Dear Client: You know me, I can’t go more than a week without writing something about the beer business. And there’s just a few stories out there that need addressing before we bring in our new 2020 Predictions (and by the way, if you’d like to offer a few of your own predictions, ping me, … Continue reading “Mid-Holiday Roundup”

Dear Client: Yuengling is trying hard to keep up with the Joneses. That can be tough when they’ve historically not offered as many flavor or package varieties as their innovation-crazed beer brethren. Yuengling has about 50 SKUs total (though 10 do about 80% of their business), far less than most of their competitors.  But they’re … Continue reading “After a Tough ’19, Yuengling Will Innovate in 2020”

Dear Client: Not many folks bullish on MillerCoors at the moment.  But if you needed any more evidence of the blurring of the lines in bev alc, our Wine & Spirits Daily editor recently sat down with one of the nation’s largest beer wholesalers, Columbia Distributing, to get an update on their growing wine and … Continue reading “The Dark Horse: One Mega-Distributor Thinks MC is Poised for a Comeback”

Dear Client: Today, A-B will deliver the first “ceremonial cases” of Bud Light Seltzer to Seltzer, Pennsylvania, where it will be available before the product’s official full rollout after the first of the year.  Bud Light VP and veteran marketer Andy Goeler told BBD the point is to “have a lot of fun,” and “what … Continue reading “A-B’s Goeler on Latest in BL Seltzer and BL Lemonade”

Dear Client: You may have seen a new round of short black-and-white White Claw ads on major channels like ESPN, MTV and more.  The brand seems driven primarily by social – indeed, we reported earlier this month that Trevor Wallace’s “Ain’t No Laws When You’re Drinking Claws” social bits helped catapult the category into uncharted … Continue reading “White Claw Ads Help Recruit Wine and Spirits Drinkers”

Dear Client: Were we too early in predicting the inevitable death of 3.2 beer, when folks are drinking lighter and lighter beer?  There’s been a plethora of articles lately about how young people are “sober curious”, drinking with a view toward “wellness”, and watching calories.  Of course, at the top of each article is the … Continue reading “The Year of Light Beer?”

Dear Client: At least that’s the “fair value” of the brands Constellation reports in it’s amended fiscal year 8K ending in February, 2019.  It’s not exactly new news, but news to us. What caused such a rapid devaluation?  Interestingly, Constellation put first in line the “disruption in our distribution network transition plan,” without elaborating further … Continue reading “Ballast Point Worth $28 Million”

Dear Client: Yesterday, FIFCO USA shared news that its current CEO, Adrian Lachowski, “has reached the end of his two-year assignment” as chief of the company. He will officially leave the company on January 15, and could potentially “rejoin the organization in Latin America” sometime next year. FIFCO USA did not share who would take … Continue reading “FIFCO USA to Name New CEO”

Dear Client: Many greenhorns in the industry may not know this, but 3.2 beer was a holdover after the repeal of Prohibition.  (By the way, happy belated Repeal Day, December 5th).  What we call Repeal today actually occurred in two phases, and this created the genesis of 3.2 beer. First, Congress passed the Cullen-Harrison Act … Continue reading “The Slow Death of 3.2 Beer”

Dear Client: If anyone thought Constellation has lost interest or heart in its big cannabis bet, Canopy Growth, the appointment of current STZ CFO David Klein to CEO of Canopy would strongly suggest otherwise.  Constellation chief Bill Newlands called the transition of David, who has been their CFO since June 2015, “a great career opportunity … Continue reading “Constellation CFO David Klein to be New Canopy Growth CEO”

Dear Client: D-Day is December 17.  That’s when Canada will see legalization of edibles and THC-infused beverages.  Canopy Growth has been hosting both media and analyst days at its Smiths Falls Campus in Ontario (Canada). They were showing off their manufacturing and beverage facilities before Dec. 17. MKM Partners analyst Bill Kirk (full disclosure: related … Continue reading “Constellation/Canopy Preparing For D-Day”

Dear Client: A few things stood out to us from Nielsen’s presentation (thanks Danelle Kosmal and Caitlyn Battaglia) on hard seltzer trends at Brewbound Live yesterday.   One, hard seltzer drinkers are “harder” drinkers, if you will: Hard seltzer drinkers fork over $219 more on alcohol than the average tippler. In fact, they spend $477 a … Continue reading “Hard Seltzer Drinkers Spend Almost Twice the Normal Drinker on Alcohol”

Dear Client: We now know at least how Wall Street feels about Constellation’s decision to unload Ballast Point at a vastly reduced price to focus on higher-margin categories.  Cowen analyst Vivien Azer says the divestiture will allow Constellation to redeploy resources. “Since taking over as CEO, Bill Newlands has established a clear mandate to focus … Continue reading “Grokk-Grokk-GrokkaKhan”

Dear Client: A couple of weeks ago, the newly styled Molson Coors Beverage Company announced a minority stake in non-alc beverage producer and incubator, L.A. Libations, which has hatched or helped grow giant new age beverage names, like Core Water, Zico Coconut Water, Body Armor, Arriba Chelada and more. But we wondered more about L.A. … Continue reading “Who is L.A. Libations?”

Dear Client: As was reported in BBD this morning, Constellation is indeed divesting of Ballast Point. Chicago-based Kings & Convicts Brewing Co. is taking over.  The two-year-old company out of Illinois just inked a deal with Constellation to acquire basically everything Ballast Point, besides the production facility in Daleville, Virginia, which Constellation will maintain as … Continue reading “Constellation To Sell Ballast Point”