Sprinkle in a flurry of openings and closings just before the holidays. Spokane, WA's Brick West Brewing Co is planning 2 new locations, including a 2nd brewing facility in West Spokane plus a new taproom north of the city. Brick West currently makes less than 4K bbls per yr, but hopes new facility will bring capacity to 20K bbls. And in latest shakeup in Denver's RiNo neighborhood, 14er Brewing is looking for someone to take over its lease, reportedly looking for larger space to quadruple capacity from 5K to 20K bbls, per Denver Biz Jnl. In listing for its current space, however, it's described as a turnkey 15-bbl system including "flexibility with ownership to either take over the 14er Brewing Co. brand - key personnel, LLC and IP, with distribution rights - or launch your own brewery or concept."

As Kirin's US craft portfolio expands via growth of New Belgium and acquisition of Bell's, Japan's 2nd-largest brewer is looking to acquire more production facilities in North America "to maintain strong growth in the region's craft beer market," Reuters reports. "Our craft beer business in North America is on a roll," CEO Yoshinori Isozaki told Reuters in an interview. But production and distribution remain "a challenge" across vast geography, so Kirin is "considering buying facilities from other craft brewers that are in the doldrums and have excess capacity," Reuters added. Kirin's craft beer sales hit $454 mil in 2021, accounting for 3% of global revenues. Co expects craft sales to grow to 5% of its total mix this year, according to Yoshinori.

Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA) has eyes set on global expansion as it aims to "promote, protect and grow" adult non-alc bev industry with a "unifying voice," CEO Marcos Salazar shared to kick off "round table" discussion with Athletic founder/CEO Bill Shufelt, Gruvi co-founder Anika Sawni, Mocktail Club founder/CEO Pauline Idogho and Lyre's CMO Paul Gloster. ANBA's currently up to 90 members, Bill stated. After launching in US and Canadian mkts last year, it's in the process of launching in UK and EU currently, and has eyes set on Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa as well, added Marcos.

Bell's also traded for Stone, plus a couple additional brands, in FL move to Reyes network, CBN learned. Bell's moved to RBD from Cavalier Dist in exchange for Stone, Singha and Hofbrau brands in Oct, sources shared. Cavalier already had Stone for south FL, so this further fills out its footprint with Stone thruout FL. And Cavalier continues to sell Bell's in north central FL. Net-net, Bell's sells over 75K cases/yr in territory where it moved.

Boston Beer appointed Meghan V. Joyce, a 34 yr-old former exec at Uber, to its board of directors effective March 14, 2019, co announced. Meghan has an impressive resume, spending the last 6 yrs at Uber, most recently serving as Regional General Manager for all of US & Canada, as well as East Coast General Manager from 2015-2017 and Boston General Manager from 2013-2015. Prior to that, she worked as Senior Policy Advisor for US Dept of Treasury from 2011-2012, and worked as both an investor and consultant at Bain Capital. Meghan has an MBA from Harvard, where she also received her bachelor’s degree. “Meghan’s significant accomplishments and extensive experience in consumer recruitment and engagement, and using new technologies to reach audiences that align with our drinkers, will add significant depth t

Now that The Alchemist has settled into its new 16K sq-ft brewing home in Stowe, VT over the last couple yrs, the acclaimed VT brewer is seemingly lookin’ to ramp up sales and distribution of its core Heady Topper and Focal Banger brews in its home state. The Alchemist partnered with Sheehan Family Cos’ Craft Beer Guild of VT for statewide distribution of Heady Topper and Focal Banger, reported Stowe Today. Alchemist produced about 9K bbls of Heady Topper and 6K bbls of Focal Banger last yr, with majority sold in VT thru self distribution in a more limited VT radius, and the rest sold out of state “during slower seasons.” Co intentionally kept production of Heady Topper and Focal Banger at those production levels. Now co will have access to “more than 200 stores and restaurants across Vermont,” co-owner Jen Kimmich told paper. Tho gotta note, it’s taking a hit on margin to get there. “At the end of the day, if we can sell more cases of Heady Topper and Focal Banger in Vermont versus having to send it out of state, that’s ideal,” Jen added. Plus, even amid increasing competition from plethora of craft brewers, Alchemist expects to see no dip in beer tourism at its own brewery, consistently drawing hefty number of visitors from VT and surrounding states.

