Dogfish Head’s canned cocktails are gaining traction in the fast-growing spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail market. Dollar sales of the Dogfish Head brand family (+92.3%) are outpacing the overall segment (+56.5%), according to NielsenIQ total U.S. all off-premise data year-to-date through September 17, shared by Bump Williams Consulting.
Dogfish Head’s $10.4 million in RTD spirits sales through the first 37 weeks of 2022 rank 15th and has held steady there over the last 4- and 12-week periods. The company has claimed 1.2% dollar share of the total RTD spirits market, gaining 0.2 points compared to a year ago.
“We’re very bullish about Dogfish continuing to grow in the canned cocktail space,” co-founder Sam Calagione told Brewbound.
The bullishness comes as craft beer isn’t forecasted to drive growth for Dogfish Head’s parent company, Boston Beer Company, this year or in 2023.
“Our distributors are saying, ‘Awesome, keep innovating on beer, but for 2023, we want to go deeper with you on the spirits-based, seltzer innovations, FMBs, particularly Twisted Tea,’” Calagione said. “The Dogfish Head canned cocktails are a big part of that.”
Boston Beer is placing focus on spirits too. Calagione said the company now has “SWAT teams” of sales reps in “certain geographies,” Including the northeast, focused solely on the company’s spirits portfolio, including Dogfish Head canned cocktails, full proof spirits, and Truly Vodka Seltzer.
“One of our goals is to be the No. 1 volumetric beyond beer producer/supplier in America,” Calagione said. “And we’re already No. 2, which is encouraging, but that is something that we believe is attainable for us if we execute as well as we know we and our wholesale partners can execute.”
Dogfish Head’s Barcart variety pack is the No. 1 8-pack variety pack, Calagione said. He teased that more Dogfish Head canned cocktail packs will be coming to market.
“Barcart being the No. 1 pack at eight cans with multiple flavors in that one purchase is a proposition that we believe is going to continue to grow, likely disproportionate to single-flavor 4- or 6-packs,” he added. “So that’s a space that we know we can win in, not just for Barcart, but with future innovations.”
Over the last year, Boston Beer has gained a better understanding of the route to market for spirit-based offerings on a state-by-state basis, Calagione said. As such, Boston Beer is preparing to launch Truly Vodka Seltzer in the coming weeks, which Calagione said will be complementary to Dogfish Head’s canned cocktails.
Truly Vodka Seltzer (around 5% ABV) is sold at a price in line with vodka-based seltzers, while Dogfish Head’s cocktails are higher-end, higher ABV (7% ABV) for “a true cocktail experience,” Calagione said.
In the on-premise channel, Dogfish Head has learned that it needs to be more focused on the types of accounts it targets, Calagione said. The company will put less focus on higher-end, fine dining accounts, which rely on the profits from making drinks from scratch with their own spirits, and more so on “higher-end pool clubs, golf clubs, sports bars” that rely on fast service.
Dogfish Head Beer Sales -16% YTD
Off-premise sales of Dogfish Head’s beer portfolio have declined -16% year-to-date through mid-September, outpacing the overall craft segment’s declines (-5.3%). Dogfish isn’t alone, as just three (New Belgium, Goose Island, Victory) of the top 20 craft brand families are showing any dollar growth versus a year ago.
Calagione acknowledged that the “trends are not where we want them to be.” Nevertheless, he said he believes the IPA space — craft beer’s most popular and best-selling style — “is a place we have the right to win in,” from 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPA to new offerings. He teased a new core beer for 2023, with the company “dialing in” the recipe for more than two years.
One package format Calagione sees an opportunity in is the 19.2 oz. single-serve can.
“The 19.2 proposition is becoming more meaningful by the quarter,” he said. “We’re really ramping that up with not just 60 and 90 [Minute], but the new core beer that we announce soon is also going to be an important top two 19.2 play for us.”
Another opportunity less visible to consumers but more so to Dogfish Head’s distributor and retailer partners will be the integration of the Delaware craft brewery’s offerings into Boston Beer’s ordering platform for the first time since the companies merged in 2019. Calagione said this creates a “one-stop shop,” and Dogfish Head’s Art Series and variety packs will now roll out in “the same cadence” as Samuel Adams seasonals and variety packs.
“Now we believe we’re gonna get the traction and execution that BBC is known for across its portfolio with the Dogfish brand,” Calagione said. “So 2023, we’re really bullish on being an exciting year for both Dogfish beer and Dogfish Head spirit-based canned cocktails.”
Dogfish Head is releasing several new offerings this fall, including several collaborations. Here are a few of the highlights.
Wake Up World Wide Stout Spin Off Coming
Dogfish Head launched a “breakfast-themed iteration” of its World Wide Stout, Wake Up World Wide Stout (15-17% ABV) in 4-packs of 12 oz. bottles in mid-September.
“We’ve been making World Wide Stout since 1990, and this is my favorite version of history,” Calagione said.
Wake Up World Wide Stout is brewed with “regeneratively grown malts from Epiphany Malting, organic maple syrup from New Leaf Tree Syrups, oat milk from Elmhurst and organic coffee from Rise Up Coffee Roasters.” The beer has notes of “espresso, sweet maple, roasted cacao and smoked honey.”
DFH Partners with Rodenbach on Crimson Cru
Dogfish Head is once again teaming up with Belgium’s Rodenbach Brewery to launch Crimson Cru blended red ale (7.1% ABV), the fourth and final beer in 2022’s Off-Centered Art Series.
Following 2020’s Vibrant P’Ocean blended sour ale, Crimson Cru is a blend of imported Rodenbach’s Grand Cru and “a sumac-infused American red ale dry-hopped with” Hallertau Blanc hops. The end result is a “full-bodied, sweet and sour red ale with notes of red fruit, citrus, caramel and toffee,” the company said.
Crimson Cru will be available nationwide beginning in mid-October in 6-packs of 12 oz. bottles. A series of launch events will be held at DFH’s Delaware properties October 14 and 15.
DFH and Talea to Release Bodega-Inspired Gose
Dogfish Head and New York City-based, women-led Talea Beer Co. on a bodega-inspired gose called Bo-de-Gose. The two companies started a brew day, but paused to pick up herbs and spices from delis throughout Brooklyn, Calagione said.
Calagione described the recipe as evolving “in real time, while the beer was bubbling away,” with ingredients “sourced from local Brooklyn bodegas.”
In mid-October, Dogfish Head will release its version of the beer in Delaware, while Talea releases its version in Brooklyn. The gose is starting as a small-batch offering but could be something that is offered wider in the future, Calagione said.
“We love this beer, this concept and Talea so much that we have zero plans to make this a one-and-done situation,” he said. “We believe this is a really cool concept that beer drinkers up and down the East Coast are going to dig.”
DFH and Cabot Creamery Launch The Perfect Pairing
Dogfish Head is launching The Perfect Pairing (5.5% ABV), a hazy pale ale aimed at achieving the perfect pairing with sharp cheddar cheese. DFH collaborated with Cabot Creamery, the New England-headquartered dairy, to launch the beer, which features whey from Cabot in the recipe.
The Perfect Pairing is available now in DFH’s new variety 12-pack, the Off-Centered Party Pack, which also includes 60 Minute, 90 Minute and Blue Hen Pilsner.