Craft Brew News – 12/14/18

Itunes – Ranked # 12 in Food Category and #1 Craft Beer Podcast recently – THANK YOU!

Interviewed John Kimmich – Co-Founder of Alchemist – Stowe, VT
•Famous Heady Topper, an unfiltered double India pale ale (IPA) with an 8 percent ABV
•Men's Journal calls Heady Topper, “America's most coveted beer.”
•RateBeer.com names it one of the 100 best beers in the world.
•It regularly tops the charts at BeerAdvocate.com

Trying to get Sam Calagione Founder of DogfishHead and Jim Koch Founder of Boston Beer Co. on – connect us!

Drizly Lands $34.5 Million in Series C Funding

Drizly, a Boston-based on-demand alcohol delivery company, has secured another $34.5 million as part of a Series C fundraising round, according to a December 10 SEC filing.

Founded in 2012, Drizly has now raised about $70 million across multiple fundraising rounds from a variety of investors. Early-round investors also included First Beverage, Suffolk Equity, Gary Vaynerchuk (via the Vayner RSE fund – Wine Library) and the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Six-year-old Drizly, which processed over 1 million transactions in 2017, currently bills itself as “the world’s largest alcohol marketplace.” Its mobile application enables consumers to shop for beer, wine and spirits and compare prices.

Drizly, which operates in more than 100 North American markets and recently expanded into Vancouver, Canada, has forged partnerships with more than 1,000 retailers. The company is aiming to add another 2,000 retail stores in 2019, according to source with knowledge of the company’s growth strategies.

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DME Receivership Leaves Hundreds of Craft Brewers in Limbo

Nearly 26 months after the merger of Canadian brewing equipment manufacturers Diversified Metal Engineering (DME) and Newlands Systems, the combined company has fallen into receivership after defaulting on loan payments to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).

DME Group’s financial troubles have left hundreds of of North American craft brewery owners who had already shelled out millions of dollars in equipment deposits in limbo.

DME’s list of unsecured brewery creditors features a host of well-known producers, including 10 Barrel Brewing, Anchorage Brewing, Diageo, Foam Brewers, Labatt, Lord Hobo, Maine Beer Company, Monday Night Brewing, Moosehead Breweries, New Belgium Brewing, Night Shift Brewing, Notch Brewing, Tired Hands Brewing, and Wicked Weed, among many others.

DME’s financial woes follow issues for several other brewing equipment manufacturers, including the closure of Portland, Oregon-based Metal Craft in 2017 and Canton, Ohio-based SysTech Stainless Works earlier this year.

Thad Fisco, owner of Portland Kettle Works, likened the closings to small brewers stuck in the “hinterland between being regional and being local.”

“Same exact thing is happening in the manufacturing business,” he said. “Too much debt, the debt gets ahead of you, you can’t make the payments and the banks come in and foreclose.”
Still, the closure of a large manufacturer such as DME is an opportunity for companies such as Portland Kettle Works, Fisco said.

Anheuser-Busch Lays Off Dozens of Brewery Workers

Anheuser-Busch InBev has eliminated nearly 40 jobs across North America, Brewbound has learned.
In a statement issued last Friday, A-B said it was making “a limited number of targeted changes” to its North American “supply organization.”

Last week’s cuts come about 15 months after A-B eliminated nearly 2 percent of its North American workforce in a move that impacted approximately 350 employees.

A-B joins a growing list of beer companies that have downsized their workforces in 2018, including Constellation Brands, Pabst Brewing Company, Lagunitas, New Belgium, Green Flash, Ninkasi, and Avery Brewing, among others.

Through the first nine months of 2018, A-B’s U.S. revenues have declined 1.4 percent. Meanwhile, the company’s two flagship brands — Bud Light and Budweiser — continue to lose volume although both still rank among the top five


Brewery Openings on the Rise in Major U.S. Population Centers, BA Reports

U.S. cities with populations in excess of 5 million have seen the most percentage growth of brewery openings in the past five years, according to Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson.

In an email to Brewbound, Watson explained that the growth in the number of breweries in the U.S.’s largest cities is partially due to those locations playing “catch-up” with the rest of the country.
Watson’s data — including an interactive map — revealed that eight metro areas are now home to more than 100 breweries.

Leading the way is Chicago, with 167 breweries. Interviewed Chet Brett (Brand Manager) from Tribes Brewing Co. in Mokena, IL - Chicago area– they are doing well and selling a lot of beer.
Trailing Chicago are long-time beer meccas and other major population centers, including Denver (158), Seattle (153), San Diego (150), Los Angeles (146), New York (141), Portland, Oregon (139), and Philadelphia (113).

The last time Watson charted the data — in 2013 — Seattle’s 87 breweries were the most in the nation. Chicago ranked fifth that year with 62 breweries, trailing Portland, Oregon (77), San Diego (76) and Denver (63).

Rankings are fleeting, however, as more breweries open their doors and shutter. According to the BA, 7,000 breweries were in operation as of the end of October, with potentially as many as 1,000 openings in 2018. Meanwhile, Watson told Brewbound earlier this year that he anticipates as many as 300 brewery closures by the end of 2018, as the gap between openings and closings begins to converge.

News courtesy of Brewbound (https://www.brewbound.com/)

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Michael Potorti is the Host of Craft Beer Storm and Founder/Brewer at Beara Brewing Co. in Portsmouth, NH

Michael Potorti
Founder/Brewer
Host of "Craft Beer Storm" Podcast
michael@craftbeerstorm.com
michael@bearairishbrew.com

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