Boston Beer founder/chairman Jim Koch will join the program for the 2022 Beer Insights Seminar. And Hand Family Cos prexy JR Hand will complete our panel of distribs. The Seminar will take place Nov 13-14 at Convene in NYC. You won't want to miss this premiere US beer biz conference, offering exclusive access to high-level discussions with top execs and industry thought leaders. Join us for an evening reception Nov 13 and a jam-packed, all-day program on Monday, Nov 14 at Convene on West 46th St. Sign up today!

Last issue, we incorrectly characterized Josh Landan's involvement with Scout Distribution and Harland Brewing. While Josh was a founding member along with Jeff Hansson and Anthony Levas, Josh is no longer part of the co's ownership or exec team, CBN learned. Jeff and Anthony have been runnin' the show as CEO and prexy of both Scout Distribution and Harland Brewing. And since Josh started his new Wings & Arrow LLC venture (parent co of Ashland hard seltzer, Villager Spirits, Mucho Aloha hard lemonade), Jeff, Anthony and Josh mutually agreed to go their separate ways, and "felt it was best for [Josh] to focus on that" and "us to focus on Harland and Scout," Jeff told CBN. Wings & Arrow founded by Josh and jointly owned by "collective of artists, athletes, actors, and influencers," per website. Co raised $10 mil in funding in Apr 2022, around the same time that Josh boasted about his previous feats with Saint Archer sale to MC and claimed to have turned down AB after rumored discussions about Ashland seltzer (see Apr 6 issue).

Less than 1.5 yrs after its official opening, Dogfish Head's brief stint in the Sunshine State will come to a close. "With our 10-year lease coming to an end, coupled with the significant rent increases happening throughout Miami, we've made the difficult decision to close our Dogfish Head Miami taproom on November 5," a Boston Beer spokesperson shared with CBN (after story first reported by Brewbound). "Our coworkers are our top priority, and we will be meeting individually with each one of them to help them determine their path forward," co added. Recall, Dogfish Head began residency at Boston Beer's Concrete Beach brewery in Wynwood district of Miami back in early 2020. After Concrete Beach permanently closed, co rebranded space as Dogfish Miami with planned opening later that yr (see Aug 27, 2020 issue). It didn't open until May 21, 2021, and now it'll shut its doors for good, marking yet another brewer to get priced out amid rising rent costs.

Monster-owned CANarchy portfolio is makin' beer distribution changes in MO, CBN learned. CANarchy moved to AB network statewide from Major Brands/Breakthru, according to source. MO is a relatively small mkt for CANarchy. After surpassing 70K cases statewide in 2020, it declined tuff double-digits in 2021 and thru 1st half of 2022, according to state data. Indeed, CANarchy sales remain soft this yr nationally too (see above). But move likely viewed as a bit of a blow with Monster gearing up to unleash The Beast Unleashed FMB late this yr among other future alc bev endeavors. So all these years later after losing Monster non-alc brands, some additional AB distribs will now get a crack at Monster alc bev brands. Go figure. Another interesting angle - CANarchy ceo Tony Short has history with Major Brands, including 7-year stint as exec vice president there from late 2010 to Aug 2017, according to LinkedIn. Tho recall, Major Brands was fully acquired by Breakthru in early 2022.

A few other top craft brewers posted some sizable shifts in off-premise scan trends lately. Sam Adams Seasonal $$ improved to down 2.5% for 4 wks vs -5% YTD in IRI MULC, and Sam Variety Pk off just -0.7% for 4 wks vs down 7.5% YTD. But Boston Lager remained down low-double-digits. Sierra Nevada holdin' steady with $$ flat for 12 wks thru Sep 4; Hazy Little Thing up 2% and Big Little Thing +20% for period. Sierra's craft beer family trended a half-pt better than total Sierra for 12 wks, as Strainge Beast hard kombucha declines are outweighing other recent beyond beer endeavors at this stage. Then too, while SweetWater $$ dipped 8% for latest 12 wks, sales improved to down just 1% for latest 4 wks. Many other top craft cos in scans remain relatively soft thruout summer mos, including Lagunitas and Firestone $$ each down 8%, Gambrinus off 13%, Founders -12%, ABV -7%, CANarchy -17%, Deschutes -11% and New Glarus -10%.

New Belgium ain't the only craft brand benefitting bigtime from big-ABV double/imperial IPA growth, even if it's doing so more than anyone else (by far). AB's Goose Island was on fire in Aug and leading up to Labor Day as $$ sales jumped 31%, volume +11% for latest 4 wks thru Sep 4 in IRI MULC. Growth fueled entirely by Beer Hug family, which became collectively larger than flagship Goose IPA for latest 4 wks ($2.4 mil vs $2.3 mil) and same size ($6.56 mil) for latest 12 wks. Now total Goose Island $$ up 13% yr-to-date, tho volume still flattish as Goose avg prices soared 12.6% to $35.20/case. Indeed, Beer Hug family reshaping Goose Island price mix, as it avgs over $43/case in IRI vs flagship Goose IPA just $31.63/case YTD.

New Belgium continued to grow most of any craft brand family thruout summer mos. Sales soared up 27% for 12 wks as new Voodoo Ranger Juice Force incremental $21.4 mil in sales were nearly as large as Sierra Pale Ale for period, and Voodoo Ranger Imperial IPA grew 14%. These two high-ABV brands now make up over 50% of New Belgium's total $$ sales in IRI MULC, as total New Belgium $$ were ahead of Stella, Mike's Harder and Miller High Life families, among others, for 12 wks. And New Belgium leanin' harder on high-ABV next year. Co will add another 9.5% ABV Voodoo Ranger in 2023, co shared with distribs this wk.

It may be surplus to Coca-Cola's requirements, but the now-sunsetting Honest Tea brand still seems to have intensely loyal following, including at key retailers like Whole Foods, which first nurtured entry. Count Whole Foods employee Jacob Clark among them. The Whole Body team leader at Winston-Salem, NC, store posted photo of glass-bottle Moroccan Mint Green Tea from his driver's seat, reflecting, "The last bit of Honest Tea is on our shelves so I had to grab my last one before it's gone. Literally this drink has been a staple at all the stores I worked at since 2008. Even before the news hit it was still our top moving tea in the cold case and off the shelves. In that time I've seen so many companies come and go in the same space but still Honest Tea was always there. Going to miss having these but I'm excited for who is really going to fill that spot they had in the market." Of course, Honest Tea cofounders Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff are among those looking to fill the void with

Philadelphia-area entrepreneur named Tia Wright has teamed up with Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick to popularize energy drink called R7 that augments caffeine lift with functional additions like adaptogens, electrolytes, L-carnitine and B-vitamins. The 12-oz slim-can entry contains 120 mg of caffeine from green coffee beans, along with eleuthero root, L-carnitine from green tea extract, magnesium and other ingredients. Using combo of sugar, juice, sucralose and ace-K as sweetener, it comes in at about 10 g of sugar for 50 calories. It's initially out in Lightning Lemon Lime, Orbit Orange and Midnight Rush (grape) flavors. The R7 name references brand's purported ability to "Revive. Refuel. Reignite. Repair. Replenish. Recover. Restore" users. Graphics feature striking R7 logo in angular configuration somewhat like A Shoc brand. On website the line goes out at $36 per 12-pk.