• 🔥 Flavortown Spiked Variety Pack, Ft. Tea & Punch
• 🎙️ An Exit Interview with Allagash's Naomi Neville
• 👹 Monster Ditches CANarchy Name
• 🤝 MJF Appoints Breeze Galindo Director of Ops
• 📊 BPI: 2024 Starts Off Brighter Than 2023
• 📈 2023 Brewery Permit Growth Slowest Since 2011
• 😋 Stone Delicious Hazy IPA
• 🏀 PBR Named ‘Exclusive Beer Partner’ of SlamBall

The population of Flavortown just increased by three. 

Stratford, Connecticut-based Two Roads Brewing has added three new iterations of the Flavortown Spiked flavored malt beverage (FMB) line it brews in collaboration with celebrity chef Guy Fieri.

Fieri told Brewbound via a spokesperson: “You can’t have just one flavor in Flavortown, so we’re goin’ big with three new out-of-this world spiked beverages made with real fruit and crafted to showcase a bold new take on some of my favorite punch and tea recipes.” 

The line’s debut offering, Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch, rolled out last November in 12 oz. can 6-packs. 

Now, the punch will join three siblings in a variety 8-pack:

• Tiki Town Tropical Punch, which is “inspired by classic tropical cocktails – and Guy’s own tiki bar” and “crafted with real passion fruit, orange and mango juices;”
• Fidddy Fidddy, an iced tea/lemonade hybrid that takes its name from the “Fidddy” license plate on the convertible Fieri drives on his Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives;
• And Tangerine-N-Tea, “a TNT twist on the average hard tea.”

Each new Flavortown Spiked offering checks in at 6% ABV and features “real fruit juices, better ingredients and bold flavors,” according to a press release. Fidddy Fidddy and Tangerine-N-T are brewed with a blend of Kenyan and Chilean teas.

The Flavortown Spiked variety pack has rolled out to Two Roads’ full 13-state footprint (Maine to Virginia) and “more states and more chains will be coming online in the coming weeks,” Two Roads CEO Brad Hittle told Brewbound. The Carolinas, Georgia and Florida are targeted for expansion, Hittle said in the fall.

So far, Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch has been a hit. Its 6-pack will be joined by a 19.2 oz. single-serve can, following the variety pack rollout. 

Hittle said: “While we’re early in the game, the signs are very encouraging. Velocity and distribution trends so far lead us to forecast 40,000-50,000 cases for the year, just in our existing 13-state footprint.”

Each variety 8-pack will feature two cans each of Flavortown Spiked Fruit Punch, Tiki Town Tropical Punch, Fidddy-Fidddy and Tangerine-N-Tea. No new flavors have been selected as single-serve offerings yet, but Hittle said that’s “certainly a possibility.”

Hittle said: “We love to hear from fans what they want to see from us next, so as we start hearing from consumers which flavors they’re gravitating towards, we’ll continue to look for incremental opportunities for SKU growth.”

Insiders can read more about Flavortown Spiked’s marketing strategy and check out data on the growing FMB segment. 

Naomi Neville is departing Allagash Brewing after 14 years of leading and building its sales team. She has helped turn the Portland, Maine-headquartered craft brewery into a regional powerhouse and the Allagash White brand into a flagship with relevance across the country. 

Neville shares her experience building the Allagash brand, reflects on the last decade-plus of craft and dishes on where she sees the segment going and what’s next for her. 

The Brewbound team also discusses the latest news, including Anheuser-Busch’s taproom closures and craft strategy, the growing issues between breweries and landlords, and beer’s relevancy problem. Jess, Zoe and Justin also play Another Round or Tabbing Out on the latest Super Bowl ad fare from A-B.

Listen here and on all popular podcasting platforms.

Energy drink maker Monster will leverage its name for its beverage-alcoholic business moving forward. The platform previously known as the CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective will operate as Monster Brewing Company, “effective immediately.”

Flavored malt beverage (FMB) brands The Beast Unleashed and Nasty Beast Hard Tea now account for “the majority of the company’s alcohol beverage sales,” the company said in a release. The name change is aimed at aligning the bev-alc business with the parent company’s brand equity. 

Monster Brewing will operate independently from the non-alcoholic business, led by president Tony Short, who had led CANarchy as CEO since April 2019.

During an investor call earlier this month, Monster co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg warned Wall Street watchers that the company expects to take an impairment charge on the CANarchy business in its Q4 earnings report. He added that the platform was also rationalizing brands in its portfolio. 

