Dear Client:
Craft Brew Alliance’s Q2 call is live tomorrow. Therein you’ll hear that shipments were flat for the quarter, while depletions gains clocked in around +3%. Year to date total beer shipments were up 6% to 360,400 barrels, and depletions up 5%. Full-year depletion growth guidance is now between 8% and 10% revised from “high single to low double digit growth.”
Total shipments for the quarter were basically flat from last year “primarily as a result of significant programing timing variances, opportunities to align pricing in certain markets, and increasing competition for on-premise sales.” As for the quarter’s depletions, “the result was in keeping with our expectations of quarterly volatility as we grow on a geographic and brand basis. We remain confident that our core strategy provides a compelling platform for long term-growth,” said CEO Terry Michaelson in a statement. “Our year-to-date results demonstrate the ongoing success of our strategy while the standalone quarter, when compared with the second quarter of 2011, demonstrates the volatility.”
The release also said that cost of sales as a percentage of net sales declined 48 basis points for the 6 months ended June 30, 2012, “reflecting increased distribution and grain costs in the first six months of 2012 as compared with the same period of 2011.” The factors were partially upset by decreased distributor fees and “increased selling prices for our beers.”
More after the call tomorrow.
SAINT ARNOLD UP 37% WITH SEASONALS, SANTO
More halfyear markers: Houston’s Saint Arnold Brewing is up 37%, having produced 23,413 by around June to last year’s 40,416 total. “When people think beer, more and more they are really thinking craft beer,” said Brock Wagner, Founder/Brewer of Saint Arnold Brewing, reflecting on halfyear numbers released by the BA earlier this week.
Among star Saint Arnold performers is Santo, a unique ‘black Kölsch’ introduced last October. Seasonal offerings have also seen “significant growth.” Asked whether they planned to enter any new markets, Lennie Ambrose said “no new markets… yet.”
BEER BRIEFS:
MORE PUMPKIN BEER ESTIMATES HAVE TRICKLED IN SINCE YESTERDAY’S PIECE on early indicators for the popular seasonal style. Among the largest craft pumpkin beer releases, Dogfish’s Adam Lambert told CBD their game plan is to release Punkin a few days before Labor Day as a “kick start” to fall. Total volume will be around 114,000 CEs, a 12% gain over last year.
SIXPOINT EYEING GEORGIA? So reports the BeerStreetJournal. “While no official decision has been made yet, Sixpoint ideally would like to make the jump into the southern market in January, 2013,” it says.
STONE IS RELEASING SUBLIMELY SELF-RIGHTEOUS, RUINATION IPA and OAKED ARROGANT BASTARD IN 4-PACK 12-OZ FORMAT this week. Co-founder Greg Koch said they’ve been a popular fan request.
SOME INTERESTING TIDBITS ON MICHIGAN CRAFT SCENE from Crain’s Detroit Business, just in time for this year’s Great Taste of the Midwest . We’ve covered the bullish Michigan market often over the last year, which is fifth in the nation for number of craft breweries, micros and brewpubs. Last summer we reported surprising shares in some Michigan markets – the segment had 9 share in Grand Rapids food channels, for example, which was up 40% over the year prior. This year, Crain’s quoted Michigan Brewers Guild Scott Graham as saying sales of Michigan-made beer are up 27% statewide after a year of double-digit growth.
But caveats also were sounded — even from producers. The paper relayed some industry insiders fearing the industry could get too big for its own good. “‘Eventually, retail operations like Meijer or Spartan are going to throw their hands up and say: “Enough. We can’t get any more on the shelf,”‘” they quoted Founders co-founder Mike Stevens. (Also interesting: The beer section in Midwestern-based Meijer stores, says the story, can have up to 900 SKUs.)
Until tomorrow, Jenn
“I’m on another team on this one … having fun.” — King Curtis
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