Trade News

→ Inside Hook, a website which brands itself as the “the go-to news and luxury lifestyle recommendation platform for the affluent, on-the-go gent,” put together a list of “13 Summer Beers to Drink While Six Feet Away from your Friends” Some tasty Heidelberg products are featured amongst the baker’s dozen of recommended summertime brews.

Victory Summer Love – Seasonal golden ale
Elysian Salute the Sun – Seasonal Pale Ale
Dogfish Head Sea Quench Ale – Session Sour
Anderson Valley Summer Soltice – Seasonal Ale
New Belgium Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza – Aguas Fresca

→ Craft Brew Alliance announced plans to divest of its Kona Brewing operations in Hawaii in an effort to gain regulatory approval for its planned merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev. Contingent upon CBA’s combination with A-B closing later this year, Kona’s operations in Hawaii — including its brewpubs in Kailua-Kona and Honolulu, as well as its under-construction 30,000 sq. ft., 100,000-barrel brewery; would be sold to PV Brewing Partners, a partnership between former A-B president Dave Peacock and Overland Park, Kansas-based family office VantEdge Partners. The rights to the Kona brand in the other 49 states and international markets would go to A-B in the CBA deal. The world’s largest beer manufacturer would manage the Kona brand, its brewing, production, innovation and distribution outside of Hawaii.

→ Magic Hat Brewing Company, which got its start in 1994 in South Burlington, Vermont,  will move its operation to the Genesee facility in Rochester, New York. The move will take place this month. FIFCO USA (Labatt USA, Seagram’s Escapes, Genesee Brewing amongst other brands) purchased Magic Hat in 2010.

→ During the month of June, all 50 states reopened the on-premise in some capacity, with dine in and/or outdoor seating. According to Nielson CGA, 42% of consumers have been out to eat or drink during the month of June. 30% went out to eat and 12% said they went out for a drink. The 21-34 year old crowd is driving the return back to the on-premise, with 43% going out to eat and 22% going out to drink. Comparatively, about 29% of 35-54 year old’s went out to eat and 12% went out to drink.

→ To help it’s shrinking supply of Mexican beers in the USA, Heineken is temporally brewing Dos Equis 6-pack and 12-pack bottles in the Netherlands to help with building the supply back to acceptable levels. With production ramping back up in Mexico, it will help to bridge any gaps.

→ Still think it’s a fad? Hard seltzers could reach $20 billion of retail sales by 2025, “a significant step up from ~$3.5B today and reflecting a 23% CAGR,” wrote Goldman Sachs’ Bonnie Herzog to Beer Marketer’s Insights. That would more than double seltzer’s current share of the beer market (8% currently) from 200 million cases in 2020 to a staggering 570 million cases in 2025. White Claw and Truly are expected to continue to lead the segment’s growth, maintaining their 80 share according to Herzog.

→ The increased sales of alcohol nationally in 2020 have been impressive: wine dollar sales are up 35.8 percent, spirits are up 38.6 percent, and beer and cider are up 28.1 percent, according to Nielsen. Yet industry insiders such as Jon Moramarco, an economic consultant and the managing director of bw166, warned via the Wine Institute, a policy and advocacy group, that revenue losses for the country’s more than 10,000 wineries and 8,000-plus growers alone could reach $5.94 billion in 2020. 97% of all U.S. wineries produce fewer than 50,000 cases each and are expecting revenue losses of up to 66 percent this year. The expected impact will get worse as production over time gets smaller.