Brewbound Podcast

Days ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, the Brewbound team catches up on beer prices – at home and across the pond – and how Independence Day is stacking up as a heat wave sets in for much of the country.Zoe shares just how different beer prices are in the U.K., learned from her experience seeing Harry Styles and buying drinks at Wembley Stadium. Jess offers an eye on the skies from the Jersey Shore, where only one bev-alc company is flying banner ads over the beaches so far (and it isn’t a beer company). And Justin breaks out the latest grocery circular for a big meat-and-beer promo in Iowa. The trio discusses the latest headlines, including Allagash’s new Maine-centric ad campaign, the World Cup’s impact and just how much Boston misses the Tartan Army and why now is the right time for ready-to-drink (RTD) brands to explore a sale.

Mass Appeal Draught House and Grille opened on the eve of the kick-off of FIFA World Cup 2026 at its neighbor, Gillette Stadium. Hendler Family Brewing co-founder and CEO Sam Hendler joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss how the multi-branded taproom handled an influx of guests, what Scottish fans prefer to drink (Jack’s Abby House Lager) – and what they’re not drinking. “​​The majority of the audience who's been down there on game day has been the international fan base, and House Lager has been consistently the No. 1 seller, and it's not particularly close,” Hendler said. “We're selling 6 or 7x the House Lager than we are of the top-selling IPA in that taproom right now.”Hendler shared insights into the World Cup-driven boost at the company’s Night Shift taprooms and beer gardens and how they prepared their brands (Jack’s Abby, Wormtown, Masshole Light and Sloop) to stand out in the trade during this high visibility time.In the Boston area, hosting the World Cup and thousands of spectators who have come to support their teams has been a boon for the hospitality industry, particularly beer distributors and breweries.“On the ground, the atmosphere has been fantastic. People have been showing up, people are having a great time, and they're drinking a lot of beer as it goes on,” Hendler said. “There's been so much talk in beer about winning occasions that are beyond what the beer occasion has always been, and the industry still obviously needs work to do on that, because the World Cup, unfortunately, won't last for 365 days a year forever. But it's clear that beer is a winner for this occasion, and it's been absolutely fantastic.”Before the interview, Justin and Zoe discuss the results of the Brewers Association’s annual Harris Poll of consumers’ views on craft beer, recent developments in the ongoing collapse of Republic National Distributing Company and a first impression of Keystone Light Apple.After the interview, stay tuned for a conversation with ArentFox Schiff partner Nichole Shustack, who leads the law firm’s beverage-alcohol practice. She detailed navigational options for suppliers during times of wholesaler consolidation and best practices for the creation of brand platforms. Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

Athletic Brewing co-founder and CEO Bill Shufelt is “the most excited” he’s felt since founding the dedicated non-alcoholic (NA) beer brand.On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Shufelt shared what’s driving his hyped feeling, with a foundation he and co-founder John Walker laid about a decade ago. That foundation is built on a team of 300 co-workers, bicoastal brewing facilities, a strong distribution base for its core beers, a slate of new products hitting retailers and marketing campaigns beginning to ramp up.“I’m very bullish on the long-term health and growth of the category and our part in growing that,” Shufelt said. “It was very hard to get non-alcoholic beer from zero to 2% of beer, but there are actual retailers in the U.S. [where] non-alcoholic beer is touching up against 20% of their beer sales.”Those retailers lend credence to Shufelt’s belief that NA beer can be a much bigger part of the beer category. Shufelt explained that consumers are very early in the NA beer discovery curve, with the vast majority unaware how the product has changed in the last decade. Even with the stage set for growth, Shufelt acknowledged that Athletic still has work to do for the company and the segment to reach some of his loftier goals. For Athletic in particular, which holds around 22% of the NA beer segment, distribution remains its biggest opportunity. “In independents, no matter how much our distributors smile at us and tell us we’re a priority, we’re in like 10% of their independents,” Shufelt said. “And I can go into stores in almost any state in the country and look at a shelf that is controlled by our distributor that has five-plus non-alcoholic beer products on it, and Athletic will have none. There’s just such untapped distribution out there still.”For now, Shufelt is focused on driving Athletic and NA beer forward. But could the future include an IPO? An Athletic led by someone else? Shufelt said it’s possible, but he doesn't want to be on the outside looking in on an opportunity he was one of the few people to see.Before the interview, Justin, Jess and Zoe discuss the latest headlines, including the mixed results craft brewers are seeing from the World Cup, the American Cider Association co-locating its 2027 CiderCon conference with the Brewers Association’s Craft Brewers Conference, the closure of Nebraska’s largest craft brewery and the top new products of so far this year.

At 138 years old, F.X. Matt Brewing isn’t slowing down. President Fred Matt joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the Utica, New York-based craft brewery’s plans for 2026 and beyond, which include Saranac Weekend Warrior Mid-Strength, a 3% ABV hazy IPA and Right Coast Spirits Italian Ice, a vodka-based RTD produced in partnership with Barrel One Collective. In addition to both those relatively new products, the company is also riding a wave behind Utica Club, the pilsner it has produced since Prohibition ended in 1933. Its 5% ABV has made it attractive to craft drinkers looking to “down-shift” after a round or two of higher ABV products, Matt said.“It's a phenomenon that's really happening in the craft community that has brought Utica Club back,” he said. “You also get the nostalgic side of it – everybody's grandfather loved Utica Club, because Utica Club, at one time, was a 10 million case brand.”The notion of moderation is putting wind in Weekend Warrior’s sails as well. The company took a hint from Australia and New Zealand, where mid-strength beers account for nearly 35% of the beer market, Matt said. As the country’s 14th largest regional craft brewery by volume, F.X. Matt has different challenges ahead than the majority of Brewers Association (BA) members, whom Matt serves as BA board of directors chairman. “We’ve got to be more focused in what we bring to the distributor,” he said. “We’ve got to create the energy at retail.”For taprooms and brewpubs, which account for the bulk of the BA’s membership, Matt advised “do what you do best,” which is to focus on guests’ experience. “They’ll keep coming back,” he said. Plus, Jess and Zoe discuss news highlights, including changes coming for the Great American Beer Festival and 2025 production data for taprooms and brewpubs. 

