Tomorrow, industry leaders gather at the Marina del Rey Marriott for Brewbound Live! Don’t miss two days of actionable insights, networking, and discussions on staying relevant, surviving craft’s challenges, and unlocking growth opportunities.

The 2024 Brewbound Awards and Rising Stars will be revealed at 11:40 a.m. PT Wednesday. Tickets and livestream access are still available—view the agenda and join us!

• 💰 Funkytown Kicks Off Seed Funding Round
• 🏭 Report: City Brewing Seeks $50M Loan
• 👨‍💼 Neal Stewart Joins The Yuengling Company
• 🫗 Hella Coastal and Enlightened Brewery to Close
• 🦃 Circana Scans Reveal Post-Thanksgiving Bump
• 🏆 BevNET Cocktail Showdown Winner

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Chicago-based Funkytown Brewery’s mission is to bring more people into craft beer. 

Now it’s creating a physical space to be the homestead of that mission. 

Funkytown has made a deal to acquire a building near the United Center that the Black-owned craft brewery plans to transform into a taproom and beer garden. 

The location is on the West Side of Chicago, which is set to become a new community hotspot thanks to The 1901 Project, a $7 billion privately funded project meant to transform the underdeveloped area into an economic and community hub. 

The United Center is home to the Chicago Bulls NBA team and the Blackhawks NHL team, drawing millions of visitors every year, but the surrounding area has notoriously lacked other attractions since the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The 1901 Project includes the building of a new music hall, a community park and green space, and a retail and lodging area. 

To help fund the project, Funkytown has opened a seed funding round with the goal of raising $5 million. The building itself will cost the company about $2.85 million. Should the funding come through, Funkytown plans to open the taproom by late fall 2025. 

Funkytown co-founders Rich Bloomfield, Zach Day and Greg Williams spoke to Brewbound about the location and their vision for their first brick-and-mortar space. They emphasized the rare opportunity to make their mark on an area at such early stages of development, excited about the potential.

The location is a 9,000 sq. ft. building located on a 21,000 sq. ft. site, allowing for “room for growth and expansion,” Bloomfield said. The additional outdoor space allows for a beer garden, while the building has a second floor that can be used as an event space, as well as room for a full-size kitchen. It is also located within steps of public transportation. 

Funkytown plans to install a 20-barrel brewing system to produce beer onsite, as well as self distribute from the location. Day estimates onsite production could max out between 5,000 and 7,500 barrels. 

Day said: “Breweries get in a space and it’s like, ‘Oh man, this square footage is going to be just enough for me to do what I need to do,’ and then all of a sudden, a year later or even less than that, you find yourself cramped for space, can’t grow, you can’t put any more tanks in. We definitely wanted to make sure that we located a spot that gave us that flexibility and didn’t pigeonhole us into doing something that we were going to regret down the road.

“That’s why we want to own it too. Different breweries, some of the mistakes that they made is not owning the building and just leasing the building, so when that 10-year lease comes up for renewal … and your business happens to be doing really good or really profitable, then you give the leverage to the owner of the building to price you out.” 

Insiders can read more, including details on the founders’ vision for the space, and other “brewery mistakes” they are trying to avoid.

City Brewing is in negotiations for a new $50 million loan from its lenders as it also explores restructuring with a bankruptcy filing among its possible outcomes, Bloomberg reported, citing “people with knowledge of the matter.”

The loan would boost City’s cash reserves amid decreased demand, per Bloomberg. The latest machinations follow a debt restructuring deal last year that saw the company borrow $115 million by moving “assets into a new entirety and borrowing against that collateral.”

City is one of the most relied-upon contract brewers in the U.S., with facilities in La Crosse, Wisconsin; Latrobe, Pennsylvania; Memphis, Tennessee; and Irwindale, California. 

The company’s client base includes Boston Beer Company, White Claw and Mike’s maker Mark Anthony Brands and Pabst Brewing Company, which will complete the transition of its production from Molson Coors to City at the end of the year as part of a deal that lasts until 2040.

According to Boston Beer’s 2023 annual report, City Brewing produced 22% of the company’s volume that year, down from 26% in 2022 and 32% in 2021. The company said it expects City to produce around 20% of its 2024 volume and holds contract extenders with City through the end of 2035.

Boston Beer has paid City $113.4 million for capital improvements at City’s facilities and other prepayments. The company also loaned City $20 million to purchase packaging equipment for its Irwindale, California-based production facility on January 2, 2024.

Neal Stewart is back in the beer business. The long-time marketing executive announced his last week, joining The Yuengling Company, as field marketing director, after around two years working outside of the industry.

“It will be an honor to contribute to such an iconic and storied brand in the brewing industry. In this role, I’ll be focused on driving strategic field marking initiatives that connect with consumers and strengthen brand presence,” he wrote on LinkedIn.  

Stewart’s past work includes stints at Deschutes Brewery, Pabst Brewing, Dogfish Head, Molson Coors, Mark Anthony Brands and Flying Dog.

Hella Coastal Brewing Company will permanently close on December 31, the Oakland, California-based craft brewery announced Monday.

The company wrote: “We had a dope run, met some amazing people, and were supported by the community in trying to create change in the beer industry. Over these past 4 years, we’ve seen the industry grow and become more diverse, and we're looking forward to seeing how Black and Brown brewers, owners, and influencers continue the growth in the beer community.”

