Delta Takes Flight with Craft Beer
Delta Air Lines has added seven craft beer offerings to its in-flight drink menu, curating a portfolio of national top 50 brands as well as smaller, local beers. Beginning this month, Delta customers can enjoy offerings from Ballast Point, Blue Point, Brooklyn Brewery, Lagunitas, Newburyport Brewing, Stone Brewing, SweetWater, as well as Boston Beer. According to a statement from the airline, the beers will be available on a number of regional shuttles, as well as select transcontinental flights. Samuel Adams, the statement adds, will be available on all other domestic routes in the U.S.
MillerCoors Partners with Drizly
Beer giant MillerCoors has teamed up with Boston-based startup Drizly, an on-demand alcohol delivery mobile application, to give consumers in four cities an opportunity to buy beer online and have it hand delivered to their door. According to Time, beer drinkers in Boston, Seattle, New York, and Washington, D.C., can utilize the service and have 12- or 24-packs of Miller Lite delivered to their homes with no shipping costs. Not to be outdone in the arena of online retailing and delivery, Anheuser-Busch InBev is reportedly working on an online retail component of its own, the article adds.
Starbucks Adds Beer to Menu to Spark U.S. Growth
In an effort to spark “cooling” sales in the U.S., Starbucks is reportedly adding beer, wine, and evening snacks to thousands of its domestic stores, according to Reuters. The coffee conglomerate, the article adds, hopes to create roughly $1 billion in new sales by implementing what it’s calling an “evening menu,” which includes beer, at nearly 3,000 of its 11,900 stores in the U.S.
Woman Sets World Record for Beer Mile
At the first ever beer mile world championship held in Austin, Texas last Wednesday, Elizabeth Herndon won the elite women’s race with a time of 6 minutes 12.76 seconds, good for a new world record. For those uninitiated, a beer mile consists of running a mile on a track, consuming a full, 12 oz. beer before each lap. According to the New York Times, Herndon, 29, broke the previous world mark by 10.84 seconds. Corey Gallagher won the men’s race, the article adds, in 5:00.23.
Homebrew Startup Raises $1.2 Million in Angel Financing
A Seattle startup that markets high-tech homebrewing machines has secured $1.2 million in angel financing, reports GeekWire.com. PicoBrew will use the new funding to “bolster manufacturing” as demand for the company’s “Zymatic” home brew machine is “soaring.” Earlier this year, PicoBrew was able to secure $1.2 million after raising more than $661,000 on Kickstarter, far surpassing its stated goal of $150,000.