Lord Hobo is in midst of massive new brewery project encompassing 230K sq-ft, "all of the available retail space," at a 13-story office building within Boston's Seaport District (where Harpoon is located), reported Boston.com among others. In fact, "we have the opportunity to build our version of the Taj Mahal of breweries in the Seaport," CEO Dan Lanigan told paper. Pushing further beyond beer (as many of its MA-based brethren continue to do more and more), new Lord Hobo space will include gastropub featuring cocktails, a taproom and lounge area" as well as 10K sq-ft patio space, and "a coffee-concept." Co also in midst of increasing visitor capacity at its Woburn brewery from 180 to 550 people by doubling indoor seating and adding a patio, paper noted. Lord Hobo brand has always been brazen, presented in mkt with an attitude to match aggressive expansion plans since early days of Dan announcing the brewery in 2013. But this new wrinkle is taking bold expansion plans to a whole 'nother level, it seems.

Odell is joining the low-calorie IPA mix with Good Behavior IPA, clocking in at 110 calories and 4% ABV, co announced. Good Behavior will be sold year-round in 6pk cans and draft, available now thruout Odell's 19-state footprint and priced in line with its core portfolio. Recall, Odell sales were already exceeding co's initial expectations this yr, up 6% thru 9 mos, co-founder and outgoing CEO Wynne Odell shared with CBN earlier this mo (see Oct 7 issue). So Good Behavior could provide an extra shot in the arm to end the yr. And it will be one of Odell's top brand priorities in 2020, sez co.

Lagunitas remains separately run from Heineken USA, but HUSA actively looking to better compete in spaces outside of import category on its own, talking a big game on innovation to come at its regional distrib meetings. Most of all, HUSA has rapidly become a leader, and big spender, in small but burgeoning non-alc beer space where craft and large brewers alike are increasingly looking to play. Heineken 0.0 will get another $50 mil mktg budget in 2020 after launching in US with $50 mil budget this yr, co shared. This includes robust sampling plans, new TV commercials and other "witty" and "relevant" communication conveying that "you can now drink in moments you couldn't before," noted Heineken brand veep Borja Manso. HUSA on track to sample 3 mil Heineken 0.0s this yr and plans 10 mil samples in 2020, including unique Heineken Original lager 15pk cans with 12 Heinekens and 3 additional Heineken 0.0 cans for limited time next yr, Borja shared. While craft brewers in non-alc space can't compete anywhere near these levels of push, several view Heineken 0.0's continued push as beneficial for the category as a whole. Also gotta note, after dabbling in more craft-like style for its Mexican beer portfolio with Dos Equis Mexican Pale Ale this yr, co will triple investment in Dos MPA to $10 mil for 2020, co shared.

The Community Room event space Lagunitas opened in Portland, OR in 2016 quickly closed this week, providing little notice to both employees and non-profit orgs with upcoming events in the space, local New School outlet reported on Wednesday. Recall, the Community Room space was first-of-its-kind on-premise concept aimed not at operating as a satellite taproom but as a space devoted to hosting events for local non-profits. When the co announced its handful of deals with Independence, Moonlight and Southend breweries in mid-2016, it also announced plans for a second community room in San Diego, expected in Jan of 2017. But that spot did not open. Instead, co moved into space in Seattle vacated by Hilliard's, where it still operates a taproom that, like Petaluma and Chicago spots, is open for use by non-profits on nights it's closed to the public. Therefore, the Portland location remained a unique set-up that apparently proved unsustainable for Lagunitas.

Backlash against Founders over racial discrimination lawsuit and its handling of it mounted this week, while brewer remained silent on social media since Monday. It broke that silence early this morning, posting letter from founders Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers, followed up by quick note sharing that it would close its taproom in Detroit "until further notice." In the interim, it pulled out of big beer festival in Detroit this weekend and some retailers now promise to stop serving Founders beers.

Most of way thru 2019, Bell's still on better trajectory than most larger craft brewers. Shipments up 3% yr-to-date, founder Larry Bell told Craft Brew News earlier this week. But recall, Bell's pulled out of VA in early 2019, and VA was about 5% of its volume. So Bell's up closer to 8% apples-to-apples. Same issue obviously impacting Bell's trends in IRI scan data, including soft Two Hearted numbers in some recent 4-wk periods. As always, scan trends alone don't reveal changes in distribution, natch.

While we didn't get to visit all of the top cos in MA, gotta mention that Lord Hobo, Wachusett and Trillium are all regional craft brewers in-state that have grown considerably in the last decade (or less). Recall, Lord Hobo is en route to 50K bbls this yr and just announced massive brewery project at Boston Seaport district (see last issue), right nearby Harpoon's brewery and HQ and Trillium. Gotta note, after Trillium quickly grew to ~18K bbls in 2017, it declined in 2018 and is down again this year thru Aug, per MA Dept of Revenue stats. Recall, co announced plans to build an all-encompassing 140K sq-ft production brewery in Canton, MA earlier this yr (see Apr 2 issue) along with eventual plans to build a farm brewery/cidery in CT. Separatley, Wachusett is another co that's diversified its portfolio considerably, ranging from sizable contract brewing operation to Nauti hard seltzer (Nauti down steep double-digits in scans lately tho) after notably expanding its brewing capacity. Wach

While most MA brewers have been utilizing taprooms over this period of growth in-state, Sam Adams/Boston Beer is still in very early stages of building up its on-site capabiltiies in Boston area and beyond. Its Jamaica Plain brewery added an on-site taproom only 2 years ago, Jamaica Plain GM Adam Cupples reminded CBN during our visit. The brewery can host up to 2K folks at its busiest and there've been an increasing number of "neighborhood buys" from local customers. And new brewery and taproom in downtown Boston is expected to open sometime next year. So Sam Adams is gaining ground on-site even tho it's losing ground at retail. Jamaica Plain brewery is an innovation hub for all new Sam Adams recipes that eventually get scaled up, as well as the hundreds of experimental brews that are sold more exclusively at the taproom.

Wormtown remains on pace to grow ~30% to over 30K bbls in 2019, led by strong 20% growth of its flagship Be Hoppy IPA, which makes up 80% of its total mix, co-founder David Fields and recently hired GM Scott Metzger shared with CBN upon visit to the brewery in Worcester. Its 7-bbl brewery and taproom at Patriots Place has taken a bit longer to open than initially expected, but it's "nearly" ready to tap into the massive crowds and diverse set of consumers going to Gillette Stadium for Patriots games and thruout the year. Notably, Wormtown's plans to build a brewery and taproom in NH are put on the "back burner" for now, David shared.