Mario Benjamin and Chaz Hubbard founded Hella Coastal in 2020.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based Enlightened Brewing will close next month after nearly 11 years in operation. 

The brewery announced the news on Instagram last week, writing: “This journey has led us around 3 breweries in 2 locations and filled our lives with passion, creativity, lots of love, and a deep sense of community. We're eternally grateful to each and every one of you who has been a part of it.”

Enlightened did not cite a reason for the closure. The brewery’s last day of operation will be January 5.

The “expected” post-Thanksgiving boost in beverage-alcohol dollar sales finally materialized in weekly scan data from market research firm Circana for the two-week period ending December 1, which included the later-than-usual holiday and the build up to it.

Circana EVP of bev-alc Scott Scanlon wrote: “We needed to cycle through choppiness as a late Thanksgiving this year created a comps misalignment. … As previously highlighted, Halloween provided a preview to the strong Thanksgiving, which is now revealed. 

“If history is consistent, we should see similar outperformance this coming Christmas, although next week expect post-holiday retracement then a steady climb up to the holiday at year end.”

All major bev-alc categories posted single-digit dollar sales and volume growth, led by wine (+8% in dollar sales, +4% in volume), and followed by spirits (+7% in dollar sales, +9% in volume) and beer (+3% in dollar sales, +2% in volume).

For the one-week period ending December 1, all categories posted even stronger growth, again led by wine:

• Wine, +36% in dollar sales year-over-year (YoY)
• Spirits, +33% in dollar sales YoY)
• Beer, +23% in dollar sales YoY
• Ready-to-drink offerings (which include flavored malt beverages, spirits-based cocktails, hard seltzer, hard tea and hard lemonade), +34% YoY.

Mexican imports buoyed the beer category, with Constellation Brands’ Modelo recording +37% YoY growth (“an expected holiday jump,” Scanlon wrote) and Pacifico increasing dollar sales +69%, according to Circana. Heineken-owned Dos Equis’ dollar sales increased +49% YoY.

Both the import and domestic super premium segments contributed +38% YoY growth. The Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Michelob brand family – the No. 1 super premium brand and No. 3 beer brand overall – recorded +42.9% dollar sales growth.

The Brewbound team returns from Thanksgiving breaks to discuss the pre-turkey day news dump, including Molson Coors’ agreement to purchase the intellectual property of Cruz Blanca and why the Mexican-inspired, Chicago-produced brand is now on the clock.

Jess, Zoe and Justin also break down the results of the Brewers Association’s board election and why this one was a bit out of the ordinary. 

The conversation then turns to Olde Mecklenburg’s recent global collaboration, Americans’ dream of brewery ownership (at least in five states), Rogue’s new Pacific Northwest IPA and Krampus’ reappearance in Jess’ spooky town. 

Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

The full agenda for the 2024 Brewbound Live business conference is now available, featuring more than 30 speakers from beverage-alcohol suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, data providers and advisory firms.

Industry leaders will meet at the Marina del Rey Marriott for two days of business conversations, networking and relationship building on December 11 and 12. Tickets are still available, but time is running out to register.

The conference provides actionable takeaways to help you prepare for success in 2025 and beyond. Topics include:

• Opportunities in the on-premise channel;
• Wielding a focused portfolio;
• Staying relevant to younger generations;
• Meeting consumers in non-traditional occasions;
• Strategies for surviving craft’s choppy times;
• Understanding changing drinker demographics;
• Making beer accessible to underrepresented groups;
• And much more.

View the full agenda.

Attendees will also have an opportunity to book one-to-one meetings with retail buyers from Whole Foods Market, Applebee's and ExtraMile Convenience stores, as well as decision makers from Breakthrough Beverage California, the Reyes Beverage Division and California Beverage Solution (Stone Distributing, Markstein Sales and Heimark Distributing).

Brewbound’s Pitch Slam competition will also return to provide exposure for up-and-coming brands.

Ample opportunities will be provided to network with industry colleagues at our parties, including a pre-event party at JuneShine on December 10 and an opening night party at Firestone Walker on December 11.

Register for Brewbound Live 2024 >>

Yoju was crowned the champion of the BevNET Cocktail Showdown Sunday in Marina Del Rey, California.

The Los Angeles-based yogurt and soju Korean cocktail line was one of six brands to compete in the pitch competition that kicked off BevNET’s Spirits Sunday, ahead of BevNET Live (December 10-11) and Brewbound Live (December 11-12). The other finalists were Gardenista, Good Beverage Company, Hoste Cocktails, LIXIR of The Gods and Tequio Tequila Cocktails.

Founded by college-friends-turned-entrepreneurs Steven Tang and Kenn Miller, Yoju’s 7% ABV lineup includes Original, Lychee, Mango and White Peach in single-flavor 12 oz. can 4-packs ($14.99) and a variety 8-pack ($25.99).

Yoju is available in 875 accounts, including Whole Foods Market, Costco, Trader Joe’s, Total Wine & More, and Safeway, among others. The brand’s top 100 retail accounts are averaging 15 cases per month, Tang said.

“Our core strategy right now is going deep in each of our markets, including Virginia, D.C., Maryland, California, Washington, and Hawaii,” said Tang, adding that the brand is gearing up to launch in Texas and New York in 2025.

Yoju is the fifth victor of BevNET’s Cocktail Showdown, joining past champions Ponyboy Slings, Velvet Llama, Wandering Barman and Golden Rule. The brand will walk away with an engraved trophy and an industry advertising package valued at $10,000.