54 Workers at A-B-Owned Widmer Brothers Join Teamsters
Employees at Anheuser-Busch (A-B) InBev-owned Widmer Brothers Brewing have voted to join Teamsters Local 162, the union announced.
“This isn’t just about me,” organizing committee member and brew tech Josh Dunnivant said in the press release. “I organized a union with my co-workers to make our brewery and community safer, and to improve the quality of life for my fellow workers and their families.”
The election adds 54 workers at Widmer Brothers’ Portland, Oregon-based brewery to the 5,000 members of Local 162. The Widmer staff works in brewing, packaging, microbiology and quality assurance.
Widmer Brothers was part of Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), which A-B acquired in 2020 in totality after owning a 31.2% share. CBA was formed in 2008 through the merger of Widmer Brothers and Seattle-based Redhook. Previously, both breweries had sold shares to A-B to gain access to A-B’s wholesale network.
Workers began organizing after the sale to A-B to achieve pay parity with staff at other unionized A-B-owned breweries, according to the union. The Widmer staff “also have concerns about safety in the workplace, scheduling issues, and the quality of the health care plan,” the release said.
“It is wonderful to see these workers coming together to exercise their rights,” Teamsters western region VP and Local 162 president Mark Davison said in the release. “Fair pay, better health care, safety on the job – these are all things we’ll be working on in contract negotiations.”
The news follows last month’s formation of the Brewing Union of Georgia (BUG) by workers at Athens, Georgia-based Creature Comforts Brewing. Management declined to recognize the union and BUG filed two complaints of unfair labor practice with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Although the road to unionize craft breweries has been bumpy, workers at larger breweries, such as A-B, have long belonged to unions.
PepsiCo’s Bev-Alc Distribution Strategy in Early Stages
PepsiCo’s foray into beverage-alcohol distribution via its Blue Cloud Distributing branch is in the embryonic stages “both geographically and from the amount of brands that we carry in our portfolio,” chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said during the carbonated soft drink giant’s fourth-quarter and full-year earnings call Thursday.
“We see an opportunity in expanding our distribution capabilities to other spaces in the U.S. and maybe eventually in other parts of the world in beverages and also in snacks,” he said.
“We are very focused in getting it right, in getting the learnings, getting the execution right, is different, right, and selling our soft drinks, our sport drinks or other brands,” he continued. “There are more nuances, regulatory-wise and execution-wise. So we’re in that process of learning.”
Nevertheless, Laguarta expects the distribution business to become “an important part of our business in the U.S.” but the company will “learn before we scale up.
“I wouldn’t think about this as we’re going to be an alcohol distributor,” he added. “We’re going to choose a few partners that will create brands with us and products, and we will be distributors of a small portfolio of high-potential brands rather than just a lot of brands in our distribution system, which will be too complex and probably little value for us.”
Blue Cloud distributes the Hard MTN Dew, which the Boston Beer Company produces and is sold in 11 states, and the Lipton Hard Tea brand produced by FIFCO USA.
Breweries for Sale: Ohio’s Canton Brewing and Vermont’s Lost Nation; Saint Archer Equipment Auction
Both Canton, Ohio-based Canton Brewing and Morristown, Vermont-based Lost Nation Brewing have been listed for sale.
Canton Brewing is listed for sale at $1.45 million, which includes the 39,600 sq. ft building and its brewing and restaurant equipment. In addition to the brewery, the two-story building also includes a Rite Aid and office space.
The brewery was founded in 1883 by Otto Giessen, a Bavarian immigrant. According to company lore on its website, Canton’s Cascade Beer was drunk during the meeting that led to the founding of the American Professional Football Association, which became the NFL.
Canton produced 465 barrels of beer in 2021, according to the Brewers Association’s (BA) May/June 2022 edition of the New Brewer.
In Vermont, 11-year-old Lost Nation is listed for sale at $2.25 million, which includes brewing and restaurant equipment and intellectual property. The space’s lease “would require assignment at closing,” according to the listing.
