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In Mar 2011, Maryland-based Flying Dog Brewery filed suit against Michigan Liquor Control Comm for its "appalling attempt at state censorship" by continuing to ban Raging Bitch brand in MI. Flying Dog brewed the IPA for its 20th Anniversary in 2010, and it had become brewer's best seller. But MLCC barred sale of Raging Bitch in MI because it deemed beer's name and label, "detrimental to the public health, safety and welfare." Flying Dog asked US Dist court to reverse decision immediately so it can begin selling and advertising the brand within MI. MLCC's decision "is about much more than a beer label," said CEO Jim Caruso. "It's about regulators gradually morphing into self-appointed thought police." He didn't think "Michigan citizens deserve government regulators arbitrarily deciding what their beer should be called." Flying Dog finally prevailed and won court ruling in March 2015. In Mar 2012, CBN wondered why some craft brewers were growing so much faster than others, beyond issues of scale and incremental bbls from new mkts. Not surprisingly, leading with hot styles, like IPAs, really helped. And leading with not-as-hot styles challenged portfolio growth. Lookin' at the top breweries with IPA flagships, obvious standout was Lagunitas (+53% overall in 2011). Lagunitas IPA volume was up 37% for 52 wks thru Feb 19, according to SymphonyIRI Group data for supers. Dogfish Head famously discouraged labeling 60 Minute IPA its "flagship" and growing the brand as a percent of its biz (then at 48%, with 90-Minute another 18%, according to talk with Sam Calagione). Still, DFH grew near 20% the previous year.Brewers offering Pale Ale flagships got moderate growth, but below craft average. Fastest in 2011 was Deschutes, +9.9%, with its Mirror Pond running up 6% for 52 wks, losing share of craft. Indeed, no pale ale on top 30 brands list was growing share of craft. Amber ales also led brewers to below-average growth in 2011. Only two were large enough to make SIG's top 30 brands in supers list: Fat Tire, +1%, and Alaskan Amber, +2%. Biggest challenge was for wheat-based flagships. Interestingly, the two largest hefeweizen flagships came from non-BA defined craft brewers: Widmer and Pyramid. Both brands had been down in supers recently: Widmer Hefeweizen -9% for 52 wks; Pyramid's largest brand down 20%.In Mar 2013, CBN noted new craft brewers may want to take a glance at a few tips on how to succeed from a craft brewer named Jim Koch, who opened a small brewery in Mass nearly 30 yrs ago. First, "Know the market," advised Jim in profile piece in CNN Money. "Is your product better or cheaper than the alternatives? If it's not better or cheaper than what's already out there, you don't have a real business to build on," said Jim. Next, "Don't hire people unless they raise the average," he advised. At Boston Beer, they had developed a system "to determine whether a candidate has the same motivational needs and behavioral attributes that have made others successful in that particular position." Don't hire "someone who's just good enough." Lastly, "Learn to fail quickly," noted Jim. "We've had dozens of beers that were not commercially successful. Minimize the damage, know when to pull the plug, and move on."This week in 2014, Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman shared some thoughts on international expansion with Just-Drinks, CBN noted. "We're still having discussions, but it will be this year" that Sierra Nevada ships to Japan, which would be its 1st Asian mkt. Sierra could start to look further outside its existing footprint with Mills River facility close to completion and was already shipping out batches of Sierra Pale Ale and Torpedo Extra IPA. "Elsewhere, the company was doing 'quite well' in Australia and had distribution in Europe - the UK, Italy, Sweden, Denmark and 'a bit' in Germany," reported Just-Drinks. Perhaps there were more export mkts to come with extra capacity coming Sierra's way. "We get approached almost daily from export markets to ship beer&hellip;. There's a huge amount of interest from Asia, central and South American countries and Europe," added Ken. When Ken was asked if he had "desire" to become #1 craft brewer he said, "a big part of their (Boston's) business is flavored malt beverages and hard cider&hellip;. We are brewers who love to make beer and I'm not sure we would have the same passion towards making tea or FMBs with some juice added."In Mar 2015, a majority of Full Sail employees voted to approve the company's sale to newly formed Oregon Craft Brewers Co (OCBC). The transaction marked a new era for Full Sail, one of the original Oregon craft brands, which initiated an Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) back in 1999. "It gives us more resources and deep branding and marketing expertise," CEO/founder Irene Firmat shared with CBN. Recall, San Francisco-based private equity firm Encore Consumer Capital would be one source of that expertise. But there would be others. "Encore will be the largest investor," managing director Scott Sellers told us, but the "mostly local" individuals joining Encore in OCBC investment also "have experience growing brands," he explained. Though the deal effectively eliminates Full Sail's ESOP - the first but not the last time we saw a majority employee-owned craft co choose to sell - leadership "will also be significant owners" by way of "a stock option program," Scott said. And once the deal closes, new employees could soon come on board as "number one on the wish list," Irene said, is to "grow our sales team." Full Sail's own brand declined significantly over the last decade, and the company shifted its focus to contract production of all kinds of beverages.In Mar 2016, explaining Craft Brew Alliance's "advantaged strategy in an advantaged category," CMO Ken Kunze introduced the co's "Kona+" strategy for mid-to-long term growth. Once lead brands within the portfolio and segment, Redhook and Widmer Bros were now relegated to "plus" behind Kona. Kona was fully 45% of CBA volume. CBA exec team very upfront about this "deliberate" plan to pull Redhook and Widmer back and focus on their home markets. Kona was "the clear number-one focus for CBA," its "marquee brand" that spoke to "largest audience across the largest geography." Kona shipped over 352K bbls in 2016, up 17%. That put Kona brand alone at #7 craft brewer on our list, just behind Bell's and pushing ahead of Deschutes. The brand added almost 100K bbls in just 2 yrs, +37%. Indeed, big piece of CBA's "future value will be driven by Kona's global volume opportunity," Ken said on conference call. It wouldn't just be CBA's lead horse nationally. That yr would also see some more explorations of oppys for Kona overseas too, expanding work that's just starting in Brazil. Notably, Kona's international brand rights are still being disputed in court since CBA sold remaining stake to ABI, but had previous international agreements with CraftCanTravel.

Craft Throwbacks - March

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