This Week's Beer News: Three Takeaways from the BA Report
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Hi, friends! Apologies for the delay but a travel day precluded my usual Monday send yesterday. It gave me a few more hours to think about this year’s annual Industry Production Report from the Brewers Association, which came out last week and saw significant Midwestern(-ish) changes.
Consolidated beer groups helped lead to some new faces squeezing into the BA’s Top 50 this year, but that only made the drops that much more surprising. Here are the biggest moves I saw:
Three Floyds drops to #26.
Even with groups like Tilray, Barrel One Collective, Monster Brewing and Craft O’hana compressing a lot of breweries into the top twenty, Three Floyds still dropped from their spot at #20 on last year’s list. I’ll be interested in seeing the actual barrelage change (that report comes out later this year) and without it, it’s hard to know exactly what the year over year change for FFF was. Just spitballing here, but is it possible that customers feeling the price squeeze are moving away from their generally higher price per six pack?
Buckeye ascendency: Rhinegeist’s rocket ship ride continues, a wild BrewDog appears and Fat Heads hops on too.
Not a bad year for Ohio breweries! Rhinegeist jumped up to #16 this year after sitting at #22 in 2023, while BrewDog jumps on at #30. Also thanks to that consolidation opening up some space, we see Fat Head’s on this year’s list at #48.
Where’d Kings & Convicts go?
After sitting at #30 last year, they’re not even on the list this year. Yikes. I include this here because their ownership started in Chicagoland before taking over Ballast Point, so their Midwestern roots have me keeping my eyes on them … or whatever’s left of them at this point.
I love beer, and I love Chicago history, so I really love this Chicago Reader longread all about the Chicago Lager Beer Riot of 1855 that birthed the city’s police department.
The dream of 5Rabbit’s Pilsen brewpub is still alive (somehow)! Costar reported on how the project could open as soon as this summer thanks to … new debt? Real estate is weird.
NBC Chicago was on hand to observe the Chicago Sky WNBA watch party at Revolution Brewing.
WSIU says the CarbondALE beer fest celebrates its tenth birthday in a couple of weeks.
Job alert: Destihl is looking for a shift brewer.
BevNet previews the upcoming Craft Brewers Conference in Indianapolis, which will be Bart Watson’s first as CEO of the organization.
Big Grove Brewing’s new microgrant program is already doling out nearly $50K total to six local charities.
In Marquette this past weekend, Kognisjon Bryggeri held their Resinator metal festival. I need to visit this place.
Portage’s Presidential Brewing released their “I Did Not Inhale” IPA on (you guessed it) 4/20.
As the winner of the Detroit News’s first Michigan Craft Brewery Bracket Challenge, Old Nation Brewing received this cool feature looking at where they are today.
Montgomery Brewing Company is now one part brewery, one (small) part hotel.
In Duluth, owner Dave Hoops is celebrating 25 years of Hoops Brewing Company.
Want to be the owner of Bent Brewstillery? The owners are retiring and looking for someone to take over.
This is interesting - Schlafly’s Highland Square brewpub now operates under a licensing agreement with a local restaurant owner, who’s changing things up on the menu…
A new franchisee for the craft-beer-focused chain restaurant The Brass Tap says he’s planning to open five locations around STL.
Axios Cleveland paid a visit to the new Market Garden Brewery taproom.
Chardon’s Eleventhree Brewing is already expanding after being open for just two years.
A new Voodoo Brewing taproom is now open in Delafield.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel had an exit interview of sorts with outgoing MolsonCoors CEO Gavin Hattersley where he defends the recent moves the company made regarding Leinenkugels.
This Texas Monthly story should either thrill or outrage you: “Craft Breweries’ Plan to Combat Closures? Playgrounds.”
Last week’s most-clicked link: WGN-TV’s visit to Crust Taproom.
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