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We blame the industry for this… It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. There was little need to check in for updates – things were pretty much done. But clearly all that’s changed.
So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer while you were off enjoying yourself.
Good News And Bad News For AB InBev (Leuven, Belgium) – Even as AB InBev trudges towards what we see as their inevitable $100 billion dollar acquisition of SABMiller that’s expected to be finalized later this year – they’ve some good news and bad news to ponder. On the bad news front is the fact that they have once again missed on earnings, blamed at least partially on by the sales decline of their once dominant Bud Light brand. Not surprisingly the good news from one of their craft beer holdings, Goose Island, who are reporting that they grew 150% in the past year.
Oskar Blues Mood Music (Austin, TX) — Oskar Blues has announced plans to open a third brewery in Austin later this year, will be hosting a pair of gritty, down-home music soaked experiences for Austinite’s next month, to get you in the mood. On 4/20 they’ll be hosting a Smoke Out w/ J Roddy Watson. And on 4/23 they’ll be throwing a Burning Can Fest w/the Drive-by Truckers.
Words To Drink By (Los Angeles, CA) – “Craft Beer leads the way…Big Beer blocks as best they can…and when that fails they buy, dumb down and distribute.”
Greg Koch / Co-Founder Stone Brewing
Craft Pilsners Resurgent (Everywhere, USA) – Although Pilsners still command roughly 80% of the Big Beer marketplace, they’ve historically lagged as a favored craft beer style until recently. In the past few the craft beer industry has shown a renewed interest in the Pilsner, with breweries like Sierra Nevada (Nooner Pils), New Belgium (Blue Paddle), Lagunitas (PILS), Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn Pilsner), and Samuel Adams (Downtime Pilsner) among others, all making a re-commitment to the once marginalized style. Goose Island just introduced their new Four Star Pilsner (which is pretty damn tasty, by the way) and Firestone Walker’s Pivo Pils (another fav) is now one of their biggest sellers. In 2015, craft beer Pilsners showed a 76% increase according to Nielsen, and we expect that number to double in the coming year.
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Brew Hub Picks Its New Brewery Location (Lakeland, FL) – Brew Hub has chosen a Chesterfield, Missouri, as their second location, in what is expected to five contract brewing operations. Once constructed, “the 71,000-square-foot Chesterfield brewery will be able to produce 75,000 barrels of beer annually,” according to the St Louis Post-Dispatch.
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