Brewbound Podcast Brewbound

Bernstein analyst Nadine Sarwat breaks down the pros and cons of a potential sale of Boston Beer Company. Sarwat also examines potential suitors, Wall Street’s view of potential deals and why Boston Beer continues to be in conversations around M&A. 
 
Plus, the Brewbound team discusses the latest news, including the Kelce brothers’ investment in Garage Beer, Hulk Hogan’s new lager and Athletic’s acquisition of another Ballast Point brewery in San Diego.

In this Brewbound Podcast interview, Ray Latif sits down with Nate Armbrust, a key figure at Scott Labs, to discuss the company's long-standing support for brewers and its role in the evolving beverage industry. Nate provides a detailed history of Scott Labs, which began as a yeast laboratory in Petaluma, California, 90 years ago. Originally serving the wine industry, Scott Labs has since expanded its expertise to include a wide range of beverages, focusing on stability and quality.
Nate explains how Scott Labs assists brewers in navigating the challenges of producing alternative beverages such as non-alcoholic beer, RTD cocktails, and flavored malt beverages. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the unique stability requirements of these beverages, especially when incorporating ingredients like fruit juices that introduce fermentable sugars. Scott Labs offers solutions like Valkrin, a stabilization method that can sometimes replace tunnel pasteurization, addressing the needs of producers who face limitations in space and capital.
Nate also discusses how Scott Labs helps brewers meet consumer demands for clean label products while ensuring beverage stability. He highlights the company's comprehensive approach to evaluating and stabilizing beverages, utilizing various methods including preservatives, pasteurization, and their proprietary products.
Listeners interested in learning more about Scott Labs' services and products can easily connect through their website, ScottLab.com, where a contact form is available for inquiries.

Burial Beer Company’s Doug Reiser discusses the culmination of a three-year project to open a rooftop wine bar for the company’s Visuals wine brand in Asheville, North Carolina. 
 
For Burial, it’s about creating “immersive experiences” at its venues, Reiser explains. He discusses reviving once-abandoned spaces, how the company got into beer and then moved into the wine space and how much overlap there is between the company’s beer drinkers and wine consumers.
 
But first, Jess, Zoe and Justin also discuss the key pieces Anchor Brewing is going to need in its resurrection. They also discuss the effectiveness of Brooklyn Brewery’s European ad campaign, and pour over Voodoo Ranger’s scans trends, with some brands in decline and others still on the ascent.

On a special bonus episode of the Brewbound Podcast, we talk a lot about lagers and marketing.  
 
First, Jack Hendler and Joe Connolly discuss their book – Modern Lager Beer: Techniques, Processes and Recipes – and producers’ growing interest in craft lagers. Hendler is one of the co-founders of Jack’s Abby, a Massachusetts-based lager brewery, and Connelly is the brewery’s sales director.
 
Then, Von Ebert Brewing’s Sam Pecoraro dishes on the Portland, Oregon brewery’s increased focus on lager, takeover of the former Ecliptic Brewing space and its five taproom locations.
 
The show wraps with an interview with Not Your Hobby Marketing Solutions’ Julie Rhodes talking shop on marketing, including the importance of personal connections and native digital marketing campaigns.

Following a flood of news last week, the Brewbound team recaps the latest major headlines, starting with the billionaire founder of Chobani acquiring Anchor Brewing. Justin, Jess and Zoe share whether they foresaw this scenario playing out.
 
Following the Anchor talk, they dig into the rumors of a potential acquisition of Boston Beer by Suntory. 
 
The news wraps with a conversation on Monster Brewing’s shutdown of the Deep Ellum brewery and taproom in Texas. 
 
The show also features a 3-pack of interviews with:
Monday Night Brewing co-founder and CEO Jeff Heck on operating multi-state taprooms;
Dan Imdieke and Jason Pratt, the new owners of Cicerone, on their future plans for the certification program;
And Rob Day on the importance of marketing, especially in a maturing craft beer market. 

 
The 2023 craft brewery production data is officially in. Justin, Zoe and weekend newsletter writer Sean McNutly dive into the high-level data points and sift through some of the surprises in the numbers.
 
They also discuss planned changes for the 2024 edition of the Great American Beer Festival and why they may be a positive for the festival experience. Then, they discuss Heineken ceasing production at the Lagunitas facility in Chicago, consolidating operations in Petaluma, California. Sean also provides a Central Park beer report that features a lot of White Claw.
 
The episode closes with an interview with Brewjeria co-founder Agustin Ruelas and Norwalk Brew House founder Ray Ricky Rivera on Los Farmworkers, the fifth iteration of a collaboration series that benefits nonprofits supporting migrant workers.