The 87th Annual NBWA Convention wrapped up earlier this week, and the Brewbound team recaps the themes of this year’s event. Jess, Zoe and Justin break down the buzzy topics, including a push to support the on-premise channel (especially draft beer), the growing presence of intoxicating hemp beverages and how those products should get to market, an…

Kimberly McKinnish, SVP and chief operating officer of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), joins the Brewbound Podcast to preview Making Moves 2024, taking place October 1-2 in San Diego immediately following the NBWA’s 87th annual convention. Making Moves, now in its third year, is a collaborative effort from the NBWA’s Building Rela…

Craig Purser, president and CEO of the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), joins the Brewbound Podcast to preview highlights of the trade group’s upcoming 87th annual convention and product showcase, taking place September 29-October 2 in San Diego. Purser discusses the NBWA’s legislative priorities, metamorphosis into a beer and beverage…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Join Ken, Wendy, and Rob as Ken attempts to talk about Horror movies and video games, we discuss warm beer in warm places, and we talk about some beer news: What chefs drink after work: https://www.foodandwine.com/best-cheap-beer-chef-recommended-8699384 10 Barrel layoffs: https://newschoolbeer.com/home/2024/9/tilray-lays-o…

Several new high ABV offerings are on their way to convenience store doors in 2025. The Brewbound team discusses the latest slate of offerings from Molson Coors that trades on three of their established brands: Blue Moon Extra, Topo Chico Max and Simply Spiked Bold. The team ponders the timeliness of new singles hitting convenience and the prospect…

Cambridge Brewing Company (CBC) founder Phil Bannatyne joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the recent announcement that the Massachusetts brewpub will shut its doors in December after 35 years in business. Bannatyne shared his thoughts on the brewpub segment, the team’s next steps and how many CBC alumni are scattered across the industry. Plus, …

When should you refresh your packaging? Or do a total rebrand? Or should you just stand pat? CODO Design’s Isaac Arthur explains the choose-your-own-adventure decision tree beverage-alcohol companies should consider when tweaking the look of their products or the feel of their brand. Arthur walks through the gut check breweries need to do on each o…

What legal issues should be on brewers’ radar? Nichole Shustack and Isabelle Cunningham from the bev-alcohol practice team at law firm Nutter, McClennen and Fish join the Brewbound Podcast to share what to watch out for this year and beyond. The team discusses the impact of non-alcoholic brands crossing over into bev-alc, direct-to-consumer sales, …

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Have you ever had a dream? A goal? A life's calling? Steven Siddell of Hold MI Beer has one most listeners can relate to - visiting all the breweries in Michigan! Your hosts talk to Steve about his journeys, learnings, and the excitement of "stumbling across" breweries while out an about. Live vicariously or listen in for s…

Tilray cemented its place as a top five U.S. craft brewery by volume last week with the acquisition of four brands from Molson Coors’ Tenth & Blake division: Atwater, Hop Valley, Revolver and Terrapin. Zoe, Jess and Brewbound weekend newsletter author (and GIF-wielding genius) Sean McNulty break down the deal. The crew also discusses Jess’ and Zoe’…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Join our hosts as they go rapid-fire through some old news and get some takes (maybe hot ones?) on important topics such as beer goggles and Dutch courage. Join us live at our new start time, 8:30pm ET, every other Friday! Live on Twitch, Kick, and Facebook! Sponsors: Visit Detroit - The Detroit Brew Trail - https://visitde…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: We start with an existential question about the "B" in GABF and things kind of get tangential from there... Plus we talk about the zany world of AI-generated mead books. Join us live at our new start time, 8:30pm ET, every other Friday! Live on Twitch, Kick, and Facebook! Sponsors: Visit Detroit - The Detroit Brew Trail - h…

Beverage-alcohol’s growing “fourth category” of flavor-first offerings are quickly becoming a “mega category,” NIQ VP of alcohol industry thought leadership Jon Berg shared on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Berg explains how the collective of ready-to-drink offerings such as flavored malt beverages, canned cocktails, hard seltzers and…

World of Beer has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in an effort to reorganize. Brewbound managing editor Jess Infante shares details of the filing and what it means for craft breweries. Jess and Brewbound editor Justin Kendall also review the latest earnings reports, including Anheuser-Busch InBev cycling the anniversary of the Bud Light…

How is beer doing at the halfway point of 2024? Brewbound reporter Zoe Licata shares highlights from not one, but two mid-year beer reports. Zoe breaks down the Brewers Association’s mid-year craft report, as well as a total beer overview from the National Beer Wholesalers Association and Fintech halfway through 2024. Plus, Zoe and Brewbound editor…

Almost Friday Media, the comedy meme account turned digital media empire that has long celebrated the vaunted opening of a beer at the closing of the workweek, had a drinker base long before it had a beer brand. The media network reaches more than 800 million accounts across more than 30 channels on seven different media platforms, and launched its…

Long-time Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bob Pease will retire on June 30, 2025, after 32 years at the trade organization representing small and independent craft brewers, Pease and the BA announced last week. Pease joins the Brewbound Podcast to detail how long he’s been in talks to retire, why now is the right time and what advice he …

Following a long July 4 holiday weekend, the Brewbound team shares how they celebrated Independence Day. Jess provides a Jersey Shore report, including whether there was enough Surfside supply. Zoe shares the results from her July 4 darty on how newer beverages such as Surfside, Sun Cruiser, The Beast Unleashed, and Happy Thursday performed with th…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: In the world of hospitality and craft beverages, the public is unfamiliar with a lot of the nuances that come with creating these amazing beers. From music for retail to NA on the shelves, distribution in the state of Michigan to how each branch of craft beverages has its positives and negatives, Joe Infante and Chris Gartm…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: We were delayed a week due to a broken AC unit at one of our places, so when we came back, we caught up on all of the recent beer news including the Kelce brothers new beer line, and ponder what celebrities would get us to go out and buy their product. Check out this extremely laid back episode of Better on Draft now, and d…

