Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, January 13, 2024.

Where I have good news for any pregnant readers who are looking to publicly shame their significant others on social media! #finally

SAMUEL ADAMS is running an IG promotion where you can tag your partner in the comments, express why they should accept the “challenge” of being sober for the duration of your pregnancy alongside you, and a winner will be chosen to receive 40 weeks of NA Just the Haze beer.

If you are said person with a pregnant partner, you can also enter by adding a comment saying why you are “willing” to give up alcohol in solidarity (and don’t put “I’m doing it for the free beer” … trust me). 

The winners will also get some Boston Lager after the 40 weeks, because nothing says #GreatIdea like drinking a sixer when you have a newborn in the house who’s waking up (at least) 3 times a night.

AND: While BUD LIGHT gets the UFC, MICH ULTRA gets… bull riding?  I mean, it is where the true athletes are. Yes, A-B set a new sponsorship deal to make MICHELOB ULTRA the official beer of the PBR, including an incentive called the MICHELOB ULTRA Bonus! Which, thankfully for the bull riders, is $$ and not a sixer of light beer.

PLUS: A-B is really doubling down on non-alc beer on the global stage. First, BUD ZERO and the World Cup last year, although that was not by choice per se … and now CORONA Cero 0.0 will be the official beer of the 2024 Summer Olympics! (Not the same as the CORONA Non-Alcoholic currently on our U.S. shelves, that’s Constellation Brands. 🤔)

A-B does have um, ulterior motives … as being non-alc allows for greater advertising opportunities in the host country of FRANCE, as well as other territories like INDIA.

A new, revised brewery & liquor license bill passed both houses of the NJ senate this week, which would allow for:

• “An unlimited number of on-premises special events and private parties;” 
• Breweries to sell snack-like food and non-alc options in taprooms;
• Having TVs and the ability to show sports etc.;
• Not having to give “tours” to everyone that walks in the door;
• Brewers to finally say “Voldemort” on brewery premises;
• Collaboration to have food trucks on site.

OK, I may have made one of those up.

We’ll see if Gov. Phil deigns himself to look at this before the deadline of noon on … Tuesday. I’ll be happy to drive it over to his estate myself – he only lives about 10 minutes away from where I grew up.

“The reality is that looking towards the future, financial projections made it more sensible to close than remain open.” 

– CRAFT BEER CELLAR DC owner Erika Goedrich in her IG announcement that she closed the location this month after a 7-year run. The CBC flagship location in MA shut down at the end of 2023.

STARR HILL BREWERY

Director of Retail Operations - Crozet, VA

SWITCHBACK BREWING CO

NH Sales Manager - Manchester, NH

ALASKAN BREWING CO

Regional Sales Manager, MN - Minneapolis, MN

🤝 GOT A JOB

ALLAGASH promoted Josh Fruchtman to sales director, as longtime sales leader Naomi Neville announced she’s leaving the company in early February, after a 14-year run at the brewery. 

CT’s TWO ROADS promoted Collin Kennedy to VP of marketing, and Brian Duprey to VP of national accounts.

Well, at least in $$ … in volume – not so much, according to new NIQ data.

2023 off-prem beer numbers:

• Revenue: +1.4%
• Volume: -3%
• Avg. case price: $29.84 (+$1.30)

Again, the gains in the c-store channel couldn’t outweigh the losses in grocery.

Beer’s $47.9 billion made up about 50% of the $89.8 billion that Americans spent on alcohol in the off-prem last year. Here’s where all the #beermoney went:

• Imports (23.7%, +1.7% share);
• Premium light (19.4%, -1%);
• Craft (11.8%, -0.2%);
• Below premium (11.2%, flat);
• Domestic super premium (9.9%, -0.3%);
• FMBs (9.6%, +1.3%);
• Hard seltzers (7.2%, -1.5%);
• Premium regular (5.3%, -0.1%);
• Cider (1.1%, flat);
• Malt liquor (0.8%, flat).

Growth/loss by segment:

• FMB (+18% dollars, +13.3% volume);
• Imports (+9.4% dollars, +5.6% volume);
• Craft (-0.3% dollars, -3.8% volume);
• Domestic super premium (-1.8% dollars, -4.3% volume);
• Premium regular (-0.7% dollars, -4.8% volume);
• Premium light (-3.4% dollars, -6.9% volume); 
• And hard seltzer (-16.2% dollars, -20.6% volume).

AND: NA beer hit $485 million in off-prem sales in 2023, +34.6% in sales and +25.4% in volume.

Elsewhere:

• Liquor: +2.7% in dollars, +5% in volume
• Wine: -1.4% in dollars, -4.5% in volume

They were -6.8% in Nov. according to the BI. 

That makes nine straight months of YoY declines … although hey, #brightside, November was far better than September (-11.4%) and October (-10.6%) 🥳.

ALSO: Inflation continued to have better news in December, as beer at home was +1.3%, far below the overall +3.4% CPI. Although, it was slightly higher than the +1.2% for total bev-alc at home.

The BREWBOUND crew is joined by Meagen Anderson, the founder and CEO of the AFICIONADO certification program for professionals in the adult non-alcoholic beverage space.

PLUS: The gang talks TREE HOUSE, FLYING FISH, OCTOPI, ALLAGASH and more.

Listen Here!

• MA’s WORMTOWN Brewing co-founder Ben Roesch and his wife are opening a new brewery in the state. Meet MA’s newest brewery, where I’m really hoping the reason for the name isn’t what I think it is … MURDER HILL Brewing in Whitinsville, MA. This is a hermit crab situation (it’s moving into a space that formerly housed PURGATORY BEER Co.), and should open sometime next month. Ben left WORMTOWN about two months ago. 
• Speaking of hermit crabs, two of ECLIPTIC’s taprooms in OR have now found new tenants in BAUMAN’S CIDER and VON EBERT Brewing.
• If, like me, you were curious what ASAHI’s current U.S. business looks like – it’s 82k BBL a year … but it certainly sounds like ASAHI has big plans to ramp that up at OCTOPI.
• ABV is being sued by a former bartender at SOUTHERN TIER’s Pittsburgh taproom who was with the company for 5 years until last summer. She’s alleging undercompensation in that time period and violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, among other claims.
• BREWDOG is tapping out on paying employees a real living wage, at least as defined by the Real Living Wage Employer program & certification, which BREWDOG had carried for the last decade. BREWDOG co-founder James Watt said “most of our people” will still receive pay increases this year however.

This week’s beer goes out to the cows on Mark Zuckerberg’s Hawaiian estate/end of world bunker. I mean let’s face it – cows wearing leis and living in one of the greenest places on earth are already living the dream, amirite?

But thanks to Zuck and the funds generated from your incessant INSTAGRAM scrolling, the cows on the Zuckerberg Kauai compound are now washing down a never-ending supply of the finest macadamia nuts money can buy with … beer!

Yes, apparently Mark is giving his cows beer to "create some of the highest quality beef in the world”... so while unfortunately the endgame for these drunk cows isn’t too bright 😬, let’s hope Zuck springs for some barrel-aged stuff before they get sent off for ‘meal preparation’ at the next META employee retreat.

But I mean bro, couldn’t you have at least taken a “before” picture with your herd rather than an “after” one? 😥 #rookiemove

Slainté!  

-Sean McNulty 

(you can always reach me here on LinkedIn)