Craft Brew News - 3/29/19

(brought to you via Brewbound.com)

Beer Institute: Aluminum Tariffs are Hurting US Beer Industry

Around this time last year, the Beer Institute (BI), a national trade association representing the American brewing industry, warned that President Donald Trump’s aluminum and steel tariffs would cost the beer industry $347 million annually and potentially lead to the loss of 20,000 jobs.
Well, as it turns out, the BI’s worst fears are coming true.

The Washington, D.C., lobbying group tapped Austin, Texas-based Harbor Aluminum — a research firm that specializes in the global aluminum industry –According to the firm — the U.S. beverage industry paid about $250 million for aluminum cansheet between March and December of last year.

During that same period, however, the United States Department of the Treasury collected just $50 million, while U.S. smelters and rolling mills pocketed the rest.

Here’s the rub: The U.S. cansheet used to produce beverage cans contains 70 percent domestic scrap metal, which is exempt from tariffs. The other 30 percent comes from imported primary aluminum.

But according to the BI, domestic beverage manufacturers paid a tariff on 100 percent of the cansheet used to make beverage cans.

In other words, rolling mills and smelters are effectively stealing from beverage manufacturers by overcharging for cansheet as if it was made entirely from imported primary aluminum.

“Brewers are paying a tariff price even on domestic aluminum,” McGreevy said via a press release. “I have heard from brewers large and small from across the country who are seeing their aluminum costs drastically increase, even when they are using American aluminum.”

Approximately 60 percent of the beer produced and sold in the U.S. is packed in aluminum cans and bottles, the BI estimates.

In addition to the BI and the Brewers Association, the American Beverage Association and the CMI
oppose tariffs on steel and aluminum.

These Are the Fastest-Growing Breweries in America, According to the Brewers Association

An Iowa craft brewery topped the Brewers Association’s (BA) list of the 50 fastest-growing breweries of 2018, but it wasn’t Toppling Goliath.

No, the distinction of being the fastest-growing U.S. brewery in 2018 belongs to Lake Time Brewery.

The 7-year-old Lake Time — located in Clear Lake, Iowa, a vacation haunt for Midwesterners about 30 minutes from the Minnesota border — produced 1,300 barrels of beer in 2018, according to co-founder Bob Rolling. That’s up from an estimated 220 barrels in 2017, which Rolling attributed to opening a new production facility and installing a canning line.

This is the second year that the BA has released the list of fastest-growing breweries. Last year’s top honor went to Milford, Massachusetts-based Craftroots Brewing, which produced 308 barrels of beer in 2017, up from 20 barrels the year prior. Craftroots didn’t make a repeat appearance on this year’s list, however.

Although official production figures were not disclosed, it is believed that the largest brewery on the 2018 list was popular hazy IPA maker Tree House Brewery. The Massachusetts-based craft brewery produced 19,250 barrels of beer in 2017, and likely sold more than 40,000 barrels last year. Tree House did not immediately respond to an inquiry regarding 2018 production figures.

On the other end of the spectrum, a handful of companies on the list produced fewer than 100 barrels in 2017, including Long Beach, California-based Dutch’s BrewHouse, which made just five barrels of beer that year.

Stone v. MillerCoors: Court Denies Craft Brewery’s Attempt to Block Sales of Rebranded Keystone Light Packaging

Stone Brewing’s initial attempt to prevent MillerCoors from selling rebranded Keystone Light products has come up short.

On Tuesday, a federal judge denied Stone’s motion for a preliminary injunction as well as the San Diego-based craft brewery’s attempt to dismiss MillerCoors’ counterclaims.

Although U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez denied Stone’s motions, he wrote that the craft brewery’s trademark infringement claim is “moderately strong” and said the “Stone” trademark is “indisputable” with “protectable ownership.”

Still, Benitez found that Stone was “hard-pressed” to prove it would suffer irreparable harm by not receiving a preliminary injunction. He added that MillerCoors “has not been found liable of trademark infringement,” and should not be forced to stop using the refreshed Keystone Light packaging until the matter is decided in a courtroom.

Stone filed the lawsuit against MillerCoors nearly 14 months ago, alleging that the mainstream beer manufacturer’s rebranded Keystone Light packaging and advertisements infringed upon its “Stone” trademark.

The case — which was first cited by attorney Brendan Palfreyman, who runs the TrademarkYourBeer.com website — will now advance to the discovery phase and potentially a trial. Stone is seeking monetary damages and a permanent injunction against the rebranded Keystone Light packages.

Stone Brewing co-founder Greg Koch said via the release. “All along this has been a clear-cut infringement case, and now we can focus our resources on proving the significant damages done to the good name of Stone Brewing,”

Stone CEO Dominic Engels added. “MillerCoors has made hundreds of millions of dollars from rebranding Keystone in a way that infringes on our trademark,” “It also has hurt Stone and our brand. We look forward to presenting this evidence to the Court at trial.”

Boston Beer Names New CMO

After an eight-month search, the Boston Beer Company (NYSE: SAM) has identified its next chief marketing officer.

The country’s second-largest craft brewery today named Lesya Lysyj, who is currently the U.S. president of Welch’s Foods Inc., as its new CMO.

At Welch’s, Lysyj was “responsible for $600 million in revenue leading marketing, sales, innovation and licensing” for the company’s food and beverage products in the U.S., according to her LinkedIn. Prior to joining Welch’s, Lysyj spent 1.5 years as the president of Weight Watchers North America and three years as CMO of Heineken USA.

Lysyj fills a vacancy left by Jon Potter, Boston Beer’s first-ever CMO, who departed the company last July.

In an SEC filing, Boston Beer said Lysyj’s would earn $475,000 annually, not including performance bonuses totaling as much as 50 percent of her base salary. She will also have an option to purchase shares of the company’s Class A Common Stock valued at approximately $1.5 million.

Lysyj’s hiring is the second notable appointment for Boston Beer this month. Last week, the company named Uber, Inc. general manager Meghan Joyce to its board of directors.
Boston Beer — which makes the Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea, and Truly Hard Seltzer brands, among other offerings — posted double-digit growth in depletions, shipments, and sales last year.

On its way to shipping nearly 4.3 million barrels of product in 2018, the company increased net revenue by 15.4 percent, to $995.7 million.

According to the release, Lysyj, 56, will oversee the “planning, development, and execution” of Boston’s “brand development, marketing, and advertising initiatives.”

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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
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michael@bearairishbrew.com

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