Molson Coors-owned Leinenkugel’s is making its flagship Summer Shandy a year-round offering. Leinenkugel’s president Tony Bugher and John Leinenkugel discuss why the move represents the company getting out of its own way, how big the brand is for its business and how they plan to support the brand in the colder months. But first, ReserveBar CEO Der…

The Brewbound team catches up on the latest news, including Allagash’s first foray into non-alcoholic adult beverages with Hop Water. Justin, Jess and Zoe discuss why this seems on brand for the Portland, Maine-based craft brewery, and why it may be a better entry point than NA beer. Jess then shares why some cannabis users say they are drinking le…

In this episode of the Brewbound podcast, host Ray Latif sits down with Kyle Kensrue, Account Executive at Ollie. With extensive experience in the brewing industry, Kyle shares his journey from managing breweries in New York City to his current role at Ollie, a software platform designed to support brewers. He highlights how Ollie, built by brewers…

Bernstein analyst Nadine Sarwat breaks down the pros and cons of a potential sale of Boston Beer Company. Sarwat also examines potential suitors, Wall Street’s view of potential deals and why Boston Beer continues to be in conversations around M&A. Plus, the Brewbound team discusses the latest news, including the Kelce brothers’ investment in Garag…

Better on Draft Flights takes some related clips from various shows and offers them up on a flight board for you to sample. This one is also about flights... but from guests! We have clips about flights from episodes 325 with Alex Puchner from BJ's Brewery; 339 - Trader's Brewing with Bart Hensley; 347 - Terrapin Brewing with Spike Buckowski; and 3…

In this Brewbound Podcast interview, Ray Latif sits down with Nate Armbrust, a key figure at Scott Labs, to discuss the company's long-standing support for brewers and its role in the evolving beverage industry. Nate provides a detailed history of Scott Labs, which began as a yeast laboratory in Petaluma, California, 90 years ago. Originally servin…

Burial Beer Company’s Doug Reiser discusses the culmination of a three-year project to open a rooftop wine bar for the company’s Visuals wine brand in Asheville, North Carolina. For Burial, it’s about creating “immersive experiences” at its venues, Reiser explains. He discusses reviving once-abandoned spaces, how the company got into beer and then …

On a special bonus episode of the Brewbound Podcast, we talk a lot about lagers and marketing. First, Jack Hendler and Joe Connolly discuss their book – Modern Lager Beer: Techniques, Processes and Recipes – and producers’ growing interest in craft lagers. Hendler is one of the co-founders of Jack’s Abby, a Massachusetts-based lager brewery, and Co…

Following a flood of news last week, the Brewbound team recaps the latest major headlines, starting with the billionaire founder of Chobani acquiring Anchor Brewing. Justin, Jess and Zoe share whether they foresaw this scenario playing out. Following the Anchor talk, they dig into the rumors of a potential acquisition of Boston Beer by Suntory. The…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: We've added another continent and country this week to our show history by interviewing Greig McGill of Brewaucracy of Hamilton New Zealand. Greig is an extremely well traveled craft beer enthusiast that opened up his own craft brewery in New Zealand. We discuss and compare the differences between craft beer there versus he…

The 2023 craft brewery production data is officially in. Justin, Zoe and weekend newsletter writer Sean McNutly dive into the high-level data points and sift through some of the surprises in the numbers. They also discuss planned changes for the 2024 edition of the Great American Beer Festival and why they may be a positive for the festival experie…

Better on Draft Flights takes some related clips from various shows and offers them up on a flight board for you to sample. This one is about... flights! We have clips about flights from episodes 317 - What Makes a Brewery?; 319 - Flights, Tipping, and Untappd; and 330 - 4 Beers That Changed Your Life. Join us live at our new start time, 8:30pm ET,…

Infinite Ingredient founder and executive director Katie Muggli joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss burnout in the brewing industry, how to recognize it, and what resources are available for both industry leaders and individuals. Recognizing burnout can help industry members physically and mentally, and can help strengthen business's bottom line…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: When your brewery is old enough to drink, you have stories to tell. Spike held back no punches as he talked about the struggles of opening a brewery, the difference of expanding back in the early 2000's versus today, and went into a deep dive about the buyout from MolsonCoors, what he still has control over, and the positiv…

Donn Bichsel Jr. and Mary Mills, leaders from beverage consultancy 3 Tier Beverages, share why data with the top 15 brewers removed can reveal true market opportunities and pitfalls, why brewers should also have a total-beverage alcohol perspective and which packages are trending. Then, New Belgium Brewing lead research and development brewer Kelly…

Brewers Association (BA) chief economist and VP of strategy Bart Watson provides insights into the state of the craft brewing industry, while senior director of federal affairs Katie Marisic gives an overview of the trade group’s government affairs work on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. The conversations were recorded on the BrewExpo …

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Joined by Better on Draft Editor in Chief Ed, and former host Robear, Ken heads off to Chesterfield Michigan to pay up his dues to the community by buying them a keg of beer for winning March Draftness. However when they arrived they were greeted not only by Deven of Arctic Circle, but Jim and Jeremy of Coopersville to come…

CRAFT BEER PODCAST INFO: Recapping the Craft Brewers Conference 2024, Rob talks about what Michigan, Indiana, and Arizona breweries won medals, and some of the fans in the chatroom pick the hosts brains about some upcoming trips to Michigan and what breweries to check out based on their flavor profile. The end we talk about music, metal, vinyl, and…