Tilray-owned SweetWater Brewing Company and Ontario, Canada-based RIFF Cannabis have collaborated to launch SweetWater RIFF, a vodka-based ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail.
Available exclusively in the U.S., SweetWater RIFF is a 5% ABV, 105-calorie vodka soda, available in two flavors: Citrus and Strawberry Mule.
“SweetWater’s entry into the spirits category reflects the essence of the SweetWater brand: original, compelling and enticing,” Brian Miesieski, SweetWater’s CMO, said in a press release. “SweetWater RIFF delivers a great-tasting, ready-to-drink cocktail with a premium taste developed in partnership with RIFF’s own highly curated, expertly made approach. We are incredibly excited to expand and create something that is a great alternative to our incredible selection of beers and seltzers – and believe consumers will love it.”
The RTDs are packaged in 12 oz. slim can 6-packs — the Atlanta craft brewery’s first foray into slim cans — and will be available in grocery and liquor stores, as well as on-premise. The RTDs have 1g of carbs, 0.5g of sugar (derived from fruit), and contain no cannabis or THC.
Border X Launches Equity Crowdfunding Campaign
San Diego-based Border X Brewing has launched an equity crowdfunding campaign on WeFunder, to help fund three new taprooms and a canning line.
Latino and female-owned and operated Border X operates three taprooms, two in San Diego, and one in Bell, California. The brewery expects to end 2021 with nearly $3 million in sales from the three locations, more than doubling sales from 2020, according to the campaign website.
“As we write this report, we have been maxed out from customer demand,” Border X states in its campaign bio. “We could sell more, but our brew system cannot keep up.”
The brewery is hoping to raise $1 million to build out brewing capacity and finish two kitchens at its existing locations and expand into three more taprooms in Riverside, Orange County and North County San Diego, with $150,000 designated for each location. Since launching on October 31, the campaign has raised more than $11,000.
Border X’s current production capacity across two brewhouses is capped at 2,000 barrels. The brewery said it will designate $200,000 to install six new 30-barrel fermenters and two Brite tanks in its Bell brewing facility. With the expanded capacity, the brewery said it will be able to grow to $8 million in sales in 2022.
The remaining funds will be used to support the brewery’s new canning line — including funding can inventory, merchandising refrigerators, and label design — which is expected to increase incremental sales from the taprooms by 20%, according to the campaign overview.
Scofflaw Brewing Creates IndieBrew Platform
Atlanta-based Scofflaw Brewing has launched Independent Brewers Union (IndieBrew), a shared services platform for craft breweries.
IndieBrew is a 100% common ownership model, in which breweries hoping to improve “administrative, procurement, and sales functions” can merge under the IndieBrew umbrella, while still “[maintaining] their independence,” according to the IndieBrew website.
Scofflaw Brewing and another unnamed brewery will be the first to merge onto the new platform.
“Our platform works to eliminate brand ego and focuses all resources on growing collective performance. There is no tug-of-war among separate sales teams,” Matt Shirah, Scofflaw co-founder and CEO, told Brewbound in an email. “We shouldn’t be telling consumers what they should drink. We should be giving consumers what they want. If they demonstrate that they want certain products and not others, well, we will focus on those products without regard to the performance of individual products.”
Scofflaw hopes to partner with “best-in-class craft breweries” ranging in production size, according to Shirah.
“There are too many great breweries constrained by limited resources and routes to market,” Scofflaw CFO Wade Honeycutt said in a press release. “Independent craft brewers need improved sales support systems, efficient capacity, better quality control programs and more strategic guidance. IndieBrew brings this to the table.”
Scofflaw knows first hand of the hurdles breweries are facing post-pandemic. While its beer depletions are up year-over-year, Shirah said the brewery has recovered about 70% of its pre-pandemic draft levels, and has lost hard seltzer shelf space, despite its Scofflaw Seltzer remaining of the “top sellers in [its] tasting rooms.”
“This continues to be a very, very difficult operating environment, Shirah said. “Execution is challenging. Demand is not the hurdle. Logistics, getting beer to market, continues to be a challenge for many craft brewers.”
Original New York Seltzer Partners with BrewDog on Hard Seltzer
Los Angeles-based Original New York Seltzer (ONYS) has partnered with BrewDog USA to launch an 1980s-themed hard seltzer.
Founded in 1981, ONYS ceased operations in the mid-’90s, but was restarted by a fan in 2015. Its new line of hard seltzer is 5.5% ABV, with 130 calories and 5g of sugar, and will launch in 12 oz. 12-packs on BrewDog.com/usa and at select distributors and retailers starting in spring 2022. The initial release will feature four flavors: Black Cherry, Blueberry, Peach and Raspberry.
“As one of the first popular seltzer brands in the United States, we’re excited to invite other seltzer brands to ‘eat our shorts,’ and give drinkers everywhere a classic with a spin and a side of nostalgia,” Ryan Marsh, ONYS president, said in a press release. “We revolutionized the soft drink industry in the ’80s and are hoping to do the same with the hard seltzer industry today.”
Brewed by BewDog USA, the hard seltzer’s packaging is a nod to the ONYS’ ’80s founding, with bright colors and original ONYS lettering, and “pairs best with leg warmers, neon and headbands for those sweet, retro vibes.”
New York’s Minogue’s Beverage Centers Sells to Pivo Partners
A pair of brothers and wholesaler executives have acquired upstate New York-based Minogue’s Beverage Centers, a group of beer wholesalers with retail privileges, according to the Albany Business Review.
Paul Vukelic, president and CEO of Lancaster-based Try-It Distributing, and Jeff Vukelic, president of Saratoga Springs-based Saratoga Eagle Sales and Service, formed Pivo Partners, a new corporate entity, to acquire all four Minogue’s locations from owner John Minogue in a deal that closed this week.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but the real estate for the stores in Saratoga Springs, Queensbury, Malta and Wilton totaled $7.27 million, according to the Albany Business Review.
Pivo Partners plans to renovate each store, but Minogue’s will keep its century-old name. All 35 employees will be retained, and the Vukelics told the Albany Business Review they plan to use the stores to train new employees across its other wholesale ventures in the retail environment.
“It gives us an opportunity to learn more about that end of the business. And it is a great training ground if I have to train a new employee at Saratoga Eagle,” Jeff Vukelic said.