A boilerplate for Monster Brewing lists the “Jai Alai IPA, Dale’s Pale Ale, Dallas Blonde and Wild Basin hard seltzers” among its beer brand portfolio. Other brands listed include The Beast Unleashed, Nasty Beast, Monster Tour Water canned water brand, and Revitalyte hydration drink.

Former Other Half Brewing lead brewer Breeze Galindo has been appointed director of operations for the Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing & Distilling. Galindo becomes the first hire of the grant-making organization, which was founded in 2020. 

Galindo previously served as a member of the MJF board of directors. She will be tasked with leading and managing the group’s “fundraising, partnerships, scholarship relations, mentorship program, and industry visibility.” 

Galindo said in the announcement: “As a woman of color who got her foot in the door and advanced in the industry, I feel like it's my responsibility to help others like me do the same. This role will help the foundation make even more impact through our scholarship and mentorship opportunities, and I’m looking forward to playing a bigger role in those activities."

The MJF was created to help advance technical education and facilitate career opportunities for people of color in the beverage-alcohol industry in the U.S. via scholarship awards for brewing and distilling courses and mentorship programs. 

MJF founder and chair Garrett Oliver previously handled the organization’s day-to-day operations. Oliver will now shift his focus to “strategic growth.”

In addition to her MJF role, Galindo has also founded MiLuna Brewing, which she announced last week on Instagram.

Beer inventory levels are starting out stronger this year than 2023, according to the latest Beer Purchasers Index (BPI) from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

All but one segment – below premiums – recorded a higher BPI reading in January 2024 versus January 2023, with total beer recording a reading of 43, five points above the category’s January 2023 reading. 

January marks the eighth consecutive month that at least five of the seven measured beer segments recorded an increase in ordering year-over-year (YoY), according to the report. 

The report is the inverse of January 2023 trends, when all segments except for (again) below premiums were down YoY. This year, below premiums recorded a reading of 33, 15 points below its January 2023 reading (48).

Still, every segment was in contraction (a.k.a. had a reading below 50), except for imports, which recorded a reading of 59, seven points above its 2023 reading. Total beer posted a reading of 43, five points above its 2023 reading (38).

Insiders can read more, including individual readings for segments and at-risk inventory.

The amount of brewery permits in 2023 increased by 485, the “slowest growth since 2011 (382),” Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson shared on Twitter/X Wednesday, citing numbers from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). 

The increase was less than a third of the peak of brewery permit growth, which was +1,673 permits in 2017. 

The amount of permits issued by the TTB in Q4 2023 also declined by 89 versus Q3 2023, marking the “first decline since they started publishing quarterly data in 2016,” Watson wrote. 

He continued: “Probably means TTB is doing a better job of getting permits back from closed breweries. Will be interesting to watch the next few quarters.” 

Check out the full thread here.

Stone Brewing is adding Delicious Hazy IPA to its year-round, nationwide lineup. Delicious Hazy IPA is available on draft and in 6-pack cans.

The fourth iteration of Delicious IPAs also brings about a Delicious variety 12-pack, featuring Delicious Hazy IPA (7.2% ABV), Delicious IPA (7.7% ABV), Delicious Double IPA (9.4% ABV), Delicious Citrus IPA (7.7% ABV). The beer is also sold in variety 6-packs.

The company noted that Delicious Hazy IPA is “gluten reduced” and meets the FDA’s requirement for “gluten free” labeling.

Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is now the “official exclusive beer partner” of SlamBall, the worldwide “fast-paced, gravity-defying sport” that combines basketball, football, hockey and acrobatics. 

The partnership is for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, and names PBR as the title sponsor of the SlamBall Summer Series Dunk Contest. PBR will also be featured across SlamBall programming on ESPN and in “social media initiatives.” 

SlamBall co-founder Mason Gordon said in a press release: “SlamBall fans will see Pabst Blue Ribbon be featured in SlamBall programming across the ESPN platform, in exciting new social media initiatives and as the title sponsor of the Pabst Blue Ribbon Dunk Contest. As a young, emerging sport we couldn’t be more proud to have a comprehensive multi-year partnership with a brand that will be celebrating its 180th year.”

Pabst senior director of marketing partnerships Josh Feingold added: “SlamBall brings the energy, excitement, and disruption to sports with an attitude and independent spirit that parallels the Pabst Blue Ribbon brand through its 180 years. We only scratched the surface last season and are thrilled to be partnered with SlamBall moving forward."