After a number of years of inaction on state-level proposals to create small brewer exemptions from strict distribution franchise laws, this could be the 2nd yr in a row when such reform passes thru a state legislature. Maryland legislators unanimously passed slightly different versions of a franchise carve out this week, a year after Vermont created a small brewer exception to its law. Bills to reform MD’s franchise law were intro’d in each legislative chamber early last month, along with other reform to laws impacting small brewers in the state. The House version initially would have allowed brewers under 300K bbls or 10% of a wholesaler’s biz to leave that distrib without good cause, setting just a 15-day notification period and no provisions for payment other than inventory. But after lengthy debate at a late-Feb hearing, the bill was amended last week to allow suppliers producing less than 20K bbls to move after 45 days as long as they pay fair market value (FMV) for the brands. Again, it unanimously passed state House yesterday. The Senate version, which also unanimously passed its original chamber, sets cap at 30K-bbls. It has same 45-day notification period and FMV provision, but provides that brewers under 15K bbls only need to pay for inventory. A separate Brewery Modernization Act passed its second reading in the House today and will need to pass its 3rd reading before heading to Senate. It addresses other small brewer exceptions to strict 3-tier laws, increasing a number of existing volume caps. It would lift total volume cap on microbreweries from 22,500 bbls to 45K bbls. Among other changes, it would also boost self-distribution cap for microbreweries to 5K bbls (from 3K) and the on-premise sales cap for micros and larger breweries also to 5K bbls, while eliminating the controversial buy-back provision, created less than 2 yrs ago. Testimony: Guinness Needs More On-Premise Bbls; Lawmakers Push Back Against Distrib Pushback Recall, during tense 2017 legislative session, folks from Diageo sought change to lift cap on on-premise taproom sales from prior level of just 500 bbls, prepping for opening of Guinness brewery and taproom outside Baltimore. It initially asked for 5,000-bbl cap and introduced the idea of the buy-back provision as a “safety valve,” as govt affairs veep Dwayne Kratt explained during Feb hearing (his prepared remarks re-printed in full by Naptown Pint columnist at Capital Gazette). Eventually, legislators set cap at 2K bbls, allowing brewers to buy another 1K bbls back from distribs if needed. Dwayne openly described the idea as error at the hearing: “mea culpa,” he said. He also commented that Guinness already sold 1,700 bbls at its taproom since August, suggesting that it could easily pass the 3,000-bbl cap this yr if it’s not changed. (And that number before big St Patrick’s day celebration and coming full summer season.) He testified strongly alongside small brewers and Brewers Assn of Maryland (BAM) for shift to 5,000-bbl cap without buy-back provision, included in bill that passed today. Notably, that bill also includes statutory provisions requiring brewers to report total and on-premise sales volume to state comptroller so those figures can be compiled. Brewers also set up their case for franchise reform at same hearing. The bill’s legislative sponsor underscored the vast changes in the beer biz since MD initially created franchise protections for beer wholesalers almost 50 yrs ago. That lawmaker and reps from BAM repeatedly noted the importance of franchise laws, ironically, while calling for the need for a small brewer exemption to them. Indeed, primary message to House committee is that brewers were willing to debate where the line is drawn in terms of the size of the brewery, the % of a wholesalers biz and beyond, but that a line must be drawn somewhere. That clearly made an impact. When state distribs and folks from Maryland Beer Wholesalers Assn testified in opposition to the bill, legislators largely looked past vehement opposition to the notion of franchise reform and instead pressed them for ideas on where to draw a carve out line. More Compromises? Yea in NC, Nay in SC, Maybe in TX? Recall, MD movements come just a week after “historic agreement” in North Carolina (see last issue). To clarify, current self-distribution cap for small brewers in the state is “hard” at 25K bbls. That is, brewers can self-distribute all production up to 25K bbls, but as soon as they brew more, they must give up all self distribution. Compromise bill intro’d last week allows brewers under 100K bbls to self distribute up to 50K bbls, providing much clearer cushion. It “opens a lot of possibilities for us,” NoDa Brewing’s Suzie Ford said at press conference. Note too tho the drastically higher caps on self-distribution in NC compared to proposals in MD, above. Then too, most MD brewers are very small and state is far less developed for craft than NC in general. That compromise aside, distributors are still pushing back against brewer-backed proposals elsewhere. In neighboring South Carolina, state distrib org recently testified against package of bills pre-filed way back in Dec by state brewers guild. Recall, guild wants to eliminate 2-case cap on off-premise brewery sales, allow for beer transfers between separate locations and allow small brewers to open satellite taprooms. But “this is all about making money,” exec director of SC Beer Wholesalers Assn Lance Boozer told legislative committee, The State reported. “This is no longer about safely educating a consumer or introducing them to the product. This is an attempt to legislatively gain an unfair (economic) advantage over others in what is an orderly market,” he said. At same time, compromise between small brewers and one wholesaler org in Texas still does not have support of second distrib org there. Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas position against bill laid out in op-ed from prexy Larry Del Papa in Austin American-Statesman, arguing that all but 10 Texas breweries can already sell beer to-go because they are under 10K bbls. The subtext there: brewpubs (capped at 10K bbls) can sell beer to-go, but plenty of brewers still under that cap licensed as production breweries and not willing to change to brewpub model just for off-premise sales. Indeed, story of brewery facing that choice and less-than-simple conversion key to Grapevine-focused coverage from Community Impact Newspaper. And WBDT arguments not winning any favors from other papers, most notably Austin Chronicle which continues to print scathing rebukes of both the org specifically and “Texas’ Big Distro lobby” generally. (Note that CBN links to such highly critical coverage merely to provide a view of how local press sometimes chooses to involve itself in these legislative debates. Note also that provisions in “flow meter bill” hinted at by the Chronicle did not make it into a bill.)

