Craft Brew News
01/31/20

(Coutesy of Brewbound – www.brewbound.com)

Anheuser-Busch Spends $24 Million on Bud Light Seltzer Ads

Since launching Bud Light Hard Seltzer earlier this month, Anheuser-Busch InBev has spent $24.2 million on advertising for the new product line, according to TVRev.com.

The majority of the investment — $23 million — was spent on spots during the NFL Playoffs, with $13.2 million going to spots during the NFC and AFC championship games last weekend.

A-B’s investment in TV advertising shows the company’s intention to compete in the increasingly crowded hard seltzer category, which topped $1.5 billion in off-premise sales in 2019.

City Brewery Plans $49 Million Investment

City Brewery is investing $49 million to expand its contract production facility in Memphis, Tennessee, according to the Daily Memphian.

The company cited the growth of hard seltzers and other beer alternatives for seeking a 12-year tax abatement to purchase new equipment. The company said it plans to add 155 jobs over the next two years. At the end of 2019, City employed 516 workers, paying an average of $56,609 per worker, including overtime.

City’s Memphis subsidiary is capable of producing 60 million cases annually.
Both Boston Beer’s Truly and Mark Anthony Brands’ White Claw have contract produced their respective hard seltzer brands.

Jim Koch on Finally Opening a Samuel Adams Taproom in Downtown Boston

Jim Koch is holding court on the lower level of Samuel Adams’ new taproom in downtown Boston.
Koch, the founder of the Boston Beer Company, is his usual gregarious self and dressed in his typical every-day uniform: denim Samuel Adams button-down shirt and khakis. He’s loaded with quips, microphone in one hand, Boston Lager in the other.

The 14,000 sq. ft. Samuel Adams Taproom, which opened this week, has been a couple of years in the offing, located about 20 yards from the statue of the beer brand’s namesake, a Founding Father and revolutionary.

The location will offer pub food, including cheese boards, warm pretzels and flatbreads, as well as daily lunch offerings, such as a BLT, pastrami on rye and crispy chicken sandwich.

Koch said the U.S. is closing in on 10,000 craft breweries. Those brewers, many of which run their own taprooms, have taken a chunk out of the Samuel Adams beer brand in recent years, as Koch has outlined on several of the publicly traded company’s earnings calls.

In fact, Boston Beer — which also makes the Truly Hard Seltzer, Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard Cider products — produced more of its non-traditional beer offerings than beer in 2019.
Of the 20 draft lines, 12 will be dedicated to beers brewed onsite, which currently include a “House” New England IPA and a “Moscow Mule” beer.

The taproom, however, will serve Truly on tap in order to give drinkers a gluten-free option, Koch said.

Michigan Bill Would Grant Self-Distribution Rights to More Small Breweries

A bill introduced in the Michigan Legislature earlier this month would allow breweries producing up to 2,000 barrels annually to self-distribute their products in the state.

Currently, Michigan breweries producing up to 1,000 barrels can self-distribute. However, the cap would double if bipartisan House Bill passes.

According to national trade group the Brewers Association, the majority of Michgian’s craft breweries produced fewer than 1,400 barrels in 2018, the last year in which data was available.

Michigan Brewers Guild executive director Scott Graham told Brewbound the legislation would create “a little bit more breathing room” for many of the state’s 357 craft breweries and help newer breweries gain exposure at a time when the wholesaler tier is shrinking.

Under the new bill, the 2,000 barrel threshold would apply to any sister brands a brewery offers in addition to its main product lineup. However, beer sold directly to consumers at a brewery’s taproom would not count against the 2,000-barrel cap.

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