• 🍀 Q&A with Jack’s Abby CEO Sam Hendler
• 🏭 Ballast Point to Cease Production in Miramar
• 💀 New Belgium Promotes Rich Rush to CSO
• 📈 April Posts Highest Beer BPI Since 2021
• 🔮 On Tap: Q1 Earnings & Live From the CBC Floor
  
• ⏪ ICYMI: CBC Recaps, RTD Acquisitions
  
• 🚨 Update: Brewbound's New Press Release Portal
  

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Fresh off the announcement that he and his brothers and business partners have struck a deal to acquire Worcester, Massachusetts-based Wormtown Brewery, Jack’s Abby co-founder and CEO Sam Hendler discussed the deal in depth with Brewbound. 

Both craft breweries will operate under the newly formed Hendler Family Brewing umbrella, which also includes contract arm Jack’s Beverage Co. The company is one of the 10 largest family-owned brewing enterprises in the country, according to a press release. 

The transaction, which is expected to close in early summer, and related capital investments will create the largest craft brewing facility in Massachusetts.

Here are some highlights from the conversation with Hendler: 

On how Jack’s Abby and Wormtown interact in their home state … “It's been one of the most interesting parts of diving into the data for both brands. In most Massachusetts counties, one brand is outselling the other by two to one. So two breweries 20 miles apart, selling within 2% of each other in the same volume of beer in the state. And county by county, one brand beats out the other by a two to one margin.

“The most obvious gaps are in Suffolk and Middlesex counties, Jack’s creams Wormtown. And in Worcester County and west, Wormtown creams Jack’s Abby. It's amazing. Again, the breweries are 20 miles apart, so to see that stark a difference is pretty phenomenal.”

“It’s a very interesting finding and doesn't go perfectly with just saying, ‘Well, they're in a bigger distributor there’ or something like that. There's clearly something happening at the brand level and the execution level that's different for these two brands in different territories. And we need to figure that out and how to solve it.”

On bringing New England powerhouse Be Hoppy IPA into the fold … “We're excited. But even more important to us is just that the brand is extremely strong. Be Hoppy will be the largest single brand in the entire portfolio of the brewery, so larger than any Jack's Abby brand. And it is an absolute juggernaut. 

“That is what we are excited for. It'll be our No. 1 rate-of-sale brand and we are really excited to bring our scale and our level of execution to that brand and see what it can do.”

Insiders can go more in depth with details from Hendler on expanding the company’s brewing capacity, both brands’ geographic footprints, and more.

Kings and Convicts-owned Ballast Point Brewing ceased operations at its Miramar production facility last week and will lean on contract production for its offerings moving forward for distribution and taproom service, San Diego Beer News reported on Thursday.

An unnamed business will take over the 107,000 sq. ft. facility with a million barrels of production capacity. It’s unclear who that business is at this time. 

With the move, “a number of Ballast Point’s production staffers have been laid off,” according to the SD Beer News report.

Ballast Point CEO Brendan Watters told SD Beer News: “It’s been a hard week, but we had to right the ship. I’ve been trying to get us out of there for the better part of a year-and-a-half. We brought other breweries in [on a contract-brewing basis] to try to fil it up. It’s too big, and that ain’t Ballast Point. Ballast Point is Scripps Ranch back in the day, grinding 24 hours a day.”

The company will continue to operate the bar and restaurant at the Miramar facility, brewpub in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, Home Brew Mart location in Morena and outposts in Anaheim, San Francisco and Long Beach, according to the report.

New Belgium Brewing Company has appointed Rich Rush as its next chief sales officer. 

Rush, who joined the company in 2007, previously served as divisional VP of sales in the eastern U.S. and Canada. He will be tasked with guiding Kirin-owned New Belgium and Bell’s sales force and continuing the company’s growth trends. 

New Belgium CEO Shaun Belongie said in the announcement: “With his extensive knowledge of New Belgium and proven success at navigating market challenges, Rich has a clear and ambitious vision to guide our best-in-class sales team.”

Rush added: “I’m honored to step into this role and continue building upon the industry-leading success of New Belgium’s sales team. In an ever-changing market, our talented and passionate people continue to deliver impressive results, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to lead this team into the future.”

Rush supplants Michael Corrigan who exited the company in March after 15 years to join Keg1, one of New Belgium’s largest wholesaler partners. He’s part of an overhaul of the company’s c-suite that includes Belongie’s appointment as CEO and last month’s hiring of Rebecca Dye Yonushonis as CMO.

