Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, August 24, 2024.

Well celebrity booze brands, you’ve had a good run … but now it’s Bey’s turn. Yes, add noted whisky enthusiast Beyonce Knowles-Carter (she insists I use her full name when we talk on the phone, but she calls me GIF Guy) to the list of Hollywood A-list liquor entrepreneurs.

Meet SIR DAVIS Whisky, a partnership with MOET HENNESSY for a product featuring 51% rye and 49% malted barley, and a price point of $89 a bottle. It’s named after Beyoncé’s paternal great-grandfather, Davis Hogue, who made moonshine during Prohibition.

Plus, as we all know, first comes the country album – then comes the whisky. 

AND: Going to the NBWA Annual Convention in San Diego in late September? So is BREWBOUND! What are the odds? 

Join for a happy hour at THE LOST ABBEY from 4-6 p.m. on Sunday, September 29 (conveniently between NFL games and before the NBWA’s opening night party!) – register for the free event here.

GET A ROOM!: The discounted room block for BREWBOUND Live at the Marina del Rey Marriott Hotel in December is now open! If you’re on the same floor as Jess, just a heads up – she’ll be running a hallway slip & slide Wednesday night as an homage to her sorority days.

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

The event is returning to Marina del Rey, CA, on Dec. 11 & 12 for 2 days of insightful conversations and analysis, plus top-notch industry networking opportunities. You can register now here!

Confirmed speakers include:

• 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; 
• Rebecca Maisel, GULF DISTRIBUTING SVP of legal and government affairs 

PLUS: Beer and other bev-alcohol brands can participate in retailer one-to-ones. Leaders from WHOLE FOODS, EXTRAMILE CONVENIENCE and other businesses will be available for private, pre-scheduled meetings. Brands will be selected at each retailer’s discretion. REGISTER HERE.

“We are more like an energy drink company or a Gatorade lineup where you need full flavors, you need full shelves. Think of it differently.”

BOTTLE LOGIC

Sales Representative – Anaheim, CA

NEW TRAIL BREWING CO

Shift Brewer – Williamsport, PA

FUNKY BUDDHA

JUNESHINE hired Whitney Stevenson as its newest president and CCO, coming over from a 15-year run at BOSTON BEER.

MARK ANTHONY prez Phil Rosse is moving to a vice chairman position, and CCO David Barnett is moving up to the president role as of September 1.

First, I really hope they don’t go with a new 7-K name, as it sounds like an SEC filing. But yes, CIRCLE-K’s Canadian parent co. ALIMENTATION made a “friendly proposal” to the Japanese parent co. of 7-ELEVEN, something it also did in 2020, according to the NY Times.

7-ELEVEN has yet to answer CIRCLE-K’s “u up?” text, so we’ll see if anything transpires here.

This week’s podcast was sadly overrun by Jersey hooligans (they’re the worst, amirite? 🙄). Oh, wait – one of them is me! 

Yes, Jess & Zoe kindly invited me on the pod this week (and not in GIF form), for a chat about:

• The TILRAY deal, and what’s ahead
• What it’s like to visit “Malt Disney World”
• The NB2A’s equipment donation program
• And appreciation for CAMBRIDGE BREWING Co.

• The NB2A announced its equipment award grants – CAJUN FIRE Brewing in NOLA will get the 20 BBL brewhouse donated by RUSSIAN RIVER, and NJ’s MONTCLAIR Brewing will get a canning line donated by OPTIMISM Brewing.
• NY state approved DTC shipping to in-state residents of spirits, hard cider and mead/braggot products, going into effect circa Thanksgiving. Beer DTC shipping rights are still prohibited, but wine has had the ability since 2005 😏.
• The Boston area's CAMBRIDGE BREWING CO is calling it a day at the end of 2024, after 35 years as a craft beer institution, with founder/owner Phil Bannatyne simply saying it’s time.
• A-B’s sale of an owned-distributor in Medford, MA to QUALITY BEVERAGE will result in 193 folks losing their jobs later this year. 
• SIERRA NEVADA sales YTD thru July 20 in the off-prem (per NIQ): sales +3.1%, volume -0.6%. However, the OG Pale Ale is -2.7% in sales and -6.9% in volume.
• ATHLETIC signed Texas QB Quinn Ewers to a NIL endorsement deal, and the company now has a 19% share of the U.S. NA beer market, according to NIQ data thru July 13.
• YUENGLING’s MC JV will bring the beer to Illinois in 2025. YTD, brand sales are -3% and volume is -4.2% through August 11 according to CIRCANA data, with those trends greatly accelerating over the L4W (-14.6% and -15.6% respectively).

This week’s beer is going out to Delaware Man, aka Paul Kostrowski and the 6,000 bottles of beer and counting 🤯 that he keeps in the primo basement level of his house, that his wife clearly does not ask a lot of questions about anymore.

Although yes, his wife Debbie was willing to be interviewed on camera in this local news report as well, uh briefly, tactfully sharing, “I enjoy it through his eyes.” Well done, Debbie.

The local notoriety has gotten to the point where people often leave bottles on their lawn and in the mailbox, which makes me kinda concerned for what’s going on in Paul’s neighborhood.

In fact, some evenings Paul gets a little too ambitious in “augmenting his collection” and returns the favors of those kind neighbors by leaving bottles on their lawns. (just kidding, Paul)

As for Paul’s kids, I’m sure they’re fighting Succession-style over who gets the inheritance as we speak, and god bless the moving company if Paul & Debbie ever sell the house.

Slainté!  

-Sean McNulty 

(you can always reach me here on LinkedIn)