Meg Gill Named VP of Marketing for A-B Brewers Collective
Anheuser-Busch InBev has named Golden Road co-founder Meg Gill as the new VP of marketing for its craft beer business division, the Brewers Collective.
Starting July 15, Gill will lead the team that oversees marketing efforts for the Brewers Collective’s 13 craft breweries — 10 Barrel, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point, Devils Backbone, Elysian, Golden Road, Four Peaks, Goose Island, Karbach, Platform Beer, Wicked Weed, Veza Sur, Virtue Cider — as well as its craft “beyond beer” brands such as LQD and Maha.
Gill will report to Brewers Collective president Marcelo “Mika” Michaelis. She will also continue in a founder/advisory role with Golden Road, which she has held since A-B acquired the Los Angeles-based craft brewery in 2015.
“I am excited to join the Brewers Collective team, whom I have worked closely with since 2015, to assist in the marketing efforts of such a talented group of craft breweries and support the entire portfolio,” Gill said in a statement.
In recent years, Gill starred in a documentary series/travel show called “Beerland” on Vice Media’s cable television network, Viceland, which has since been renamed Vice on TV.
Indiana Brewers’ Guild Furloughs Paid Staff
Brewers of Indiana Guild executive director Rob Caputo told Inside Indiana Business that the nonprofit trade group was forced to furlough its paid staff for the foreseeable future due the COVID-19 pandemic shutting down its top revenue generating events — Broad Ripple Beer Fest, Bloomington Craft Beer Festival and Indiana Microbrewers Fest.
The loss of revenue has also meant that the guild has been unable to fund lobbying efforts or member services.
“The organization was founded by a board of directors and if it has to go back to being run by a board then it is certainly within our bylaws to do that,” Caputo told the outlet. “At the end of the day, a lot of important decisions are going to have to be made here in the next month, so we’ll see where they end up.”
Colorado’s Trinity Brewing Sold
Jason Yester, the founder of Trinity Brewing, has sold the 13-year-old Colorado Springs-based brewpub to restaurateur, real estate investor and home brewer Matthew Dettmann, according to Denver alt-weekly newspaper Westword.
Dettmann will reportedly maintain the Trinity name and several beers developed by Yester.
According to Westword, Yester is exiting the craft beer business, citing a loss of inspiration as the hazy IPA trend took hold of the industry, as well as fruit beers and pastry stouts, leading him to feel disconnected from the industry as beer styles became more “homogenous,” in his opinion. He began shopping the brewpub in 2018.
Brewers Association Opens Brewery Registration for Virtual GABF
The Brewers Association has opened registration for this year’s Great American Beer Festival, which will be held virtually from October 1-18 via passport program. The festival will wrap up on October 16 and 17 with “passport-exclusive online content, and the GABF awards ceremony.”
Brewery registrations cost $50, and requires participating breweries to offer passport holders a “deal” over the 18-day promotion.
“We realize every brewery will be under different operating situations so the deal could include: a free 6 oz sample, discount on curbside pickup or delivery, discount on merch via online (for far away fans), special release beer, etc.,” according to the registration page. “All breweries will be asked to confirm their passport deal by September 1 for inclusion on the GABF website and in the passport.”
The BA will promote participating breweries via the GABF website, social media and earned media from mid-August through October 18. Additionally, breweries that register by August 1 will receive two GABF brewer hats.
Consumers can purchase passports for $20, or in a $49 bundle with a T-shirt.