Was craft brewers’ 2025 less bad than we thought? The Brewers Association (BA) issued a revision to its annual production report, which places the industry at -4%, up from previously published -5.1%. In this Brewbound Podcast episode, Zoe and Jess break down what the changes mean for the challenged craft beer industry, as well as several middle-tier deals and recent scan data.This week’s featured interviews highlight Victory Brewing co-founder Bill Covaleski and director of brewing operations Joe Slavick, as well as Odell Brewing CEO Eric “Smitty” Smith. Both conversations were recorded during the Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia in April.Covaleski and Slavick discussed the Downingtown, Pennsylvania-based craft brewery’s 30-year journey, from its self-distribution in its early days to the formation of its parent company Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) 10 years ago. Victory, which Covaleski founded in 1996 with childhood friend Ron Barchet, distributed its own beer for nearly four years, Covaleski said. The experience inspired Victory to band with fellow Pennsylvania breweries to oppose a bill that would have outlawed the practice – a legislative episode that spurred the formation of the Brewers of Pennsylvania state guild.“It was phenomenally important because no one wanted to pay what they needed to pay for our beer at a wholesale level,” he said. “We had to go out and prove that there was a market for it, and then, all of a sudden, they got it.”Victory was an early trendsetter in craft breweries’ march toward mulit-brand platforms, which have become near ubiquitous. It merged with Lakewood, New York-based Southern Tier Brewing in 2016 to form ABV, backed by Ulysses Management LLC. ABV added Brooklyn, New York-based Sixpoint Brewery in 2018, and Nellysford, Virginia-based Bold Rock Hard Cider in 2019. “From a business standpoint, it hits a lot of different avenues,” Slavick said of ABV’s brand recruitment. “They did a really good job of being selective of who they brought in, when they brought them in.”In 2025, ABV was the 11th largest craft brewer by volume in the country, according to data from the BA. Its output declined 6% year-over-year (YoY), to 238,697 barrels, excluding hard cider and other non-beer offerings. Odell was the country’s 31st largest craft brewery by volume last year, declining 9% YoY, to 89,364 barrels. 2026 opened with a “good Q1” as the Fort Collins, Colorado-headquartered craft brewery focuses its attention on its core offerings, Smith said. “We had a pretty large portfolio and so it takes some time – you can’t cut everything at once,” he said. “It’s been that slow, methodical getting rid of brands, getting rid of packages, putting our emphasis on the right brands at the right time in the right places.”For Odell, that has meant a laser-focused on flagship Odell IPA in 6-packs, 12-packs and 19.2 oz. single-serve cans in the convenience channel. To bolster that beer, the company has also launched Mountain Standard IPA, Hazer Tag hazy IPA and MDRN IPA. 

One of the hottest beer companies in the U.S., along with a budding THC-infused beverage entrepreneur, join the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast in back-to-back interviews.Garage Beer owner Andy Sauer shares upcoming plans for the fast-growing lager brand, including the introduction of Home Depot-style buckets and stubby bottles. Garage Beer is riding a growth wave, posting 193% year-over-year gains in 2025, to 220,000 barrels of beer. Garage ranked as the 12th-largest craft brewery last year, but the company has intentionally kept “craft” out of its messaging. Sauer discusses striking the balance in marketing with celebrity owners Jason and Travis Kelce and some of the more off-the-wall campaigns the brand has deployed through its writer’s room approach to marketing. But first, Julie Rhodes, co-founder of THC-infused beverage brand Kick Fizz, explains how she’s preparing for the federal government’s November ban of most THC drinks. Rhodes, who also runs consulting firm Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions, digs into creating an occasion-focused brand, the misconceptions about infused beverages and the challenges small producers face at retail. Before the interviews, Justin, Jess and Zoe discuss the Brewers Association’s 2025 production data release. They discuss the top 10 brands that posted growth last year and jockeying among them.

As middle-tier M&A dominos fall this summer, National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) president and CEO Craig Purser joins the latest Brewbound Podcast to discuss the tectonic shifts in the distribution landscape following Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) fire sale.Purser is part of a double-shot of interviews this week, including Aeronaut director of programming Deepa Chungi, who shares how the Massachusetts craft brewery created a booming events business.First, Purser offers insights into what middle-tier consolidation means for small producers and distributors and how the power structure has been reshaped with mega spirits distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits picking up Anheuser-Busch InBev’s distribution rights in major markets. Purser also explains what he believes the intoxicating hemp beverage industry needs to do to help get lawmakers onboard and potentially avert the ban coming in November. Then, Chungi explores the keys for small breweries looking to add private and public events to their businesses, and why events such as “Pitch a Friend” and Dungeons & Dragons have led to packed nights in Aeronaut’s taproom. Plus, the Brewbound team discusses the demise of Schlitz, the closure of Minneapolis’ Bauhaus Brew Labs and a helluva partnership for Mike’s Dirty Lemonade.