New Generation Steps Up at Schell’s Brewery
A new generation of leaders is taking the reins at New Ulm, Minnesota-based Schell’s Brewery, as Ted Marti steps down from overseeing operations at the 160-year-old brewery and hands the reins to his sons, according to the Mankato Free Press.
Kyle Marti will assume day-to-day management, while Franz Marti works on the construction and maintenance needs of the brewery. Across town, Jace Marti has been brewing German-inpired sours at Starkeller Brewery.
In their retirement, Ted and Jodi Marti will focus on recording the brewery’s history, which dates back to 1860, when August Schell founded his namesake brewery and co-founded the brewery’s hometown.
Schell’s is the country’s 24th-largest craft brewery by volume, according to national trade group the Brewers Association (BA). Last year, its volume declined 3%, to 113,900 barrels. The company’s output has shed 22,300 barrels since 2015.
Virginia Craft Brewers Guild Elects New Executive board with First Woman Chair
Members of the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild (VCBG) elected Janell Zurschmeide as their first female chair earlier this week, along with a full slate of chairpeople.
“Dependable and dynamic servant leaders are how great trade associations are built,” VCBG president and CEO Brett Vassey said in a press release. “We are fortunate that the 2020-2021 VCBG Leadership Council embodies those values.”
Zurschmeide is the co-owner of Bluemont, Virginia-based Dirt Farm Brewing. Also elected to leadership council roles are:
- Vice chair Porter Hardy, co-founder and president, Smartmouth Brewing Company, Norfolk;
- Government affairs committee co-chair Sten Sellier, founder and president, Beltway Brewing Company, Sterling;
- Farm brewery committee co-chair Dave St. Clair, co-owner, Swover Creek Farms & Brewery, Edinburg.
Wholesaler Purchases Expand in August 2020
The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) monthly Beer Purchasers’ Index — which surveys distributors’ monthly buying behavior — increased to a reading of 74 in August 2020, up from a reading of 58 in August 2019.
The BPI tracks wholesaler purchasing across various segments, comparing them to previous years’ data. A reading of 50 and above denotes expansion, while readings below 50 indicate contraction.
“The August 2020 reading remains significantly above historical trends as increased packaged beer sales in the off-premise continue to ‘fill-in’ for lost on-premise and draft beer sales,” NBWA chief economist Lester Jones said in a press release.
The FMB/hard seltzer segment posted an index of 92 in August 2020, a full 10 points above the August 2019 reading.
Other segments in expansion included imports (60 reading), craft (54 reading), premium lights (70), premium regulars (53) and below premium (56). Cider, however, contracted, with a reading of 40.
Meanwhile, inventory at risk of going out-of-code within the next 30 days remained at “record all-time low readings at 22 for August 22,” compared to a 46 reading in August 2019.
Molson Coors Invests Behind Blue Moon Light Sky
Molson Coors Beverage Company has installed a new filler at its Milwaukee production facility in order to increase production of Blue Moon Light Sky. The company said the addition of the filler and other investments in the coming months will allow it to quadruple production of the beer by early 2021.
Year-to-date through August 9, Light Sky is the 17th best selling craft beer offering in multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by market research firm IRI. Dollar sales in off-premise retailers have topped $26.9 million through early August.
A Molson Coors spokesperson told Bewbound that Light Sky’s repeat purchase rate is averaging 25%, an “industry high.” The spokesperson added that the beer is 8% incremental to the flagship Blue Moon Belgian-style wheat ale.
Dollar sales of the original Blue Moon offering are up 11.1%, to nearly $186.9 million, year-to-date. The beer is the top-selling craft offering, and more than double the No. 2 beer, Leinenkugel’s Shandy ($69.7 million).
A-B Appoints New Beyond Beer VP of Marketing
Anheuser-Busch InBev has promoted Lana Kouznetsov to VP of marketing for its beyond beer division, effective at the end of September.
The move comes as Joao Chueiri, who led the division’s marketing efforts for six years, moves on “to take on new challenges.
Kouznetsov had been leading FMBs, while reporting to Chueiri. In her 10 months at A-B, Kouznetsov is credited with restructuring A-B’s FMB portfolio “to drive future growth and to allow for greater agility, maintaining a strong focus on market strategy,” the company said. Her accomplishments include leading the launch of Social Club Hard Seltzer, as well as helping launch the #TogetherWomenRise program for Bon Vivi in partnership with actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas.
Kouznetsov previously held top marketing roles at Campari America and Bacardi.
As for Chueiri, he held several marketing roles as the world’s largest beer manufacturer, and he is credited with creating the company’s in-house creative agency, Draftline.
FDA Updates Labeling Regulations for Gluten-Free and Gluten-Reduced Beer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued updated regulations on the labeling of gluten-reduced alcoholic beverages, BA general counsel Marc Sorini summarized in a new legal insights post.
“The new regulations effectively prohibit gluten-free claims on fermented products – like barley-based beers – that were not gluten-free prior to their treatment to process or remove gluten,” Sorini wrote.
Sorghum and rice beers, which do not contain gluten, can use the phrase “gluten-free” on their labels.
Any food or beverage manufacturers that want to make gluten-related claims on their products must keep records documenting that any gluten-containing ingredients qualify as gluten-free prior to fermentation, the manufacturing process has been evaluated for cross contamination potential and measures have been taken to prevent the introduction of gluten into the end product.