Some small, locally-focused breweries are expanding, while others are finding their way out. And that, at least occasionally, involves finding one of those expanding, small, local breweries to buy assets, locations or brands. Consider the following series of stories about relatively small breweries. In upstate NY, Clemson Bros Brewery bought nearby brewpub The Gilded Otter, a spot opened in New Paltz over 20 yrs ago. Clemson Bros, based in nearby Middletown is also building a larger brewery in Warwick, according to the Poughkeepsie Journal. It plans to keep brewing staff and some Gilded Otter beers, while doing minor interior renovations this yr, followed by a broader renovation next yr. Owners of a nearby sports bar acquired the Evansville Brewhouse in Indiana, the city’s Courier & Press reported. As with the Gilded Otter, new owners plan to keep some of the beers, long-running events and distinct vibe of the Brewhouse, while adding food. Prior owner kept his day job as CFO of local First Federal Savings Bank even after opening the Brewhouse in 2016. Meanwhile, in San Diego’s brewery-dense Miramar, another small brewery announced impending closure. Align Brewing will close unless owners find a buyer, Westcoaster SD wrote. Align opened in 2017 and was second go-around in brewing for owner Andrew Heino, who had previously operated Pacific Brewing for 3 yrs in the same location. But now he plans to move to Hawaii and looks to sell the biz. Of course, buyers don’t always emerge, as owners of The Hideout Brewing in Grand Rapids, MI found out. That co closed this week after searching for potential buyers since last June, according to Grand Rapids Press. The small co opened in 2006 and transitioned to new owners in 2012. Meanwhile, in Santa Fe, no buyer sought for now-closed Duel Brewing and state Dept of Workforce Solutions investigating owner for not paying employees, per Albuquerque Journal. That co opened in 2013, expanded to Albuquerque taproom in 2017. But the second location closed late last year and slow biz caused co to close up completely early this yr.

AB’s Elysian “appears to have closed its Tangletown pub,” the second brewpub location Elysian closed in the last yr, reported Eater Seattle. “The business is reported closed on both Yelp and Google,” and “a sign on the door says that Elysian co-founder David Buhler is taking over the space” to open something called “Tangletown Public House in its place.” Elysian also closed Elysian Bar downtown last summer, paper noted. It still operates 3 separate taproom locations in Capitol Hill, Pioneer Square and Georgetown neighborhoods of Seattle. Capitol Hill location has been “temporarily closed since December for renovations,” expected to come back on line this spring. And co only opened Georgetown taproom in Aug 2017 at its main production brewery. So it appears that, while creating new and improved taproom experiences at some locations, AB/Elysian willing to part with others.