Dear Client:   Last week, high end chief Andy Thomas took to the screen at Anheuser-Busch’s virtual EAM meet to talk about the High End of the A-B portfolio, including a refined craft strategy.  It’s all about driving mega brands (like Stella and Kona Big Wave) among the High End.  As for their craft portfolio, they’ll … Continue reading “Behind Anheuser-Busch’s Craft Strategy Today”

Dear Client:   Bart Watson was back behind the Brewers Association’s stainless-steel keyboard this week, firing off a new blog post for the organization’s members that centered on taproom and brewpub trends. The chief economist of the BA built this latest post – which dove into general sales trends of these establishments, the composition of sales … Continue reading “Bart Digs Into Taproom and Brewpub Trends for Latest Blog Post”

Dear Client:   The latest scans are in and craft is looking pretty static. Circana data, stretching to September 10, shows the segment’s dollar trends are stuck around flat in multi-outlet and convenience for the latest four weeks (-0.7%), the most-recent 12-weeks (+0.3%) and YTD (-0.7%). Volume trends for craft are worse, of course, but relatively … Continue reading “Little Movement for Craft in Latest Scans”

Dear Client:   Whole Foods is going all in on cider in October, hosting a national campaign featuring about 60 local and regional brands across the country in celebration of the fourth annual National Cider Month.  CBD caught up with Mary Guiver, principal global category merchant at Whole Foods, and Eric Phillips, CCO at Schilling Cider … Continue reading “Whole Foods Hosting “Unprecedented” National Cider Month Campaign”

Dear Client:   New Jersey’s Cape May Brewing announced today that it is divesting its distribution rights in its home state, bringing an effective end to its distribution arm, Cape Beverage. Indeed, Cape May Brewing products made up 97% of the 600,000 cases distributed annually by Cape Beverage, CBD understands. Taking over this Cape May Brewing … Continue reading “Cape May Divests Distribution Rights to Quad of Molson Coors Distributors”

Dear Client:   As American craft brewers and fans descend on Denver into the weekend for the Great American Beer Festival, international beer consumers will surely be watching which brews get top honors. If they’re lucky, maybe they’ll find some of them on shelves abroad in the coming months.  That’s because interest in the American craft … Continue reading “Craft’s Opportunity With Exports”

Dear Client: While BrewDog USA might be known for its irreverent and vast array of craft beer offerings, it is building momentum with its non-alcoholic portfolio. Indeed, we were struck by the brewer recently reporting it has experienced triple-digit growth from its non-alcoholic portfolio [see CBD 09-01-2023], so we called up new-ish BrewDog USA CEO … Continue reading “BrewDog USA’s CEO on “Essentially Doubled” Non-Alc Business”

Dear Client:   It was just a few short years ago that Boulevard Brewing announced it would enter into the hard seltzer game with Quirk, and it’s “fair to say that it’s exceeded any expectation we ever had.”  This comes from our recent chat with Duvel USA’s EVP of sales and marketing, Bobby Dykstra, who sat … Continue reading “BLVD’s Quirk Hard Seltzer Still Growing in Backyard and Beyond”

Dear Client:   Athletic Brewing Company is doubling down on its international business, announcing it has secured distribution in the UK with importer James Clay and Sons, in addition to striking key retail partnerships in Canada.  The international expansion comes as the non-alcoholic category “is up about 35%” per NielsenIQ Total US x AOC + Liquor … Continue reading “Athletic Expands International Distribution in the UK & Canada”

Dear Client:   At his appearance at Barclays Global Staples Consumer Conference last week, Molson Coors chief Gavin Hattersley teased some imminent “new plans” to turnaround Blue Moon, and at the company’s Distributor Convention this week in Orlando, your editor got the low-down. Molson Coors VP of marketing for above premium beer, Courtney Benedict, did the … Continue reading “How Blue Moon Hopes to Turn the Tides”

Dear Client:   Craft beer just might be able to capitalize on the surging popularity of craft spirits by leaning in on an old technique: distilling beer into whiskey.  While craft beer was flat in ‘22, whiskey producers experienced strong growth in 2022, with American whiskey revenues up 10.5% and volumes up 5.2%; and blended whiskey … Continue reading “Could Whiskey Distilled From Beer be a Big Trend in Craft?”

Dear Client:   Michigan’s Bell’s Brewery is playing to Oberon Ale fans: the big seasonal offering is now available year-round, with the unveiling of a new spinoff brew, Oberon Eclipse.  On shelves during the fall and winter months from October through March, Oberon Eclipse is a citrus wheat ale brewed with orange and coriander, giving the … Continue reading “Oberon Goes Year Round with Spinoff, Oberon Eclipse”

Dear Client:   Phoenix-based O.H.S.O. Brewery + Distillery (an acronym for Outrageous Homebrewer’s Social Outpost) is gearing up to expand statewide distribution after acquiring its neighbor, Helton Brewing Co.  Known for building out a handful of neighborhood brewpub locations throughout Phoenix and a couple other Arizona cities (Gilbert, Scottsdale), owner Jon Lane told CBD with the … Continue reading “O.H.S.O Buys Helton Brewing in Phoenix, on Expansion Streak”

Dear Client:   How high can hopped-up non-alc supplier, Hoplark, fly? We’ll soon get an idea, thanks to a strategic partnership it has struck with top 10 craft brewer, Brooklyn Brewery. The budding Boulder-based supplier announced today that it has entered into “a comprehensive long-term strategic partnership” with Brooklyn, which will cover “production, warehousing, logistics, sales, … Continue reading “Brooklyn Brewery and Hoplark Strike Strategic Partnership”

Dear Client:   Former Anchor Brewing employees raised more than $70,000 this week after starting a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal fees and other expenses as they develop a business plan in an attempt to buy the historic 127-year-old San Francisco brewery.  Members of Anchor’s union (International Longshore and Warehouse Union, Local 6) launched the GoFundMe … Continue reading “Anchor Employees Launch GoFundMe in Bid to Buy Brewery”