Beer wholesalers of Florida have voiced mixed feelings with regards to a sweeping, multi-pronged bill that would, if passed, overhaul how the state’s beer industry is regulated. As Brewbound reported last week, House Bill 107, as written, would revamp the inner-workings of franchise agreements, legalize limited self-distribution, clarify brewery retail rights, and put an end to the ongoing growler debate by legalizing 64 oz. containers.
Fresh off a year in which the company added five states to its distribution footprint, SweetWater Brewing has announced plans to broaden its availability once again, this time to Texas and Maryland.
Southern Tier Brewing has hired Sean Lavery, a former Anheuser-Busch (A-B) brewmaster, to serve as its newest director of brewing, the company announced this week. Lavery, who held a variety of brewing positions during his time with Anheuser-Busch, officially joined Southern Tier earlier this week.
Ken Grossman, the 60-year-old founder of Sierra Nevada, is craft’s latest billionaire. According to Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Grossman’s estimated net worth topped $1 billion in 2014. With the valuation, Grossman joins a very exclusive club of billionaire craft brewers, which, until now, had consisted only of Boston Beer’s Jim Koch and Dick Yuengling of D.G. Yuengling & Son. “Sierra Nevada is good. They’re one of the players for the long term,” Joe Thompson, president of Independent Beverage Group, told Bloomberg.
Launched by Indianapolis’ Sun King Brewing and Munster-based 3 Floyds Brewing, the Support Indiana Brewers campaign seeks to at least double the state’s production cap of 30,000 barrels annually for brewers that also operate in the wholesale and retail tiers. While breweries can produce an unlimited amount of beer for sale within Indiana, under current law, once a brewery surpasses 30,000 barrels it forfeits the right to self-distribute and operate a taproom.
Despite ongoing capacity constraints, Cigar City Brewing managed to grow its annual production by more than 28 percent in 2014, selling over 44,000 barrels of beer, founder Joey Redner told Brewbound. The growth was driven primarily by the brewery’s top-selling flagship, Jai Alai IPA, which accounted for more than half — about 23,000 barrels — of all barrels sold. Cigar City sold just over 5,000 barrels of its second most popular brew, Florida Cracker, Redner said.
A sweeping bill recently filed by a Florida lawmaker could potentially loosen a number of restrictive regulations faced by craft brewers while simultaneously streamlining rules pertaining to the state’s three-tier alcohol distribution system. House Bill 107, in its current form, would overhaul the mechanics of franchise agreements, settle the state’s ongoing growler debate(link?), clarify brewery retail rights, and more.
Ninkasi Brewing is in the process of realigning its wholesale network in the Pacific Northwest, the brewery announced this week, leaving two houses owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) in order to partner up with a pair of independent distributors. Per a statement from the company, Ninkasi has agreed to deals with Bigfoot Beverage Distributors and the Odom Corporation for coverage throughout downstate Oregon (the company’s home state) and western Washington, respectively.
Anheuser-Busch may have to find another way to distribute its beer in certain areas of Kentucky if one lawmaker gets his way. On Friday, House Speaker Greg Stumbo (D-Prestonburg) filed a bill that would prevent larger brewers from taking over wholesale operations and distributing their products directly to retailers, reports the Courier Journal.
Two retail advocacy groups and a couple of powerful wholesaler networks in Florida are challenging a state law that allows brewers to operate as vendors, leaving many in the craft industry in fear that their businesses may be at risk. Brewers in the state have been able to operate on-site tasting rooms outside of the framework of the traditional three-tier distribution system thanks to a tourism exemption, originally written to allow Anheuser-Busch to sell beer products at Busch Gardens, a theme park the company owned at the time.
The Beer Institute is soon expected to announce the introduction of bipartisan legislation that would, if enacted, reform the federal beer excise tax. While the BI is withholding specific details at the moment, including the name of the bill and its sponsors, Chris Thorne, the organization’s vice president of communications, said it would provide relief for every brewer and beer importer.
White Labs Inc., the California-based fermentation sciences lab, has announced plans to build out an East Coast laboratory in the burgeoning craft beer town of Asheville, North Carolina. The company plans to acquire a 26,000 sq. ft. property from the city, for its new lab, and will invest $8.1 million over the next five years, according to a statement released by the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC). The project is expected to create 65 new jobs.
For the fourth time, members of Congress have filed a bipartisan bill that, if enacted, would dramatically cut the federal beer excise tax that the nation’s small brewers pay on every barrel of beer they produce. The Small Brewer Reinvestment and Expanding Workforce Act – Small BREW Act for short – seeks to implement a new tax structure to better reflect the evolving nature of the country’s booming craft beer industry, according to a statement from the Brewers Association.
Contract brewing outfit Brew Hub has announced two key hires, one to see through the construction and subsequent operation of its St. Louis outpost and the other to serve in an executive leadership role. Brew Hub has appointed Jim Ottolini, a longtime industry veteran and former Brewmaster at The St. Louis Brewery (best known for the Schlafly line of beers) as its new chief of brewing operations and head brewmaster.
