Beer Marketer's Insights
Alcohol Experience Matters: Professor Blau Poses Questions about Unexpected Legal Decisions
Alcohol sits in a fairly distinct legal niche, as any experienced industry member will tell you. But not every atty or judge working with an alcohol-related case is familiar with some crucial nuance or historical understanding shared by many in the biz. A new, outside perspective prevailed in the recent CA Superior Ct decision in the dispute between owners of Anderson Valley and Reyes' Harbor arm, atty Richard Blau noted during his 32nd legal overview at the Natl Conference of State Liquor Admins (NCSLA) mtg in DC this wk.
Circana's Scott Scanlon "A Little More Bullish" on Beer; Another 1.5 Yrs of Similar RTD Growth?
Circana's exec vp of alcoholic beverages, Scott Scanlon, is "a little more bullish on the beer category than others have been," he shared during a Circana webinar hosted alongside Deschutes ceo Peter Skrbek. This comment was made directly as he pointed to spirits sales starting to "shift back" after the pandemic-era boom. Interestingly, approximately 25% of alc bev consumers purchase beer, wine and spirits. That was almost 30% during the pandemic, but now it's back to 25-26% level "we've tended to see," per Circana Scan Panel data. And "the biggest shift over the last six months" was that drinkers who say they only drink beer rose a half point. That's as % of spirits-only consumers dipped, as did those who purchase across categories, Scott shared.
For all the benefits of cold-brewing and other cold-coffee processes, it undeniably elevates risks of bacteria infection, as some experts have been consistently warning. Dark side of that tradeoff came to light yesterday when Snapchill voluntarily recalled all its canned coffees out of fear of botulism risk. Snapchill, recall, offers proprietary twist in brewing coffee hot and chilling it instantly. Recall included items sold under partner brand names like George Howell, Intelligentsia, Alchemy, Bent Tree, Big Mouth, Bolt, Coffee Hound, Copper Horse, Farmhouse and Upshot. Can sizes range from 7-oz to 12-oz. Announcement from Green Bay, Wis-based roaster emphasized that recall stemmed from lapse by co in not filing its low-acid process with FDA as required rather than any instances in which those items were found to contain botulin toxin. "Snapchill is working on filing the appropriate notification with FDA," it said. Consumers who've bought items "should either destroy the products or return the product to Snapchill or the place of purchase for a refund," co advised.
As we reported last week, Pretty Tasty canned collagen fortifier incubated in partnership with Boylan Bottling won this spring's BevNet Live Showdown, wowing judges with snazzy packaging and potent protein bill (BBI, Jun 13). How have other recent winners fared? As it happens, a coupla earlier winners were wandering the event and we caught up with both, Plink powdered hydration brand - the first non-RTD to win - and Calexo canned D9 THC socializers. It's been eventful ride for both, as we outline here.
Colorado-based Prost Brewing Co is putting its expansion plans in motion. After opening its new 60K sq-ft brewery headquarters late last yr, the brewer is adding Utah to its distribution footprint in partnership with General Distributing Company. Starting this summer, it'll distribute 6 brews to retailers across the state, including 2023 GABF silver medal winner Prost Pilsner and a Utah-exclusive variety pk.
As San Antonio-based Weathered Souls battles its own landlord dispute over its now-closed Charlotte location, co-founder and head brewer Marcus Baskerville is no longer with the company. "Woke up yesterday morning feeling like a huge weight has been lifted," he posted on LinkedIn last week, adding that "I am no longer an employee of Weathered Souls Brewing co." Among other accomplishments, the former James Beard Award nominee was instrumental in spearheading the Black Is Beautiful beer initiative and continues to serve on the board of the Natl Black Brewers Assn. No word yet on his next endeavors.
Ensnared in a series of landlord lawsuits as well as allegations of money laundering and embezzlement, Big Storm Brewing Co is suddenly down to just one location. The previously fast-expanding Florida-based craft co closed its taproom attached to downtown Orlando's Kia Center (home of the NBA's Orlando Magic) over the weekend, leaving co's Clearwater HQ as its only remaining space after abruptly shuttering other spots. The brewer originally opened the Orlando space in Apr 2021 after signing a 10-yr lease in 2020 with potential for an additional 5-yr term on the backend, the city's Biz Jnl notes.
Another craft brewer tangled up in legal troubles. St Louis-based Urban Chestnut Brewing Co allegedly failed to make payments on a pair of loans dating back to 2013 and now owes 2 creditors more than $400K, according to a 2 separate lawsuits filed in May and first reported in St Louis Post Dispatch.
Another large and perhaps unexpected craft brewer is wading into FMB waters. Wisconsin's New Glarus Brewing Co launched all new "Splash Malt Beverage" this month, a fruit-flavored offering made with all-natural fruit juice that comes in on lighter side of segment at 105 calories and 4.0% ABV per serving.