Dear Client: It’s no secret that Constellation has spent a good chunk of this year looking to unload brands and assets that they no longer want or need.  The company’s garage sale, so to speak, began this spring when they cut a deal with Gallo to sell off more than 30 wine and spirits brands, … Continue reading “What’s Next for Ballast Point?”

Dear Client: Our story on Boston Beer Co. and Dogfish Head’s challenges in distributor integration elicited a response from a craft brewer which started:  “Harry, cut to the chase …. this is a Sheehan – Boston Beer issue and then a whole lot of little issues.” We don’t like to report on ongoing deals that … Continue reading “How Important is Distributor Alignment?”

Dear Client: Last Friday, e-commerce bev alc platform Drizly released the results of its first-ever survey on independent bev alc retailers — both those who partner with Drizly, and those who don’t. It revealed insights about how these types of retailers are setting their shelves, who they see as their biggest competition, and more. Some … Continue reading “Inside the Mind of an Independent Retailer”

Dear Client: You know what I’m talking about.  College kids, post-grads, and even 30-somethings coming back to their hometown to visit their folks for Thanksgiving, and on the Wednesday night before, they huddle up in their old local haunts to meet with their old high school friends over a few bevs. It’s the big on-premise … Continue reading “The Huge Beer Drinking Holiday Nobody Talks About”

Dear Client:  Let’s face it, distributor integration is the hardest part of any small or even large brewery integration.  There are still “A-B” distributors out there that only carry Stella Artois or Rolling Rock.    And Boston Beer founder Jim Koch has always said that he shied away from acquisitions of other brewers specifically because the … Continue reading “Boston Beer and Dogfish Head Having “Challenging and Nuanced” Time on Distributor Integration”

Dear Client:  Mike’s Hard is targeting close to $2 billion in revenue this year, “on track to grow 85%,” after having accelerated each year for almost a decade.  But the real shocker is that they’re targeting twice that next year,  to $4 billion in 2020 “driven by increased capacity, household penetration, distribution and velocity growth,” … Continue reading “More Mike’s: $4 Bill in Revenues Next Year; No Debt; Sourcing More From Wine than Spirits”

Dear Client:  At the BMI seminar in New York, two former Big Beer execs — Ed McBrien, COO, Manhattan Beer Distributors (formerly president of sales and distributor operations at MillerCoors) and Evan Athanas, CEO Chesapeake Beverage (formerly of A-B), talked about life on the “other” side of the business.  Many distributors would probably be heartened … Continue reading “Top Distribs Having a Good Year, Thanks to Seltzer, Mexican Imports and Guinness”

Dear Client:  There’s been “one consistent piece of feedback” over the last couple of weeks in the wake of their new revitalization plan, Molson Coors chief Gavin Hattersley said at the Beer Insights Seminar Monday: “That sounds great, but prove it.” Then he announced their deal with L.A. Libations.  As we wrote earlier this week, … Continue reading “Gavin Shares More on Partnership with L.A. Libations”

Dear Client: Japanese giant brewer Kirin has been poking around the U.S. craft beer scene for the past few years, but now they’re officially knee deep in U.S. craft with the acquisition of the fourth largest craft brewer doing it here in the states. After taking a 24.5% stake in Brooklyn Brewery in 2016, and … Continue reading “Kirin’s Lion Little World to Acquire New Belgium”

Dear Client:  Mark Anthony Group founder Anthony Von Mandl and Mike’s Hard president Phil Rosse got even more ambitious about their plans to erect their own facilities to produce the runaway White Claw brand. Recall, Mike’s announced plans at their distributor meeting a few months back to “commit over $250 million dollars” to expand the … Continue reading “Mike’s Latest Facility Bet: $385 Mill, in 7 Months”

Dear Client:  Molson Coors has found an emerging brand partner. This morning, the brewer announced a multiyear partnership with L.A. Libations, “a next generation beverage creator and incubator specializing in emerging brands.”  The deal gives Molson Coors “a significant non-controlling equity investment” in the company, “as well as category-exclusive access to the company’s services,” per … Continue reading “Molson Coors Taps L.A. Libations as Emerging Brand Partner”

Dear Client:  You may never have heard of Sup! Seltzer, which bills itself as the first-to-market, completely USDA certified organic hard seltzer.  Neither had we. And then we saw the brand in our H-E-B, next to the big guys, line priced more or less with Truly — despite having the “more premium” status of being … Continue reading “Sup! Organic Hard Seltzer Strikes Partnership with Milwaukee Brewing Co. as it Hits National Chain”

Dear Client:  You may have heard that Budweiser recently renewed their sponsorship with the NBA. But why? After 20-plus seasons as the official beer of the NBA, one has to wonder if there’s really any juice left to squeeze out of that deal.  Well, there apparently is. One big reason for this latest multi-year deal … Continue reading “Bud is the Official Beer of the NBA Again, But this Time it’s Different”

Dear Client:  In July we reported on Shotgun Seltzer, a local draft “craft” seltzer play in one of the biggest beer markets in the country: Texas.  But just a few weeks ago, we saw huge displays of a package offering from Shotgun, at none other than giant regional grocer, H-E-B. This proposition was slightly different: … Continue reading “Is Draft Seltzer Viable? The Shotgun Seltzer Case Study”

Dear Client:  So far, the details have been slim on Molson Coors Beverage Company’s new hard seltzer, Vizzy.  Since the company teased an upcoming new seltzer at their distributor meeting back in September, all we’ve really been able to gather is its name (Vizzy), its ABV (5%), calorie count (100), and that the product would … Continue reading “More Details on the Next Big Hard Seltzer, Vizzy”