Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, August 31, 2024.

Fellow Irish citizens, I have some bad news – we’re going to need a new negative stereotype. 

It seems our multi-decade long work at being viewed as a people who enjoy having one too many beers 🥴 was all for naught according to this new chart below, which shows that Irish folks are drinking 31% less per capita than they were in 2001.

In fact, sales of non-alc beer in Ireland have 2x’d in the past four years to hit a 2% market share. Given the average EU share is 7%, there’s probably still quite a bit of runway there too.

Either way – we still got ya beat by a margin there, U.S. (i’ll explain what a liter is to you later), and from the looks of the beer sales numbers below in this newsletter, I feel comfortable in our lead. 🇮🇪💪

BUT: At least one Irishman is doing his best here in the States – sorry Post Malone, BUD LIGHT is bringing in the big guns for college football season, enlisting comedian Shane Gillis for this new pretty funny TV ad that I’m sure we’ll be seeing (a shorter version of) in the big Saturday college football season kickoff today.

AND: Going to the NBWA Annual Convention in San Diego in late September? First, Mrs. Brewbound said to please make sure Justin is in the shade at all times. But then … come have a toast! 👇

Open to all theories here, but here are the CIRCANA off-prem beer numbers for the L4W period ending August 11 (i.e. the heart of summer):

• Total beer: -3.7% sales, -5.4% volume (YoY)
• Craft: -6.5% sales, -7.8% volume

All numbers there are worse than the YTD numbers so far.

Heck, even Imports had a tough go: -1.2% sales, -5.4% volume, and NA is the only category to have both positive sales and volume trends (+27.6%, +21.8% respectively).

No word on the below premium segment, but regardless … maybe all of those stories about the tightening of the U.S. consumer wallet this summer aren’t entirely made up. Note – the biggest declines this year have been in the C-store sales channel.

Yeah, things aren’t looking too bright over with the spirts folks anymore either (wait, I thought this was the positive bev-alc category? 🤔).

• BROWN-FORMAN Q1 ‘25 (aka Q2 ‘24): Net sales -1%, operating income -14%
• PERNOD RICARD FY24: Net sales: -1%, and -5% in the Americas. The new plan? Pivot to NA! It’s taking a minority investment in Lewis Hamilton’s zero-proof agave ‘spirit’ brand, ALMAVE.

COMMONHOUSE ALEWORKS

Packaging Lead – North Charleston, SC

BEER CHURCH BREWING CO.

Head Brewer – New Buffalo, MI

BOTTLE LOGIC BREWING

Nichole Shustack and Isabelle Cunningham from the bev-alcohol team at law firm NUTTER, MCCLENNEN and FISH join the pod to talk all things:

• Ramifications of non-alc products crossing into bev-alc;
• Latest developments on the DTC front;
• Key state legal updates and more.

Then the BREWBOUND trio are reunited to talk about how they’re not on vacation anymore 😥, and dive into:

• The new MAGNOLIA sale
• How LEFT HAND is plotting a new future
• Some BEATBOX news, and more talk of Brie cheese than usual.

Listen Here!

• A group of folks including 21ST AMENDMENT vet Brandon Phillips bought the MAGNOLIA BREWING business from LION LITTLE WORLD/Kirin/New Belgium. No price was disclosed.
• SAPPORO-STONE workers in Virginia have begun a unionization effort with the Teamsters, according to VinePair. 
• SAZERAC’s BUZZBALLZ picked REYES as its distributor in CA, IL, SC and IN.

The discounted room block for BREWBOUND LIVE at the Marina del Rey Marriott Hotel on Dec 11 & 12 is now open! If you’re on the same floor as Zoe, get ready for overhearing a lot of rants about whichever quarterback is starting for the PATRIOTS by that point in the season. Also – register now here!

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

NEW SPEAKER, WHO DIS? Here are the very 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; 

PLUS - RETAILER ONE-TO-ONES: Beer and other bev-alcohol brands can participate in meetings with leaders from WHOLE FOODS, EXTRAMILE CONVENIENCE and other businesses, who will be available for private, pre-scheduled meetings. Brands will be selected at each retailer’s discretion. REGISTER HERE.

This week’s beer is going out to the Northeast! And no, not just because I live here. And Jess lives here. And Zoe (although … it doesn’t hurt).

Unlike our West Coast brethren 😏, we’re doing our best this weekend to try and turn around the terrible beer sales numbers I outlined above. According to a new NUMERATOR study, here are the percentages of people who intend to buy alcoholic beverages this weekend:

• Northeast: 63%
• West: 43%

At least the Latino population is going above and beyond to make up for your shortcomings – of those who are planning on buying bev-alc products this weekend, 87% will be buying beer (well over the 76% total average in the survey).

And Westerners, I don’t want to hear any excuses about “Hey, our kids are already back in school!” – you sending your kids back to the classroom before Labor Day weekend for some ungodly reason is your own problem. 

America’s beer business needs you, left coasters! So, do the work to fill up those coolers and fire up those artisanal pizza ovens or whatever you use at your “BBQs” and then celebrate uh, not working! While you insist your kids get their homework done.

Justin – you live closest, we’re leaving you in charge here.

Slainté!  

-Sean McNulty