There is always pressure to change the way they operate as they continue to grow. Especially as they bring on people with greater experience and deal with larger wholesale and retail partners. “They tend to have tremendous skill sets but with more of a brand-centric orientation, whereas we have always had a beer-centric orientation,” says Gary. “It’s not that we don’t want to be good at branding, but that there can be a danger of commoditization…

Certainly growth is a good thing for our industry, but for some it means speed bumps. Earlier this month SymphonyIRI’s Dan Wandel showed how all this growth is making it harder for the top guys to keep share during his Power Hour presentation: Only 5 of the top 15 craft brands managed to gain share in supers last year, and the top 10 craft brewers collectively lost 4 dollar share points within the segment. Part of this could be by buyers’ design and SKU rationalization, says Nielsen senior vice president Andrea Riberi.

According to the company (and as far as we know), Omission will be the first craft beer brand in America focused exclusively on gluten-free beers brewed with malted barley instead of alternative, non-gluten grains like sorghum. The result, says CBA CEO Terry Michaelson, is a gluten-free beer that tastes more like the real thing.

Tom Cardella introduced the newest addition to the portfolio, Crispin Cider, which MillerCoors will market as a drink for the counterculture consumer. “We’ve been working really hard to get the Colfax, California cidery up to 100,000 barrels to meet this year’s growth projections,” said Tom. “That should be done over the next few months and at that point we’re going to turn Kevin Doyle’s chain team loose and we’re going to drive a hell of a lot of action …

As one top 10 craft brewer told CBD recently, “the amount of beer and craft that Californians consume is massive. And nobody’s really tried to access the very large urban and ethnic markets there. Who knows what could happen if the power in those markets were unleashed for craft.” This is the backdrop for San Diego-based Karl Strauss, who, after having grown in the same small geographic territory for 23 years, will make a move north this year.

The other Boston-based brewery is up about 17% this year, and they’re doing it with their longstanding brands, according to cofounder Rich Doyle. And draft, which makes up 40% of their business. They haven’t added a new market since Texas back in January ’09. “It’s fundamentals,” says Rich. “Our IPA, seasonal and UFO White are all up tremendously. That’s where our growth is.

Distributors often ask us which craft brands are “real,” and for which they should strive. We respond that regional breweries are often among the most coveted, especially if they own their home base. The rub is that they’re often also the most crunched for capacity. Cleveland-based

Goose Island debuted cans of 312 Urban Wheat Ale last week in honor of 3-12-12, representing the first canned offering for the storied Chicago brewery. Though not able to comment on production specifics, communications chief Ken Hunnemeder told CBD that early response to 312 cans from retailers has been strong. “We think it will become a natural fit alongside the bottle and draft options already available for 312 in our accounts…

But what about the health of that national footprint through the A-B wholesaler network? Callers seemed really interested in that too…

Depletion growth and non-contract shipment growth were each 7 percent for the full year. That may look slightly soft compared to the depletion spike they had seen at the end of Q3, when CBA core brand depletions had grown 8.6% for the period ended Sept. 30 vs. 7.3% for the three quarters. But the company also predicted at that point that full-year depletion growth numbers would clock in between 5.5% – 6%…

“I agree with going into a mainstream store [and arranging to] build brands,” says Lizardville specialty beer store’s John Lane. “But when you’re doing a concept like we have [in Lizardville], it’s a much different guest that’s coming in here. If they’re a hophead, they want to go to that section. They know the brands. That’s where [arranging by style] hasn’t gone the way of wine. I think we’re just so much more regionalized. [Fans] really do know the brands.”

Shipyard is one of the most diversified craft breweries around. It has 8 Maine-based brew pubs with which to expand mindshare and gain direct consumer feedback. Its total family of brands includes those, as well as Sea Dog, Capt’n Eli’s Soda, and, of course, Shipyard. The brewery also has a series of seasonal beers that rivals its longstanding flagships’ volume. And that franchise is on the move.

The other big news is their plan to go national with distribution by the end of the year. “We’re working on the contracts right now,” says Tony, who is not towing a state-by-state plan, but focusing on making relationships with the right wholesalers. “Some breweries say, ‘we’re going to roll out Ohio,’ etc.; we’ve never done that. We kind of establish building our relationships. … It may not be the most sophisticated way to do it, but it’s the most grounded for us.”

New Belgium’s April-imminent Shift Pale Lager signals a couple of firsts: It’s the No. 3 craft brewery’s first 16 oz. can offering. It seems a big bet on the industry’s interest in novel session beers. And it is, to our knowledge, the first year-round brand launch they’ve put $1 million behind. We asked brewery spokesperson Bryan Simpson to break down the media investment, and how they expect it to pay off…

How is craft doing at the Irish pubs? We looked up Fado marketing chief John Piccirillo to ask how it’s trending at his 15-year-old pub chain started in Atlanta, now with locations from Seattle to Philadelphia…