Brewbound Insiders can dig into New Belgium’s trends. 

It appears that beer distributors are optimistic about the beer category’s upcoming spring/summer performance.

The category posted a Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) reading of 62 for the month of April, marking the highest BPI reading, and first reading above 60, since December 2021, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), which publishes the monthly survey. 

A reading above 50 indicates ordering expansion, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

April’s benchmark follows beer’s first 50+ reading of 2024 in March, which was also the highest March BPI since 2021. 

All seven beer segments tracked in the report posted YoY growth in their BPI readings, with the largest improvements recorded by premium regular (+27 points, to 59) and premium lights (+20 points, to 63). April marks the first time since March 2021 that the overall BPI for beer and all the category’s segments were in expansion.

Insiders can diver deeper here. 

Earnings calls continue this week, with Q1 2024 results expected from Molson Coors (Tuesday) and Monster (Thursday). Look out for coverage of both companies’ financial results, and any highlights from their calls with investors. 

The Brewers Association’s (BA) 2024 Craft Brewers Conference has come to a close. 

The Brewbound team has you covered with coverage from both general sessions, including Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver’s keynote fireside chat with Crowns & Hops founder Beny Ashburn, and BA chief economist and VP of strategy Bart Watson’s state of the industry update. 

Plus, read A Round With BA CEO and president Bob Pease, including comments on the changes and challenges both the BA and its members are facing. 

And coverage of the National Black Brewers Association’s (NB2A) press conference, held ahead of the World Beer Cup awards ceremony. 

In merger and acquisition news:

• FX Matt acquired spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktail (RTD) maker ’Merican Mule, which will join Right Coast Spirits, a joint venture between FX Matt, Flying Dog and Harpoon;
• Pernod Ricard-owned Corby Spirit and Wine, out of Canada, has agreed to purchase RTD brand Nude for $11 million CAD ($8 million USD);
• Faubourg Brewing’s New Orleans plant will go to auction in June, with assets estimated to net about $2 million. The news comes less than two years after Faubourg merged with portfolio company Made By the Water (Catawba, Palmetto, Oyster City);
• And Kroger and Albertsons have added more stores to their divestiture agreement with C&S Wholesalers, in a bid to have the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allow the supermarkets to merge – a scrutinized deal announced in October.

Speaking of the FTC … the federal agency banned non-compete clauses nationwide in a 3-2 ruling. The ruling will go into effect in 120 days and includes existing non-competes (excluding senior executives) and all new non-competes, regardless of title. 

Boston Beer, which has come under fire recently for its non-compete policy, did not mention the ruling during its Q1 call with investors and analysts Thursday. Boston Beer rebounded from past Q1 volume woes, with shipments increasing +0.9% and depletions flat. More numbers from the quarter can be read here. 

Other headlines from last week include:

• Surfside Rides Hard Tea Wave With National Distribution, New Flavors;
• Brewbound Podcast: Bump Williams Consulting on Q1 Beer Trends, What to Watch This Summer
• Brewbound Podcast Bonus Episode: North Coast Brewing’s Jennifer Owen; Plus, Tom McCormick and HopXL’s Eric Duchin
• A Round With Atwater Brewery’s Katy McBrady

Sharing your news & press releases is now easier and quicker than ever.

With our new self-service press release portal, you can get your press release/news posted more quickly with increased control over formatting AND the ability to make changes after publishing.

🍷 Expanded Coverage: Wine, Supplier & Service Provider News, & More

We’ve expanded our coverage to include wine, suppliers, service providers, and more. Press releases on BevNET.com, Brewbound.com, and Nosh.com cover non-alcoholic beverages (RTDs, powders, mixes), beverage alcohol (spirits, wine, RTDs), cannabis beverages, beer and related (FMBs, hard seltzers, cider, sake), and packaged food products.

Additionally, we now cover industry-related supply chain topics and service providers. This includes co-packers, flavor and ingredient companies, industry related software companies, and retail and distribution related topics.

Learn more and submit a press release now.

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.

In addition to the mainstage programming and networking parties, Brewbound Live will feature opportunities for one-to-one conversations between brewers and bev-alc brands and retail buyers from chains such as Whole Foods Market. Registered attendees will be considered for meetings with buyers, as space is limited. Find out more details here.

Register for Brewbound Live 2024.