barrels using Full Circle’s excess capacity. CCBG has its sights on becoming a top regional producer, with output greater than 15,000 barrels and eventually 100,000 barrels, Moye said.

Moye said: “There is no majority Black-owned brewery at this point that can produce enough to answer the call, even within the state of California, of a Safeway or a Walmart.” 

Hunter said: “If a chain or a larger group was interested, we have reduced those barriers. Let's be frank, it's been more than just retailers that have launched these incentives and these concepts for how to be supportive to BIPOC brands.

“Our belief is that they have been sitting on the sidelines because there hasn't been a structure or an alliance or an organization like we're presenting today to get behind in terms of being able to capitalize on whatever opportunity or resources that we're looking to make available.”

Read more about the CCBG and the journey Ashburn, Hunter and Moye have taken to become craft brewers.

Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bob Pease shared his thoughts with Brewbound on the 2024 edition of Craft Brewers Conference (CBC), which officially kicks off today. 

Pease discussed the theme of this year’s gathering of craft brewers, taking place in Las Vegas, as well as the turbulent times the trade group’s members are facing, the organization's own changes and conversations he and Dr. J Jackson-Beckham have been part of in regards to the 2023 event.

Below are highlights from the Q&A:

Brewbound: Official or unofficial, what do you believe the theme of this year’s CBC will be?

Pease: Internally, our unofficial theme is finding growth. That can be applied in various ways, not just market growth, but business growth, leadership growth, learning lessons on growth from other industries, and more. I think you’ll see that reflected in our General Session presentations and seminar lineup. We want to make sure CBC attendees take away actionable ideas to implement when they get back to their businesses.

It is harder than ever to run a successful brewery business in a complex beverage environment. The seminars and tradeshow are aimed to help find the growth pockets and efficiencies that will help attendees run profitable businesses.

It’s no secret that the market is rough now for a lot of craft brewers. We’ve seen increased closures, bankruptcies, auctions. What’s your message to your members at this point?

Pease: While there are challenges in the industry, there are many successes and opportunities that exist. No one will run a better business by worrying about financial uncertainty, so our message to our members is that we’re here to share insights, tools, and resources to help them understand and navigate this market while listening to them on what we should be doing next to best help them thrive.

There are bright spots, and they lie in the fact that Americans still love visiting their local brewery, meaning taproom and brewpub numbers have held up better than distribution. While demand isn’t necessarily growing, this isn’t a bubble bursting, and many craft brewers still have strong brands, particularly in their local markets. That offers opportunities for extensions as well, and many brewers are seeing more opportunities in beverage or other product areas.

The BA is a big tent party at this point. Your members vary widely in size and needs. How is the BA ensuring that it is meeting its members’ needs at this critical juncture?

Pease: We are grateful for the diversity of our membership. While we currently have a robust library of resources and programs and offer value through in-person experiences, we rely on our members to share their feedback so that we can serve them the best we can.

We have continued to recognize emerging business models and have diversified to meet those needs. Our board created the taproom breweries membership class around six years ago, and a more recent example of how we are meeting members' needs is through the recent changes to our bylaws to include contract brewery members as voting members. 

Ultimately, at the BA, meeting member needs starts with hearing from all those members. That’s why it’s so important for breweries to engage to have their voice heard and why so much of what we do builds in member input from committees and more. Look at what we were doing five or 10 years ago, and I think you’ll see the evolution of our resources and programs based on the changing nature of small and independent breweries and our membership more broadly.

Brewbound Insiders can read the full Q&A, including Pease’s thoughts on recent bylaws changes, who will write craft’s next chapter, the BA’s transitional period with events and how the organization is approaching the 2024 edition of CBC differently following criticism around the 2023 event.

The Brewbound team is in Las Vegas RIGHT NOW for the Brewers Association’s (BA) Craft Brewers Conference (CBC). 

We’ve set up the Brewbound Podcast On Location at booth 1989 and will be recording live-to-tape interviews with industry leaders, including figures from the BA, Leinenkugel’s, ReserveBar, New Belgium, Von Ebert, the Michael James Jackson Foundation (MJF) and more. Come watch live, or listen to the conversations on future Brewbound Podcast episodes.

On this week’s Brewbound Podcast, Justin and Zoe talk data trends with Bump Williams Consulting president Dave Williams and VP of business development and portfolio strategy Brian “BK” Krueger. The duo dives into spring resets, Dry January and craft trends through the first three months of 2023, plus much more.

