Beer News: New England Craft Beer Summit Returns, Beer Heiress Makes US Senate Run

American Craft Beer|March 30th, 2022|

In yet another sign that COVID-19 might finally be behind us, one of the best professional beer events in the nation is returning to New England this week. We’ve that, beer politics, and more.

New England Craft Beer Summit Returns

The New England Craft Brew Summit, one of the best beer industry gatherings in the Northeast, returns to Portland, Maine on Thursday, March 31. This will be the first large industry event in New England since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020. And Governor Janet Mills will join keynote speaker Dan Kleban of Maine Beer Company to celebrate its return.

Sponsored by the Maine Brewers’ Guild this year’s summit will feature more than 20 in-depth workshops exploring technical and business topics designed to engage brewers in thinking about where their businesses will be in five, ten, and twenty years.

Maine is home to more than 150 breweries and is consistently recognized as one of the best destinations in the USA for beer tourists. The past 2 years have been a tumultuous time for the craft beer industry, but according to a recent survey by the Maine Brewers’ Guild, 43 percent of brewers reported that business was better than expected in 2021, and 87 percent reported optimism about their future.

Words to Drink By

“Most people with something to lose avoid talking about politics, unless it’s their brand.” — Bob Lefsetz, Music industry writer and media analyst

St Louis Beer Heiress Makes Senate Bid

Trudy Busch Valentine

On May 28, St. Louis beer heiress, Trudy Busch Valentine, announced that she was “throwing her hat in the ring” and joining an already heated race for Missouri’s US Senate seat.

“Valentine is the daughter of the late Anheuser-Busch beer baron August “Gussie” Busch Jr., who died in 1989, according to St Louis Today. “Her mother, Gertrude “Trudy” Busch, was Busch’s third wife.”

Adolphus Busch brewed the first batch of Budweiser in 1876 and that beer built a family empire. The Busch family passed down the company through the generations but ended up selling an estimated 25% stake from 1989 to 2008. Then a group of Brazilian and Belgian investors led InBev’s successful takeover of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, a huge blow for the family.