(courtesy Buoy Beer)

The beer biz never sleeps at American Craft Beer. And here’s just some of what’s been happening in the beer world while you were enjoying the weekend.

Buoy Beer Merges To Stay Afloat

Astoria, Oregon-based Buoy Beer Co. is merging its beer operations with Eugene-based Great Frontier Holdings, a move that will keep the brand alive after years of challenges stemming from the partial collapse of its waterfront facility and restaurant in June 2022.

The collapse heavily damaged Buoy’s restaurant, small-batch brewing tanks and canning lines, forcing the brewery to shift production while trying to keep its beer on shelves.

“We’ve faced a lot of the same challenges that many of our friends in the industry have over the last handful of years, but the previous collapse of our main facility and iconic restaurant has proved to be too much for us to fully overcome,” said Buoy President Dave Kroening.

Under the new arrangement, Great Frontier Holdings will take over production, sales and growth of the Buoy beer brands, with primary brewing operations moving to Eugene.

Buoy joins a Great Frontier portfolio that already includes Ninkasi Brewing, Ecliptic Brewing, Incline Cider House and Ashland Hard Seltzer.

But Buoy isn’t completely leaving Astoria. The company will continue operating its Buoy Beer + Pilot House tasting room there, as well as the Pilot House Distilling tasting room in Cannon Beach.

And after everything Buoy Beer has weathered since 2022, just staying afloat feels like a win.

Words To Drink By

“And mark my words, AI is far more dangerous than nukes. Far. So why do we have no regulatory oversight? This is insane.” Elon Musk @ SXSW, 2018

Photo © Brewers Association’

GABF Medals Get Bold New Design

Winning a Great American Beer Festival medal is about to come with bigger hardware.

The Brewers Association has unveiled a redesigned GABF medal for 2026 that’s larger, bolder and comes with a beefier ribbon, giving one of American brewing’s most coveted awards a more substantial look.

“A GABF medal has always been hard to earn,” said Brewers Association competition director Chris Williams. “The medal should reflect that.”

And the upgrade goes beyond the medal itself.

Winning breweries will receive new award badges for packaging and marketing, social media assets and retail materials including shelf talkers, cooler clings and shelf strips. Medalists will also receive tap handles on stage that mirror the new medal design.

The idea is simple: turn a prestigious brewing award into something that can help craft breweries get noticed and sell more beer.

And we can all drink to that.

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(Top header image: Buoy Beer /ChatGPT)