Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, November 25, 2023.

Where I hope you didn’t forget to pick up a 19.2 for grandma this week on your “Crap, is that today??” c-store visit on the way to your family Thanksgiving dinner this week.

#BlackoutWednesday has consequences people – do your shopping before doing your BCBS vertical next year, mmmkay?

ALTHOUGH: Definitely keep the ABVs in check if you’re visiting the … ice rink at Cincy’s FIFTY WEST Brewing 👏. 

Go with their 5% ABV Interstate Tailgate pilsner instead of their 7.2% Shaggin Waggon IPA – although yes, I know … that name is hard to resist not ordering. Maybe after the skates are returned.

I’ll see you at the Wednesday night curling league match #realthing.

OK, well maybe not exactly, but meet their new line of non-alc beers – SHINER Rode0.

They’re launching with a “golden brew,” which is … not a golden ale, but rather an American lager, which certainly hints that maybe they got into the stash of SHINER alcoholic beer before the branding meeting.

There will be 2 other Rode0 SKUs coming in 2024 and a variety pack this summer.

Well, at least STONE isn’t involved here 🤷(yet).

But it seems Eric Granger, an early 2% investor in TREE HOUSE, isn’t too happy with the way brewery founders Nate Lanier and Damien Goudreau are spending company money (and also not giving any of said money to shareholders in the form of dividends).

Then again – Granger is the only remaining shareholder, as other OG investors cashed out in 2016 and earlier this year (Lainer and Goudreau each own about 49% of the company).

Essentially in 2015, with investor approval (that Granger says he is unaware that he signed), Lanier and Goudreau created Class A and B levels of stock ownership, keeping all of the Share A (voting) class and the only 2 board seats for themselves, allowing them to do what they like essentially. 

Granger is alleging that he cannot currently value his stake in the business, despite repeated requests for information … except for what he’s been given that is required by law 🤷.

There’s also a permit situation to which Granger was supposedly non-responsive when TREE HOUSE lawyers reached out to him for information and… uh, well Zoe & Jess have you fully covered here, including how much Granger is looking for.

That’s the percentage of people who said they’d be drinking on-premise this Thanksgiving day, according to a CGA poll.  

OK, I know Zoe’s darty crew accounts for 1% of this but … kudos to the other 41% for keeping the party going while Justin, Jess and I respectively nodded off on the couch at 8:30 p.m. 

Also impressive – Thanksgiving beat #Drinksgiving on-premise plans, as that Wednesday number was only 38% 🤫.

Meet SIERRA NEVADA’s Dank LIttle Thing hazy IPA, which… OK, you had me at dank, but are losing me at hazy IPA and the inclusion of Mosaic hops in the mix.

So, count me curious to ‘borrow’ one from the BREWBOUND fridge, just as soon as they tell me where they moved it. It’ll be on shelves for purchase through Feb. 2024.

ATHLETIC BREWING

Assistant Brewer - San Diego, CA

TOPA TOPA BREWING

HR Generalist, Ventura, CA

BUZZBALLZ

VP of Sales, Eastern Division, Carrollton, TX

Kudos to the 6 new Master Cicerones!

• Jen Blair; Under the Jenfluence; Mableton, Georgia;
• Patrick Combs; Stem Ciders and Howdy Beer; Westminster, Colorado;
• Federico Lantschner; BrewDog; Bariloche, Argentina;
• David Reese; Fly Llama Brewing; Biloxi, Mississippi;
• Shelley Smith; Boston Beer; Boston, Massachusetts;
• Craig Thomas; Abstrax Hops; Templeton, California.

There are now 28 in the world, plus that guy at the end of the craft beer bar who swears he was this 🤏 close.

The Brewbound gang discusses the latest flurry in deals, from OTHER HALF to MBTW and others.

THEN: They get drunk! No, wait, they talk about folks who may be doing so for Drinksgiving. Plus, the latest C-store scan data (which I’m told can also give you a buzz) and much more.

🎧 Listen here!

• HEINEKEN reportedly spent $25 million on their F1 Vegas marketing efforts 🤯, and I hope they got their in-person dollars worth … as the 1 a.m. ET race only got about 1.3 million viewers on ESPN (and mostly on the West Coast). 
• MA’s venerable IPSWICH Brewing is moving most of its production to MA’s RIVERWALK Brewing, who will brew up to 4k BBL a year for them. IPSWICH will keep a small brewhouse at its namesake location. 
• CITY BREWING sold its Irwindale BrewYard brewery in CA (formerly a MOLSON COORS brewing facility until 2020) to a real estate consortium called REXFORD INDUSTRIAL REALTY, which will lease the facility back to CITY BREWING for the remainder of the 8-year lease (with an option to extend). PABST’s parent company is a part of CITY BREWING’s ownership.

Join for December’s BREWBOUND LIVE in Marina del Rey, CA on Dec. 6 & 7.  

PLUS: Take a gander at the full agenda for both days here.

LOOK: A top-drawer guest list. And I know top-drawer.  

• TILRAY BRANDS prez of U.S. Beer Ty Gilmore
• NBWA chief economist Lester Jones 
• BA chief economist Bart Watson
• BELL’S Brewery EVP Carrie Yunker
• NATIONAL BLACK BREWERS ASSOC exec director Kevin Asato
• BuzzBallz founder Merrilee Kick
• RHINEGEIST Brewing CEO Adam Bankovich and co-founder Bryant Goulding
• BeatBox Beverages co-founder Aimy Steadman 
• ROGUE ALES president Steven Garrett
• STATESIDE Vodka CEO Clement Pappas
• EXTRA MILE Convenience Stores category manager Michelle Abdollah
• CROWNS & HOPS founders Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter
• NIQ bev-alc vertical director of thought leadership Kaleigh Theriault 
• 3 TIER BEVERAGES analytics and client success consultant Stephanie Roatis
• Advisor and board member Simon Thorpe
• Karl Strauss co-founder and CEO Chris Cramer
• Arlington Capital Advisors managing director Ryan Lake
• CANarchy chief commercial officer Chris Russell
• Great Notion co-founder and CEO Paul Reiter
• Three Weavers founder and CEO Lynne Weaver
• The E-Premise Group founder Ethan Stienstra
• Liquid Death SVP of marketing Dan Murphy
• Owl’s Brew co-founder Jennie Ripps
• Firestone Walker shopper marketing manager Ruby Martinez
• Bump Williams Consulting VP of analytics & insights Dave WIlliams
• Mellow Mushroom associate director of beverage operations Kynyetta Lester
• Stone Distributing GM Brian Fried
• Breakthru Beverage California director of beer Sinead Carey

SO: Get your tickets now – right here for Dec. 6 & 7 in SoCal! 

BREWBOUND Insiders save $200! 

This week’s beer simply goes out to ANDROID mobile phone maker NOTHING, who partnered with UK brewery FREETIME to produce a rice lager called … beer (5.1%), keeping with their minimalist ethos. 

You can have your skeleton mascots and celebrity spokespeople on a beach, I’ll just be sitting here at the end of the pub drinking nothing.

Slainté!  Til next Saturday, you can reach me anytime here on LinkedIn.

-Sean McNulty