New Belgium to Launch Hard Seltzer Next Year
New Belgium will wade into the increasingly crowded hard seltzer segment next year with Fruit Smash, Brewbound has confirmed.
The news was first reported Thursday by email subscription newsletter Craft Brew News.
Fruit Smash will check in at 100 calories and 1-2 grams of carbohydrates, a New Belgium spokesperson confirmed to Brewbound.
“It’s made with real fruit juice for a more natural taste with a colorful liquid that stands apart from most other seltzers that are clear,” she added.
The hard seltzer segment reached $3.49 billion in off-premise sales for the 52 weeks ending September 5, according to market research firm Nielsen.
Major players in the segment are Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw Hard Seltzer ($1.72 billion in off-premise sales for the 52 weeks ending September 6 according to market research firm IRI), Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer ($763 million in off-premise sales for the 52 weeks ending September 6 according to IRI), and Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Bud Light Seltzer ($250 million in off-premise sales year-to-date since its January launch according to IRI).
Beer Institute: Tax Paid Shipments Increased 1.2% in August
Citing figures from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), industry trade group the Beer Institute (BI) reported that domestic beer tax paid shipments increased 1.2% in August 2020, compared to August 2019.
Shipments have increased in each of the past three months, according to the BI. However,tax paid shipments are down0.6% year-to-date compared to last year. The BI cautioned that these numbers are likely to be revised in the coming months.
“The Beer Institute estimates for the remaining months are expected to see significant revisions as TTB Industry Circular 2020-2 has postponed reporting requirements for filing and payment due dates for up to 90 days,” the BI wrote.
In August, U.S. brewers shipped 14.5 million barrels of beer. Year-to-date, shipments have totaled 112,197,000 barrels.
Trillium Reopens Boston Beer Garden
Massachusetts’ Trillium Brewing reopened its popular beer garden on Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway today for its fourth season.
“Since we first opened the Trillium Garden, my summer in Boston isn’t complete without beers under the sun in our special home on The Greenway,” Trillium co-founder Esther Tetreault said in a press release. “While opening later than we would have liked, watching the seasons change in the heart of our city will be a great way to extend the summer outdoors and transition into a classic New England autumn.”
New this year is a pilot brewing system that will produce location-exclusive beers.
Massachusetts’ current regulations require patrons to order food with alcoholic beverages and wear masks when not seated. A rotating fleet of food trucks will offer food service and customers can make reservations for tables of six people or fewer.
Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker extended the season for outdoor dining through November 30. Trillium director of marketing Mike Dyer said the company hopes to remain open until that date.
“Obviously the weather will be the determining factor for sure,” he told Brewbound. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed for a seasonable fall.”
Yesterday, Baker announced that on-premise establishments in the Commonwealth can allow bar seating beginning Monday. To accommodate patrons, restaurants, breweries and bars must install a 30-inch tall barrier between patrons and employees if the bar has a workspace behind it. All parties must be six feet from one another and must remain seated.
Sloop Brewing Launches Paid Internship with Aim of Diversifying Beer Industry
East Fishkill, New York-based Sloop Brewing launched its Open Waters Internship, “a program designed to promote diversity and inclusion in the craft beverage industry,” the company said in a press release.
“We want to set a strong example in both words and actions,” Sloop brewer and diversity and inclusion committee chairwoman Mariquita Reese said in the release. “We want to show that anyone can have a productive and fulfilling career in our industry. Our team is very aware of the lack of diversity in our industry, and we want to tackle it head-on. With this internship program, we hope to provide opportunities and training to people who may have previously felt excluded.”
Sloop is accepting applications online through November 1 for a start date in early January 2021. Interns must commit to at least 20 hours per week. Applicants must be 21, and no prior brewing knowledge or experience is required.
The online application asks questions about applicants’ perception of the industry and barriers to entry, such as “Do you feel that the industry is approachable for someone who is a novice or new to craft beer, and what areas of opportunity do you see for the craft beverage industry?”
“Being accessible and inclusive have always been core values of our company and our brewing philosophy,” president and co-founder Adam Watson said in the release. “In a sense, this program is a natural outgrowth of those values. We’re starting with a paid, part-time internship focusing on brewing, but we hope to be able to expand it down the line to cover all aspects of the craft beverage industry, not just brewing — and we hope it’s the sort of program that other breweries see value in and start up as well.”
Earlier this week, Anheuser-Busch InBev launched a scholarship program for Black students entering the beer industry, which has long been monolithically white and male. The scholarship fund is named for Natalie Johnson, A-B-s first Black woman brewmaster at its Saint Louis, Missouri brewery.
Pabst Resurrects Schaefer Beer for New York Market
Pabst Brewing Company has announced it will reintroduce Schaefer Beer in New York City, where the brand was founded in 1842.
A light-bodied lager, Schaefer checks in at 3.8% ABV and is available at retail stores and on e-commerce platform TapRm. Pabst is supporting the launch through a partnership with Cherry Bombe, a culinary platform that promotes women in the food industry.
Schaefer was founded in New York 178 years ago. The company outgrew its brewery in Brooklyn and built a new facility in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley in 1972, which changed hands several times but is now owned by the Boston Beer Company. Less than a decade later, the Schaefer family sold the remaining shares of the company to the Stroh Brewery Company, which had owned 58% of Schaefer’s shares.
Pabst acquired Stroh’s labels in 1999. Its portfolio includes several other regional heritage brands such as Lone Star, Rainier and National Bohemian.
Samuel Adams Relaunches Ruth Bader Ginsburg-Inspired Beer
Following the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last week, Samuel Adams has announced it will reprise its When There Are Nine, a Belgian brut IPA named for a Ginsburg quote.
The beer was first brewed in March 2019 as part of the Pink Boots Society’s annual collaboration fundraiser. Samuel Adams will donate $9 from the sale of every 4-pack to Pink Boots, a nationwide non-profit organization that promotes women in the beer industry.
When There Are Nine will be available at Samuel Adams’ Boston locations and can be pre-ordered online beginning October 9.
Ginsburg first uttered the phrase during a speech at Georgetown University in 2015, when she explained that people often asked when there would be enough women on the Supreme Court, as she was the second in the court’s history.
Stevens Point Brewery Invests $2.5 Million to Increase Capacity
Wisconsin-based Stevens Point Brewery has invested $2.5 million to increase capacity by 40,000 barrels and upgrade equipment, according to Stevens Point News.
Improvements include four additional 300-barrel fermentation tanks, a second centrifuge, a tunnel pasteurizer, enhanced line speeds and can variety pack capabilities. The project will increase Stevens Point’s capacity to 165,000 barrels.
Last year, the brewery’s volume increased 2%, to 130,000, making it the country’s 20th largest craft brewery by volume, according to data from national trade group the Brewers Association.
Parts of the brewery date back to 1857, when the company was founded by Frank Wahle and George Ruder.