Sun King Brewery president and co-founder Omar Robinson will sell a portion of his stake in the business when he retires next month. Simultaneously, Sun King will also turn over minority interest to incoming president Robert Whitt, who will “buy a portion of Omar’s stock over the next few years,” co-founder Clay Robinson told Brewbound. Oregon’s Cascade Brewing, meanwhile, has appointed Tim Larrance as its new vice president of sales and marketing.
Columbia Distributing, one of the country’s largest beverage wholesalers with operations in Oregon, Washington and California, yesterday announced that CEO Gregg Christiansen would retire in 2018. “I’ve had a great run,” Christiansen said in a press announcement. “I’ve been fortunate to work in this industry for over 30 years. I’ve worked with very talented people and helped build many excellent brands. Most importantly, I’ve had fun doing it.”
Boston Beer Company, the country’s second-largest craft beer producer, recently helped Carnival, the world’s largest cruise ship operator, build a floating microbrewery on-board its new Carnival Vista vessel. In a press statement, Carnival said it worked with Alchemy & Science, Boston Beer’s wholly-owned subsidiary incubator, to launch version 2.0 of its Key West-inspired bar, the Red Frog Pub, which will now also feature a small brewery.
Full Sail Brewing has updated its look. The Oregon-based craft brewery this week unveiled a new logo and refreshed artwork for several of its core brands. Focusing on natural elements and landmarks surrounding the brewery, the rebrand was intended to emphasize Full Sail’s connection to nature and to modernize the company’s image in a market flooded with thousands of craft beer options.
Total craft growth slowed in 2015 as U.S. craft brewers grew volumes by 13 percent and retail dollars by 16 percent last year, according to new data compiled by trade group The Brewers Association (BA). In its annual report on industry-wide growth, the BA said more than 4,250 small and independent U.S. brewers collectively produced about 24.5 million barrels of beer in 2015.
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In the hub of North Carolina’s craft beer industry, one brewery is growing like a weed. Asheville-based Wicked Weed Brewing today announced it would build another production facility this summer, its fourth brewery space in as many years. Located on 17 acres in South Asheville, the new 57,000 sq. ft. facility will be entirely devoted to the production of sour, farmhouse, and wild-fermented beers — style categories that Wicked Weed has increasingly focused on in recent years.
Alabama lawmakers passed a bill late yesterday evening that, if signed into law, would grant limited direct-sales privileges to brewers in the state and clean up other other outdated alcohol industry regulations. Now en-route to governor Robert Bentley’s desk, Senate Bill 211, the companion draft of House Bill 176, would give small brewers in Alabama the right to sell up to 288 oz. of beer directly to consumers for off-premise consumption.
Alabama Senate Reviewing Direct Sales Bill; Maine Brewpubs Denied Off-Premise Sales; Oklahoma Looks to Update Three-Tier System Laws; Missouri State Reps Consider Cold Beer Bill
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Bell’s Brewery today announced plans to expand distribution to Mississippi. The Michigan-based craft brewery has signed agreements with five local wholesalers for coverage throughout the state. Capital City Beverages, Clark Beverage Group, F.E.B. Distributing, Stokes Distributing Company, and Magnolia Beverage Company will distribute Bell’s beers beginning later this month.
Amid increasing competition from thousands of fast-growing startup breweries, Oregon’s Craft Brew Alliance — which makes and markets the Kona, Widmer, Redhook, Omission and Square Mile Cider brands — is fine-tuning its go-to market strategy. Despite a somewhat lethargic 2015 where net sales increased just two percent, CEO Andy Thomas and other CBA executives who spoke to investors during last week’s earnings call, remained optimistic about the company’s position as it approaches the end of this year’s first quarter.
A-B to Divest SABMiller’s CR Snow Stake; New Locations on the Way for Some Established Craft Brewers; Sand Creek Brewing Acquires 2 Smaller Brands; New Belgium Celebrates 25th Anniversary with “Riff-Pack”…
Anheuser-Busch InBev this week announced changes to a U.S. division it calls “The High End,” eliminating the “CEO of Craft” position previously held by longtime executive Andy Goeler. Goeler, who had been focused on growing A-B’s involvement in the craft category, will transition into an expanded vice president of marketing role, working directly with both the company’s acquired craft breweries as well as brands like Stella Artois and Shock Top.
