Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) today released its third quarter earnings results, which were highlighted by a 12.7 percent increase in Kona Brewing shipments and a portfolio-wide net sales growth of 1.1 percent percent compared to the same period in 2015. In a press release, CEO Andy Thomas once again touted the company’s “Kona Plus” strategy — one that combines a nationwide sales effort for the Hawaiian-themed brand with a regional sales approach for strategic partners Cisco Brewers and Appalachian Mountain as well as the more established Widmer Brothers and Redhook labels.
As Anheuser-Busch InBev works to integrate recently acquired SABMiller, which it purchased last month for more than $100 billion, the company has announced a number of key executive changes. Marcel Marcondes, who previously served as a vice president of global marketing, will replace Jorn Socquet as the company’s vice president of marketing in the United States. Socquet has been appointed to a new global role as VP of marketing strategy and core brands, the company said via a press release.
Two Roads Brewing Company today said it would spend $12 million to expand its operations with the addition of a new 25,000 sq. ft. brewery and barrel-aging facility adjacent to its existing location in Stratford, Connecticut. Situated on 2.5 acres, the new facility — which the company said would be dedicated to the production of sour and barrel-aged beers — will feature a 50-barrel brewhouse, foeders, a coolship and space for 2,000 wooden barrels.
Dogfish Head is delivering double the delight this holiday season with the release of two dark and delicious, winter seasonal stouts. Beer for Breakfast, a tricked out full-bodied stout, and World Wide Stout, a roasty, ageable port-like brew, will be available for hearty enjoyment in limited supply beginning November 7th.
Constellation Brands, which owns the Corona and Modelo brand rights in the U.S., today announced plans to purchase the Obregon, Mexico brewery from Grupo Modelo, an Anheuser-Busch InBev subsidiary, for $600 million. In a press statement, the company said it would submit a proposal to the U.S. Department of Justice, and also noted that the brewery purchase would allow Constellation to “become fully independent from the interim supply agreement with Grupo Modelo.”
In this week’s edition of press clips: Bart Watson blogs about the craft slowdown; Modern Times Beer reveals an Anaheim brewery project and Golden Eagle announces an Illinois acquisition.
Before it moved into a new 67,000 sq. ft. brewing facility at 100 Clinton Street in Framingham, Mass., popular Boston-area craft brewery Jack’s Abby occupied just 15,000 sq. ft. of space in a warehouse less than one mile away from its current location. And when the company finishes building out an expanded “Springdale” taproom and barrel-aging space in a recently acquired area next door to its existing production site, it will officially be operating within a 130,000 sq. ft. footprint.
Christine Perich, the CEO of New Belgium Brewing, will depart the organization to “pursue other opportunities,” the company announced today. The Colorado-headquartered brewery — which also maintains a production facility in Asheville, N.C. and is ranked by the Brewers Association as the country’s fourth largest craft outfit — has yet to appoint a replacement.
Portland, Oregon’s Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider has completed a multi-faceted financing round led by hometown firm, Hawthorne Capital, the company announced Friday. As part of the transaction, Hawthorne Capital will acquire an undisclosed stake in the five-year-old company and receive seats on the board, founder Nat West told Brewbound.
After 13 years at one of the country’s highest-profile craft breweries, Dogfish Head CEO Nick Benz will depart the organization at the end of the year, the company announced today. Brewery founder and chairman Sam Calagione will takeover as CEO following Benz’s departure.
Revolution Brewing yesterday issued a recall of more than 10,000 barrels of beer packaged between Aug. 3 and Oct. 11 due to off-flavors that developed in six of the company’s more popular products. In an interview with Brewbound, brewery founder Josh Deth speculated that a majority of the recalled product had already been consumed, but said that the company would likely be forced to remove at least 3,000 barrels of beer from distributor warehouses and retailer shelves. If that’s the case, Revolution could miss out on about $1 million worth of sales to wholesalers and the company will also incur charges to destroy the damaged product.
Citing slower growth and an increasingly more competitive craft beer landscape, San Diego’s Stone Brewing Company today laid off more than 50 employees as part of what it termed a “restructuring.” Cutbacks extended across the entire organization, Brewbound has learned, including personnel in sales, marketing, media, administration, and production. In a statement, new Stone CEO Dominic Engels, who joined the company on September 6, blamed the downsizing on “recent declines in domestic growth for the category and for Stone.”
Brooklyn Brewery said Wednesday it had struck a two-pronged deal with Japan’s Kirin Brewery that would include the sale of a minority stake and the establishment of a new joint venture in Japan. As part of the two companies’ capital partnership, the Japanese beer company will acquire “an approximately 24.5 percent stake” in Brooklyn Brewery, according to a press release posted on the Kirin Holdings website.
As conglomerates scoop up more craft breweries, what are the ramifications for those who don’t sell out? That’s what a quartet of well-known craft brewery figureheads tried to address last week during a panel discussion at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival.
