It’s been a tough week for the staff at breweries in the Brewers Collective, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) craft division. First, we learned the company decided to cease operations on Wednesday at Platform Beer Co., the Ohio-based craft brewery A-B acquired in 2019.
Platform’s reported shutting down followed 17 layoffs last year and later the entire staff, according to Cleveland.com. Three of Platform’s beers – Haze Jude IPA, Odd Future Imperial IPA and Canalway IPA – will live on, brewed elsewhere in the A-B brewery network.
On Thursday, news of layoffs at other breweries in the Brewers Collective began to trickle in. Employees were let go from Houston, Texas-based Karbach Brewing and Patchogue, New York-based Blue Point Brewing, according to LinkedIn posts from former workers. Citing anonymous sources, Craft Business Daily reported layoffs at Lexington, Virginia-based Devils Backbone and Asheville, North Carolina-based Wicked Weed. Brewbound has learned employees at Chicago-based Goose Island and Miami-based Wynwood Brewing and Veza Sur were also affected.
It is unclear how many employees and breweries have been affected and requests for clarification were not returned. The Brewers Collective contains 20 craft brands from coast to coast and if the rumblings we’re hearing of more layoffs to come are true, there could be some very skilled craft beer pros on the job hunt soon. (Friendly reminder: the Brewbound job board is here to help you find your next role.)
In other news… Boston-based Harpoon Brewery has launched Rec. Weed, a “hop-forward” non-alcoholic beverage with “tropical juiciness and citrusy hop notes,” and a “clean, crisp finish.” It’s got 5 milligrams of THC, 25 calories and 3 grams of sugar per 12 oz. slim can. They’ll be sold at dispensaries throughout Massachusetts. (No, neither Zoe nor I will ship you some.)
On the other coast, Sierra Nevada and Constellation Brands (maker and importer of Modelo, Corona and Pacifico) have terminated Sacramento, California-based Markstein Beverage Co.’s rights to their portfolios. We’ll give you three guesses as to where they’re going, but you probably already know… Golden Brands, the Northern California subsidiary of the Reyes Beverage Group (née Reyes Beer Division, following their pickup of the spirits-heavy Sazerac portfolio). This move adds a reported 6 million cases to Reyes’ California business, which has been reported to include more than half the beer flowing through the state.
Earnings report season rolled on, and this time, it was Molson Coors’ turn. The No. 2 brewer in the country finished 2022 on a weak note in the U.S., with declines in both shipments (-11.2%) and depletions (-6.8%) in Q4. The vibes aren’t all bad though – the company’s biggest brands (Coors Light and Miller Lite) recorded dollar sales increases in the first month of the year in the run up to the Super Bowl, according to IRI. CEO Gavin Hattersley is optimistic that growth will continue.
“We’ve got really strong programs for 2023, starting with the Super Bowl, which wasn’t just a point in time,” he said during a conference call with investors. “It was a buildup for several months before that, and we’ll continue to leverage that post the Super Bowl. So, we don’t shy away from being the challenger in the challenger position versus our competitors.”
In other Molson Coors-adjacent news, the company’s JV with the pride of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, D.G. Yuengling & Son, is adding three new states. Congratulations to the residents of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri on their ability to get their hands on Traditional Lager without dabbling in bootlegging.
Now that Dry January is firmly behind us, two dedicated non-alc retailers shared their plans for extending the momentum with Justin. Check out this episode of Brewbound Frontlines featuring Chris Simmonds, proprietor of Ceremony, a Virginia-based chain of non-alcoholic bottle shops, and Nick Bodkins, co-founder and CEO of Boisson, which operates non-alcoholic drink shops in NY and California.
And 3 Tier Beverages’ consultant Stephanie Roatis joined us on this week’s podcast to break down the newest edition of her quarterly report, 3 Up, 3 Down about winners and others (I wouldn’t say losers – that just feels mean?) in bev-alc scan data. Spoiler alert: last month was real nice to non-alc beer.
That’s it! Justin’s taking some well deserved time off, but he’ll be back at the helm of the ship next week.