Last week, 200 industry professionals converged on San Diego for Brewbound’s winter session and videos from every main stage conversation are now available for viewing.
If you weren’t able to watch this year’s conference, or if you were hoping to revisit individual presentations, here’s what you’ll find over on the Brewbound YouTube Channel.
In a morning conversation with Brewbound editor Chris Furnari, Pabst chairman Eugene Kashper discussed the hiring of former Duvel USA executive Simon Thorpe as the new Pabst CEO, and he shared his company’s craft partnership strategy.
“We’re on the same page in terms of finding the best fit to build the right portfolio over the never five, 10 years,” Kashper told Brewbound editor Chris Furnari of his relationship with Thorpe. “We’re looking to build the right portfolio of brands breweries that are complementary.”
Later in the day, Rogue Ales & Spirits president Brett Joyce, Two Beers Brewing and Seattle Cider Company founder Joel Vandenbrink, and Pepper Hamilton partner Alva Mather gave a look at strategies for expanding beyond the beer space.
“Anytime that we can be first at something, we like that leadership position,” Joyce said of his company’s interest in branching out into spirits and becoming Oregon’s first rum distillery in 2003. “More importantly, what we observed in the spirits space was sort of a lack of what we were experiencing successfully in the beer space, which was we wanted to bring our innovation, our variety and our creativity. We just looked at spirits and said, ‘Hey, why can’t we apply what we’ve done on the beer side over in the spirits side?’”
Mather said her advice to clients begins with forming a separate company for any new alcohol venture they plan to launch.
“In particular, if you’re thinking about spirits, because of the flammability issues with them and the insurance issues that go around making that product, just from a risk perspective and a liability perspective, it’s good to to have them separated,” she said.
Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson and NBWA chief economist Lester Jones took the stage in the morning to crunch the latest craft numbers, and explained the recent slowdown.
“We are moving to a period of slowing growth,” Watson said. “But even flat markets still have growth.”
“It’s just a slow, gradual maturation of the industry,” Jones added. “The craft index is still positive; it’s just not as strong as it was in the past.”
Meanwhile, Cowen and Company analyst Vivien Azer explained the negative effect marijuana is having on the beer business and the need for the industry to reach new customers.
“You have to embrace female consumers, and how you talk to her,” Azer said. “It can’t be the bikini-clad girl from the 1980s. That doesn’t work.”
Vann Russell, founder and managing partner of Arlington Capital Advisors, walked attendees through another frothy year in craft beer dealmaking.
“What we’ve noticed over the past six months or so is the types of transactions are changing,” Russell said of a slowing craft market. “Whereas maybe back 2014 and 2015, much larger transactions, probably 100,000 barrel was sort of the minimum.”
Looking ahead, Russell said a flood of smaller deals could be on the horizon, as more 20,000- to 100,000-barrel payers will look to transact in 2017. Russell added that his company hadn’t worked with anyone below 100,000 barrels until the second half of this year.
“That’s just where all of the attention and focus is these days,” he said.
Tomme Arthur, co-founder of the Lost Abbey, the Hop Concept and Port Brewing, explained how he juggles multiple brands, sharing a his six-pack of lessons with attendees. Among them: “storytelling is f***ing hard.”
Brewbound also handed out its 2016 Awards. See the winners here: