• 👨‍💼 Great Lakes CEO Resigns
• 📉 A-B US Q1 Shipments -10.1%, Depletions -13.7%
• 💰 Founder Buys Back Lead Dog Brewing
• 🪿 Goose Island Salt Shed Location Now Open
• 🎰 Boulevard to Release Tank 7 Variety Pack

Great Lakes Brewing Co. (GLBC) CEO Mark King has stepped down from the top position at the Cleveland, Ohio-based craft brewery, effective April 24, the company announced Tuesday. 

King  joined Great Lakes in 2019. His resume includes two decades at Anheuser-Busch InBev, stints at Beam Suntory, Gambrinus and BeatBox, and the founding of Texas-based cidery Austin Eastciders. He was “integral to the company’s success” through the COVID-19 pandemic “and beyond,” as well as the “stabilization” of Great Lakes’ core portfolio, according to a press release. 

King’s predecessor, Bill Boor, was GLBC’s first CEO and held the position for nearly four years before departing in an “unanticipated, but amicable” split. 

With King’s departure, GLBC chief commercial officer (CCO) Chris Brown and chief operations officer (COO) Steven Pauwels have been appointed interim co-CEOs, effective immediately. The joint position will combine “Brown’s sales, marketing and stakeholder expertise with Pauwels’ operational, quality control and workforce proficiencies,” according to the release. 

GLBC marketing director Kami Purdue told Brewbound via email: “We have a unique opportunity with two leaders who complement each other’s skill sets, so we intend to see where this new chapter takes us with Brown and Pauwels both at the helm. 

“That said, interim tags will remain for the 2024 calendar year and be re-evaluated in 2025.”

Purdue noted that King “did not share his next endeavor,” but that the company is wishing him “all the best regardless.” 

Purdue added: “This industry is always changing and evolving, and new opportunities arise daily, so it just happens that it’s GLBC’s turn to experience and embrace this latest change.” 

Brown joined GLBC in August 2020 as VP of sales, and was promoted to CCO in February. Before GLBC, he spent more than 15 years at Georgia-based United Distributors in various leadership roles, followed by two years as executive VP of sales and marketing at Atlanta-based Scofflaw Brewing. 

Pauwels joined GLBC as COO in April 2022. He previously spent more than two decades as the brewmaster at Kansas City, Missouri-headquartered Boulevard Brewing. He has since been “instrumental in GLBC’s quality improvements, elevated operational processes and product innovation successes,” according to the release. 

Insiders can read more, including the latest production and scan data for GLBC.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) U.S. businesses recorded double-digit shipments and depletions declines in Q1, the final quarter before the company begins to lap initial accelerated declines from the conservative-led boycott of Bud Light that began in April 2023.

Shipments (sales to wholesalers) declined -10.1%, as “Q1 shipments caught up with the stronger depletions in December 2023,” according to A-B’s financial release, shared this morning. Depletions (sales to retailers) declined -13.7%, “primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light.” 

As a refresher, Bud Light lost 2.72 points of share of total beer category dollar sales year-over-year (YoY) in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels in the 13-week period ending March 23, 2024. Dollar sales declined -28% and volume -29.1% in the period. 

A-B’s Q1 2023 comps were not the double-digit declines that the company will go up against the rest of FY2024. However, the quarter’s results were not positive in 2023, with U.S. shipments (-1.6%) and depletions (-3%) both declining single-digits. 

A-B’s Q1 2024 U.S. earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) declined -17.9%, as “top-line performance and support measures” for A-B’s wholesaler partners “were partially offset by productivity initiatives,” the company reported. 

Looking at the positives of the quarter, A-B noted that “while mainstream beer volumes declined, our above core beer megabrands volume continued to grow.” Additionally, its spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings, such as Cutwater Spirits and Nütrl Vodka Seltzer, “delivered strong double-digit volume growth, outperforming the industry.” 

Insiders can read more, including A-B’s global Q1 results, and comments from CEO Michel Doukeris.

Lead Dog Brewing’s founder and original brewmaster Ryan Gaumer has bought back the Reno, Nevada-based craft brewery, three years after selling the company to California-based Mammoth Brewing Co. 

Joining Gaumer in the buyback were Revision Brewing CEO Jeremy Warren and brewmaster Jeb Taylor, adding Lead Dog to the Nevada Beverage Alliance, a strategic alliance formed by Revision and Great Basin Brewing last summer. 

Lead Dog’s brewing operations will be moved to Revision’s Nevada facilities “streamlining production processes and heralding a new era of cooperation among local brewing giants,” according to a press release.  

Lead Dog will also close its taproom in Sparks, Nevada, within the next 30 to 45 days, Warren told Brewbound via email. The brewery continues to operate its Reno location under the new ownership. 

Gaumer’s new title with Lead Dog is president and founder, Warren added.

Gaumer sold Lead Dog to Mammoth in July 2021 to pursue opportunities outside of the beer industry. At the time, the brewery was producing 9,000 barrels of beer a year, according to estimates from the Brewers Association (BA). Production declined -8% in 2022 (the last year production numbers are available from the BA), to 8,250 barrels. 

“Despite the transition, Gaumer's attachment to Lead Dog's ethos and the community remained unwavering. Observing the brand's subsequent evolution, he felt compelled to step back in, returning the brand to its original roots,” Lead Dog wrote in the latest release. 

Fun Fact: Mammoth announced plans to purchase Great Basin in April 2019, but the deal fell through after an investor “didn’t show up at the table,” Mammoth owner Sean Turner told North Nevada Business Weekly in 2021.

Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Goose Island Beer Co. opened its brewpub Friday in Chicago’s Salt Shed music venue, according to Book Club Chicago.  

The opening comes four months after the closure of Goose Island’s original Clybourn taproom after three decades. Goose Island is one of the top two craft brands for A-B by output, with production of 495,000 barrels in 2022, the most recent year in which data is available from the Brewers Association (BA). The other is Kona, whose volume is rolled up with the other former Craft Brew Alliance brands in the BA’s data set, with 640,000 barrels of output in 2022.

Goose Island boasts two top 30 brands in off-premise retailers tracked by Circana. Goose Island Tropical Beer Hug DDH double IPA is the 19th best-selling craft beer year-to-date (YTD), with dollar sales of more than $10.47 million (+42.9%), with volume increasing +37.9%. 

Goose Island IPA is the 28th largest craft beer brand in off-premise retailers YTD tracked by Circana, with around $6.4 million in sales (-12.5%), and volume declining -11.2%. 

Boulevard’s Tank 7 was one of my (it’s Justin) favorite beers when I lived in Kansas City. The Kansas City, Missouri-based craft brewery has since expanded Tank 7, an American saison, into a brand family with the year-round addition of Dank 7 Belgian-style IPA (7% ABV). 

Joining the Tank 7 family is Tropical Tank 7 Island Saison (8.5% ABV), exclusive to Boulevard’s new limited-release Jackpot variety 12-pack. 

This marks Tank 7’s first mix pack. The times have changed since the days when Boulevard was reluctant to put Tank 7 in cans.

The Brewbound Live business conference returns December 11 and 12 in Marina del Rey, California.

Brewbound Live will feature beverage-alcohol industry leaders taking part in business-focused conversations, data presentations, networking and much more across two days at the Marina del Rey Marriott.

Brewbound announced the first speakers for this year’s conference. They include:

• Russian River co-owner Natalie Cilurzo;
• Deschutes Brewery CEO Peter Skrbek;
• National Beer Wholesalers Association chief economist and VP of analytics Lester Jones;
• Draftline Technologies founder and president Jennifer Hauke.

Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Register for Brewbound Live 2024.

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.

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