Lost Nation’s annual capacity is 8,000 barrels; the brewery produced 4,500 barrels in 2021, according to the BA.
“At current production levels, there is ample time and space in the brewery to produce another beverage line,” the listing reads. “This could be another beer brand, non-alcoholic beer, soda, seltzer, etc. Sales volume gains can be achieved in the chain and grocery segment. To be successful in this arena, the product must be shelf stable and competitive on a national level.”
Lost Nation packages in 16 oz. cans, but “with minimal investment, our current packaging line can pivot to produce 12 oz. packages,” which the brewery has “designed and market ready.”
The location includes a 50-seat taproom and an outdoor dining pavilion with space for 200. Lost Nation has also cultivated a wedding catering business, which contributed $300,000 in revenue in 2021 from 45 weddings. The company has “all systems in place to reenter this segment for the 2024 season.”
Meanwhile, the equipment at the former Saint Archer production brewery in San Diego is set to go up for auction on March 15, via auction house New Mill Capital. The auction includes 7,000 barrels of fermenters and brite tanks, a 40-barrels Sprinkman five-vessel brewhouse and more.
Kings & Convicts, which took over the Saint Archer facility from Molson Coors, announced last week that it would be vacating the Encinitas taproom and Miramar production facility that once belonged to Saint Archer.
American Cider Association Announces 2023 Board of Directors
The American Cider Association (ACA) announced the results of its 2023 board of directors election last week. The election was held at the 13th annual CiderCon in Chicago.
Eleanor Leger, founder of Eden Specialty Ciders (Newport, Vermont), and Brooke Glover, owner of Swilled Dog Hard Cider (Upper Tract, West Virginia), were re-elected president and vice president of the board. Dave Takush, head cider maker and co-owner of 2 Towns Ciderhouse (Corvallis, Oregon), was re-elected as board secretary, and John Behrens, founder and president of Farmhaus Cider Company (Hudsonville, Michigan) was re-elected board treasurer.
First-time members to the board include Breanne Heuss, marketing director at Sebastopol, California-based Golden State Cider, and Sarah Hemly, co-founder of Courtland, California-based Hemly Cider.
Returning board members re-elected include:
- Phillipe Bishop, co-owner of Alpenfire Cider (Port Townsend, Washington);
- Marcus Robert, cider operations manager at Tieton Cider Works (Yakima, Washington);
- And Talia Haykin, founder of Haykin Family Cider (Aurora, Colorado).
The ACA’s 13-person board is elected on a “staggered basis,” with elections held annually during CiderCon. Board members each commit to three-year terms, with the option to run for reelection.
Board members still in the middle of their terms include Soham Bhatt, co-founder of Artifact Cider Project (Florence, Massachusetts); Ben Calvi, Vermont Hard Cider Co. director of cider making (Middlebury, Vermont); David Glaize, co-owner of Old Town Cidery (Winchester, Virginia-based); and Christine Walter, founder of Bauman’s Cider (Gervais, Oregon).
Stony Creek to Double Capacity to 100,000 Barrels with New Tank Farm
Stony Creek Brewery has been approved by its hometown of Branford, Connecticut to construct a new tank farm, which would expand the company’s brewing capacity from 48,000 barrels, to 100,000 barrels.
“Stony Creek Brewery started as a contract partner, initially brewing at another Connecticut brewery in 2010, and to reciprocate brewing for other brewers in need has been fulfilling,” Stony Creek CEO Dan Shannon said in a press release. “This expansion allows for greater options in both volume and package types for other brewers from around the country.”
Stony Creek operates a 30,000 sq. ft. facility in Branford. The brewery produced an estimated 15,000 barrels in 2021, a +15% increase year-over-year, according to the Brewers Association (BA) in the May/June New Brewer. The capacity expansion – located along I-95 between New York City and Boston – will allow Stony Creek to take advantage of “new partnerships, collaborations and changing trends,” according to the release.