Cult beer maker Trillium Brewing is expanding once again, this time with a seasonal beer garden set to open in downtown Boston this summer. In partnership with The Greenway Conservancy, Trillium will build and operate an open-air beer garden in the middle of a 17-acre park along the outskirts of Boston, between South Station, the city’s largest transit hub, and the North End, a popular tourist destination.
Following a multi-million dollar investment by Storied Craft Breweries last December, Texas’ Deep Ellum Brewing grew shipments by 50 percent during the first quarter of 2017, the company told wholesalers earlier this month. “As a collective force, we are kicking ass,” wrote brewery founder John Reardon.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is adding another brand to its craft and import focused “High End” portfolio, but this time it won’t come via acquisition. In a letter to wholesalers, the company said it would launch Veza Sur Brewing Co. in Miami this summer.
In the latest attempt to garner support for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), more than 200 beer industry stakeholders climbed Capitol Hill on Monday to get a seat at the table with members of Congress and their staffers. “If you don’t have a seat at the table, then you are probably on the menu,” Brewers Association president and CEO Bob Pease cautioned during today’s opening remarks at the annual Craft Brewers Conference in Washington, D.C.
Independence Matters. That’s the message Brewers Association CEO Bob Pease hammered home to thousands of brewers attending the first general session of the 2017 Craft Brewers Conference this morning.
The self-proclaimed “punks” behind Scottish craft beer maker BrewDog have sold a 22 percent stake to TSG Consumer Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity firm with existing investments in Pabst and Sweetwater Brewing. The roughly $265 million deal, which values the company at more than $1.2 billion, according to BrewDog founder James Watt, will include $124 million of reinvestment into continued expansions in the U.S. and abroad.
Even as growth in the craft category slows, a number of craft outfits are continuing to pour money into costly expansion projects. Just this week, a trio of regional breweries announced plans to expand with facility upgrades and new taproom locations.
The 2017 Craft Brewers Conference is just around the corner and, to help you navigate what is sure to be a jam-packed week of learning, networking and imbibing, Brewbound has compiled a list can’t miss list presentations and educational seminars. Approximately 14,000 brewing industry professionals are expected to attend the 34th edition of the CBC, which takes place in Washington D.C. between April 10 – 13.
In an effort to keep beer in the marketplace while a court-appointed receiver solicits bids for the Speakeasy Ales & Lagers brand and brewing assets, the San Francisco craft brewery has signed an exclusive contract brewing agreement with New York’s Shmaltz Brewing, Brewbound has learned.
Following in the footsteps of other large, established U.S. craft beer companies who have introduced flagship line extensions in recent years, New Belgium Brewing today announced plans to release a Belgian White version of its popular Fat Tire brand. Slated for a nationwide rollout beginning August 1, New Belgium’s new unfiltered wheat offering will compete for market share against other well-known wheat beers — including MillerCoors’ Blue Moon Belgian White, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Shock Top Belgian White and Allagash Brewing’s White Ale — in the second-largest craft category by style.
In this week’s distribution roundup: Cigar City expands distribution to New Jersey; New Holland and Pabst kick off their nationwide distribution agreement; Harpoon’s UFO Beer lands in Minnesota and Catawba Brewing enters Georgia.
Since opening Castle Island Brewing on the outskirts of Boston in December 2015, founder Adam Romanow believes he’s missed out on as much as $50,000 per month in direct-to-consumer sales as a result of not having a taproom. That will change in June, when the Norwood, Massachusetts-based craft brewery opens a 1,500 sq. ft. taproom with capacity for 100 drinkers and 16 rotating draft lines.
Oregon’s Ninkasi Brewing today announced that co-founder Nikos Ridge would step down as CEO of the company he helped launch more than 10 years ago. Cheryl Collins, who currently serves as Ninkasi’s chief operating officer, will take over as CEO on May 1, the company said. Ridge, meanwhile, will move into the role of president and maintain his seat on the brewery’s board of directors.
Want to know how much craft beer was brewed in 2016? It’s not as straightforward as you might think, due to the varying definitions of craft and the investment activity in the space. The Brewers Association, which represents the interests of small and independent American brewers, pegged craft brewery production growth at 6 percent, to 24.6 million barrels, in 2016. But that’s just one reading.
