Craft Brew News - February 1, 2019

With Government Reopened, TTB Begins Processing Backlog of Beer Labels

Hundreds of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) employees returned to work on Monday, following a 35-day government shutdown the brought beer label approvals and other important alcohol beverage enforcement activities to a standstill.

Last Friday, President Donald Trump signed a continuing resolution that ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history and temporarily funded the federal government through February 15.

Now, with the threat of another shutdown looming, TTB workers are tasked with processing a backlog of nearly 10,000 alcohol beverage label approval requests that have already been submitted this year.

The TTB approved 192,000 alcohol beverage labels — including approximately 34,000 beer labels — in 2018, according to the Washington Post.

During the 35-day shutdown, a number of small craft brewery owners were stuck waiting for beer label approvals that couldn’t be processed, delaying new beer releases and causing financial setbacks.

Meanwhile, in Oregon, Deschutes Brewery president Michael LaLonde told the Bend Bulletin that 8 percent of the company’s business was at risk as it awaited approval for six beer labels and a cider permit.

“It’s having a huge impact on the business and potentially the economy of Oregon itself,” he told the outlet.

Green Flash Brewing Rebrands, Re-Releases Original West Coast IPA

Green Flash Brewing today unveiled a new logo, rebranded packages and a reformulated version of its West Coast IPA flagship.

The move comes about eight months after the San Diego-based craft brewery named former Anheuser-Busch executive Michael Taylor as its new CEO, following months of financial turmoil and an eventual foreclosure sale to holding company WC IPA LLC.

The redesigned packages feature “custom artwork by illustrator Matthew Jay Fleming, whose illustrations depict the vibrant San Diego lifestyle.”

“Our new visual identity represents a dramatic shift for the Green Flash brand and reinforces its origin as one of the original San Diego craft beers,” Ben Widseth, the company’s vice president of marketing, said via a press release.

In addition to the new package design, the company also re-launched its West Coast IPA flagship with the original recipe. In mid-2014, the company raised the ABV of its West Coast IPA from 7 percent to 8.1 percent.

Widseth said “Over the years, we have been listening to our loyal drinkers who reminisced about the original recipe,”. “So we’re excited to bring it back for them to enjoy, along with a portfolio of other fan favorites and new beer releases to come.”

In addition to the original West Coast IPA, Green Flash’s core portfolio now includes Soul Style IPA, GFB Blonde Ale and Tropical DNA, a hazy IPA.

In 2018, amid ongoing financial troubles, Green Flash was forced to close two production facilities, lay off 76 employees and pull distribution from 42 states.

Asahi to Buy Fuller’s Beer and Cider Business

Tokyo-based Asahi Group Holdings today announced a $327 million deal to acquire the beer and cider business of London-based Fuller Smith & Turner.

Financial details were not disclosed, and the the transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2019.

According to the BBC, Fuller’s will now focus on its pub and hotel business, which accounts for about 87 of the company’s profits. In a press release announcing the deal, Asahi said it would supply beer to Fuller’s more than 380 pubs and hotels in London and south of England.

“The deal secures the future of both part of our business including protecting the heritage of the Griffin Brewery in Chiswick, which was particularly important to the Fuller’s board,” Fuller’s chief executive Simon Emeny told the BBC.

As part of the deal, Asahi will acquire Fuller’s beer and cider brands, such as London Pride, Frontier lager and Cornish Orchards cider. Asahi will receive the right to use Fuller’s trademarks, although the U.K. company will maintain ownership of the brand name. Asahi will also take control of Fuller’s Griffin Brewery in London, where the company was founded in 1845.

The Fuller’s offerings join an Asahi portfolio that includes previously acquired brands such as Peroni and Pilsner Urquell, which were both purchased in 2016.

Goose Island Brewmaster Departs

Goose Island brewmaster Jared Jankoski is leaving the Chicago-based and Anheuser-Busch-owned craft brewery for Madison, Wisconsin-based craft brewery Octopi Brewing, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Goose Island has yet to identify a replacement.

Jankoski told the Tribune that his decision to depart Goose Island after seven years was a personal one, noting that he is “not really a city person.” He joins the 3-year-old Octopi Brewing as brewmaster and will help the company through a $10 million expansion project that will increase its capacity from 40,000 barrels to 100,000 barrels.

News Brought to you by Brewbound (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

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