Justin, Jess and Zoe will also recap today’s CBC General Session. The first of two General Sessions will feature keynote speaker Fawn Weaver, co-founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, and a fireside chat with Crowns & Hops co-founder Beny Ashburn.

Boston Beer Company will also report its Q1 2024 earnings on Thursday afternoon. This marks the changing of the guard at Boston Beer, with new CEO Michael Spillane taking over following the retirement of Dave Burwick.

Ahead of today’s start of CBC, we dove into what you need to know for the industry conference, including our editorial team’s seminar picks:

• Justin’s Picks
• Jess’ Picks
• Zoe’s Picks

Attending the event today? Make sure you catch up on the hot topics that might come up throughout the conference with our Brewbound reading list.

Plus, the BA’s Dr. J joined the Brewbound Podcast to talk Thrive, CBC and Vegas musts.

The BA also released the 2023 Top 50 suppliers for both craft and total beer. Several brand platforms made the craft list, including No. 6 Tilray Brands (SweetWater, Green Flash, Alpine, Montauk, 10 Barrel, Redhook, Widmer Brothers, Breckenridge, Blue Point); No. 7 Artisanal Brewing Ventures (Victory, Southern Tier, Sixpoint); and No. 9 Monster Brewing (Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Squatters, Wasatch, Perrin) in the Top 10.

In other data news, consumer loyalty “continues to erode” for Bud Light, according to HundredX survey data, shared by Goldman Sachs. Consumers ranked brands based on their likeliness to recommend and consumer, as well as key characteristics such as taste, value, availability and brand values/trust.

Zoe was in Washington, D.C., last week for the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) annual Legislative Conference. NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser encouraged attendees to advocate against direct-to-consumer shipping and for continued separation between beer, wine and spirits. 

Fellow trade group leaders Brian Crawford (Beer Institute) and Bob Pease (BA) also spoke at the event, discussing potential changes to dietary guidelines, opportunities from non-alcoholic beer and the health of the on-premise. The duo was joined by World Brewing Alliance president and CEO Justin Kissinger and American Beverage Licensees executive director John Bodnovich. Get all the details here.

While on stage, Pease backed claims that 2024 is finally the year of the lager for craft. Producers seem to agree, with dozens releasing new – or expanding existing – light lager offerings this year. Who’s participating and what makes this time different? Zoe has some answers in this piece, originally published earlier this month in the BevNET Magazine. 

Other headlines from last week include:

• Seattle Hospitality Group to Acquire Fremont Brewing
• Proposed Colorado Bill Would Double Bev-Alc Taxes to Fund Addiction Recovery Efforts
• Ready Or Not: RTDs Detracting From Spirits’ Growth?
• Allagash, Lawson’s Share Social Impact Reports

Insiders can catch up on it all, as well as Saturday's Insider Week in Beer newsletter. 

At Brewbound Live in Marina del Rey, CA on December 11 + 12, beer and beverage-alcohol brands can participate in retailer one-to-ones. Leaders from Whole Foods Market will be available for private, pre-scheduled meetings. Brands will be selected at each retailers’ discretion.

As the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with a vast network spanning over 500 stores, Whole Foods holds substantial influence in the market. These meetings present a unique opportunity for beer and beverage-alcohol brands aspiring to excel in retail channels focusing on natural and organic products. 

Participating brands can gain invaluable insights and strategic guidance tailored towards facilitating growth within these specialized retail environments.

You must be registered for Brewbound Live to be considered for a retailer meeting. Once you register for the event, you will receive an email with instructions for signing up.

Register for Brewbound Live Winter 2024.

Brewers Association board of directors chairwoman Leah Cheston, co-owner of Washington, D.C.-based Right Proper Brewing, has hit the stage in Las Vegas, which means the Craft Brewers Conference has officially begun!

Cheston, the first woman to chair the BA board of directors since New Belgium founder Kim Jordan in 2007, called it out right away: “You may have noticed something – just in case, I’m going to give it to you. I’m a woman.” 

Stay tuned for coverage of Cheston and BA president and CEO Bob Pease’s remarks and today’s keynote address from Uncle Nearest Whiskey founder and CEO Fawn Weaver in conversation with Crowns and Hops co-founder and CEO Beny Ashburn

If you’re in Sin City, make sure to stop by booth 1989 to say hi to us between recordings of the Brewbound Podcast On Location.