Brewbound Podcast

Brewbound
  • 4.4 (92)
  • Business News
  • Updated Weekly

The Brewbound Podcast is an extension of Brewbound's leading B2B beer industry reporting, featuring interviews with beer industry executives and entrepreneurs, along with highlights and commentary from the weekly news. New episodes are released every Thursday. Send comments and suggestions to podcast@brewbound.com.

  1. 1d ago

    Von Ebert's Dashawn Agbonze on Failing in Safe Spaces and the Importance of Brewing Education

    Von Ebert Brewing brewer Dashawn Agbonze sees himself as the "fun police" – a badge he wears proudly, much like the German brewers that he admires.   "I'm always like, 'Why are we doing this?'" Agbonze said on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. "Ultimately, like the Germans, I don't believe in magic. I need an explanation. Let's talk it out. Part of that is, let's train people so that everyone can see the same vision and we have the same goal because we know exactly how to get there."   Agbonze, a two-time Michael James Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling (MJF) scholarship awardee, shares his journey climbing the ranks of the brewing industry and why he believes education is critical for up-and-coming brewers.   "The education is important because it enables you to be in a controlled space to fail," he explained. "You're not putting a business on the line. You don't have employees with families that you have to risk in order to learn that 'Hey, a clean tank would make the beer that you want,' or 'Hey, contamination via your canning line can happen,' or how to solve these problems in a safe space."   Failures in a learning environment become key lessons in training the next generation of brewers, Agbonze shares.   Before the interview, the Brewbound team discusses the latest news, including a major departure from Whole Foods' bev-alc team, an update on Pabst's stolen beer, the Beer Institute's latest beer supply data and FIFCO USA's new owner and new/old name.   Brewbound managing editor Jessica Infante also shares highlights from her trip to Asheville for the annual business planning meetings at Highland Brewing and Sierra Nevada.

    Von Ebert's Dashawn Agbonze on Failing in Safe Spaces and the Importance of Brewing Education

  2. Sep 2

    Hard Sports Drinks, Industry Layoffs and Pabst's Stolen Beer

    The summer selling season wraps up this weekend with Labor Day Monday, and one of the hottest segments of the summer has been hard sports drinks.   Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and senior reporter Zoe Licata dive into the fast-growing segment and how their views have shifted on it over the last year. They look at who is leading the segment now and new entrants looking to fast-follow, including Boston Beer Company.   The duo also recap several rounds of layoffs, including Sapporo USA's wind-down of the Stone Brewing-branded locations in Escondido, California; Mark Anthony's integration of the Finnish Long Drink and coming sales team cuts; and Diageo's ongoing $1.2 billion restructuring effort hitting its NYC headquarters.   Plus, Justin and Zoe discuss low-ABV beers (and Justin cracks Sierra Nevada's new Go-Two IPA) and Pabst's viral stolen beer marketing campaign.

    Hard Sports Drinks, Industry Layoffs and Pabst's Stolen Beer

  3. Aug 26

    Dave Infante on Diageo's Cuts, Garage Beer's Data Center Cooling Plan and BuzzBallz and Pop-Tarts' Boozy Collab

    Fingers boozeletter author Dave Infante joins the Brewbound Podcast to deep dive Diageo's ongoing restructuring and workforce slashing under CEO Sir Dave Lewis (aka "Drastic Dave" for his reputation for making big cuts at previous stops).    Infante shares insights from his reporting and conversations with Diageo employees, many of whom wondered why the Guinness and Johnnie Walker maker was so slow to adapt to the modern bev-alc competitive landscape.   "The frustration that I heard from current and former Diageo employees was mostly about why weren't we doing this before we had to start laying everyone off," Infante tells Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and managing editor Jessica Infante (no relation).    "You don't have to get to this point before you start pivoting to RTDs."   The trio also hit recent headlines, including Garage Beer and Liquid Death tapping into the real world animosity around data centers and BuzzBallz's recent Pop-Tarts partnership.   Jessica offered a theory on the BuzzBallz-Pop-Tarts team up: "Kids aren't eating Pop-Tarts. You know who's eating Pop-Tarts? Sad, elder millennials who can't afford anything else and want a tiny treat. The moms who would be out marching on the capitol up in arms against this aren't feeding that to their kids."   "They're the ones who are intrigued by the BuzzBallz Pop-Tarts that they saw on Instagram," Dave adds.   "That's definitely going into their Stanley tumblers," Jess says.

    Dave Infante on Diageo's Cuts, Garage Beer's Data Center Cooling Plan and BuzzBallz and Pop-Tarts' Boozy Collab

  4. Aug 19

    Do We Need Another NA Version of a Legacy Beer Brand?

    Does every beer need a non-alcoholic (NA) analog? The Brewbound team discusses on the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast.    As Molson Coors prepares to launch an NA version of Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, Brewbound editor Justin Kendall questions whether the product is trend chasing or if consumers are clamoring for it. Managing editor Jessica Infante gets White Claw Zero flashbacks, while senior reporter Zoe Licata offers a different perspective after exploring NA ciders.   The trio also analyze recent headlines, including: Samuel Adams taproom workers' plans to unionize and Boston Beer's response, so far; And B3 Beverage's "complicated" partnerships, with a deal for Yards Brewing going forward and others falling through.

    Do We Need Another NA Version of a Legacy Beer Brand?

  5. Aug 12

    The Beer Industry's New Era of Competition

    The decade-long consent decree that allowed Anheuser-Busch InBev's (A-B) MegaBrew merger with SABMiller to go forward expired in July, removing guardrails that had been placed on the world's largest beer manufacturer by the Department of Justice to ensure competition in the marketplace.    Chris Jones, managing director of Central Market Strategies, joins this week's Brewbound Podcast to explore what competition looks like in a post-consent decree beer industry.   Jones argues the consent decree did its job, creating a competitive environment that allowed new brands over the last decade such as Athletic Brewing, Mark Anthony Brands' White Claw and Boston Beer's Truly Hard Seltzer to become category leaders in non-alcoholic (NA) beer and hard seltzer, respectively, while also preventing A-B "from using its massive size as the world's largest brewer to disrupt the market."    WIth the consent decree's guardrails down, including the removal of an independent monitor who maintained compliance by handling claims of interference and coercion, there now exists "a lot more risk in the system of this market power and abuses of market power that could result from the size and scale of the largest brewer," Jones said.   Going forward, it will be important to track national market share in an already "highly concentrated market" and middle-tier consolidation in the years ahead, he added.   Listen to the full conversation with Brewbound managing editor Jessica Infante here.    Before the conversation, Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and senior reporter Zoe Licata join Jess to run through the latest news, including Lawson's Finest Liquids' first NA beer, what distributors say is on their cut lists, a distributor territory swap in the Northeast and "warm beer takes" on the latest NFL beer marketing.

    The Beer Industry's New Era of Competition

  6. Aug 5

    CEO Michelle Ivey Dives Into Lake Hour's Strategy

    How can a new brand make a splash in the increasingly crowded ready-to-drink waters? A winning combination of differentiated flavors, artistic packaging and a willingness to work the market day in and day out. That's what has been working for Lake Hour, according to CEO Michelle Ivey, this week's featured guest.    RTD canned cocktail brand Lake Hour launched three years ago amid the segment's meteoric rise. Its co-founders – actor Wyatt Russell and film producer Rich Peete – had no prior beverage experience, and tapped Ivey, an industry vet, as CEO in late 2025.   "Once I tried it, I realized it was one of those, 'actually' brands that when you take a sip, you're like 'Wow, actually, this is great. This tastes so good,'" Ivey said. "And so, I was so impressed with what they did and what they built two years in as startup founders that have had no experience in the industry."   Before the interview, the Brewbound team discusses recent headlines, including a proposed reprieve for intoxicating hemp beverages, how many retailers sold out of various bev-alc products during the World Cup and how Anheuser-Busch InBev views itself relative to spirits giants.

    CEO Michelle Ivey Dives Into Lake Hour's Strategy

  7. Jul 29

    RNDC's Unpaid Tab, Craft's Mid-Year Number and Boston Beer's Rally Dog

    Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) is leaving a big unpaid tab. The distributor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, with liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion, and more than 100,000 creditors.   In this episode of the Brewbound Podcast, Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and senior reporter Zoe Licata dive into the bankruptcy filing, as well as the fallout, with many suppliers left wondering if they'll ever get paid back.   Justin and Zoe also catch up on the other big headlines, including the Brewers Association's (BA) 2026 mid-year report, with projected craft volume declines of 4%. They discuss why the news isn't all bad – with a majority of respondents reporting growth – and  why it's not all good.    The conversation shifts to Boston Beer's second-quarter results and Sun Cruiser's growing importance to the company's bottomline. They also explore Boston's growing fast-follower innovation strategy, including Rally Dog, a potential hard sports drink challenger brand. Plus, they touch on if beer companies might be walking back their opposition to the spirits industry's equalization efforts.   Finally, seasonal creep is here and real as pumpkin beers are already popping up on store shelves.    It's a quick, fun recap of the latest news.  Listen here.

    RNDC's Unpaid Tab, Craft's Mid-Year Number and Boston Beer's Rally Dog

  8. Jul 22

    The Magic of Airport Beers with Experience Threee's Liz Einhorn

    The pre-flight beer ranks high on many people's lists of simple pleasures, but what does it take for that beer to end up in a pint glass?   Experience Threee founder Liz Einhorn joins this week's episode of the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the complexities of beer service in airport concessions. She shares the pros and cons of brewery-branded airport taprooms and what it takes to secure (and keep) a draft line in a busy airport bar.   Before the interview, Justin and Jess break down the latest beer industry headlines, including a lawsuit between Ballast Point's owners over allegedly ill-gotten business loans, new leadership at the National Black Brewers Association and James Watt's second attempt to buy back BrewDog.

    The Magic of Airport Beers with Experience Threee's Liz Einhorn
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4.4
out of 5
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About

The Brewbound Podcast is an extension of Brewbound's leading B2B beer industry reporting, featuring interviews with beer industry executives and entrepreneurs, along with highlights and commentary from the weekly news. New episodes are released every Thursday. Send comments and suggestions to podcast@brewbound.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Brewbound
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    398
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Brewbound Podcast

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