Brewbound Podcast

You can't compete on price with big beer.   That warning has echoed through the beer industry for several years. It's one that Outlaw Light Beer has ignored, going guns blazing with "shock-and-awe" prices of its light lager 12-packs.   On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Outlaw CEO Ari Opsahl explains how the company makes the math work "screaming hot deals," such as a $2.30 12-pack ,and why Outlaw has chosen price disruption as a strategy.   "It's not simply a low-priced strategy," he explained. "There's a lot of different things that go into it. No. 1 is … beer by design should be affordable. Unfortunately, most of the macro players that play in the domestic space have taken price on domestic beer and whether you're talking the premium category, the subpremium category, they've taken price to a point where you can easily, as a consumer, make a decision for the exact same price point over to a bottle of Tito's Vodka or even a good bottle of rum or even a good bottle of whiskey.   "And when you start pushing consumers to make that decision, I think we're seeing that in the numbers. You look at macro beer performance and generally it's down."   Opsahl explains why price promotion is more cost effective than traditional sampling to drive trial or forging pricey sports marketing partnerships.   Before the interview, Brewbound's Justin Kendall and Jessica Infante hit the latest headlines, including Voodoo Ranger's 2027 playbook, Tilray's business streamlining, RationAle's goal to grow and sell and Jester King's search for investors or a buyer.

On the precipice of a massive rollout, Girl Beer founder Ray Biebuyck joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss wholesaler selection, product placement, social-first marketing and the brand's first major sports partnership with the WNBA's Dallas Wings.   The fruit-forward flavored lager has found that it's more at home among hard seltzers than the beer aisle, Biebuyck explained. Girl Beer targets legal-drinking-age (LDA) women drinkers, who are more often shopping for beyond beer products.   "We find that getting that consumer over to beer, what it takes is placing directly in the set where they're going to," Biebuyck explained.   Before the featured interview, the Brewbound team discusses recent beer industry headlines, including bev-alc's run at spooky season, Boston Beer's Q3 earnings results and Mark Anthony's forthcoming RefreshAde.

In this era of cross-beverage convergence, anything is possible, even a beer-flavored energy drink. Nutrabolt SVP of marketing Emily Hoyle joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss, All Hopped Up, the limited-edition offering from energy brand C4.   Hoyle, a Pabst Brewing alumna, explained C4's strategy behind the citrusy, beer-flavored, non-alc beverage, which the company designed to be "really accessible to a lot of different people."   Before the interview, the Brewbound team discusses Stone Brewing founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner's plans for their former brewery's former flagship location in Escondido, California; hard sports drinks' potential 2027 ceiling, according to Circana; and final takeaways from the National Beer Wholesalers Association's Annual Convention.

Two Robbers Spirits Co.'s partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles is helping the 7-year-old company fly.   On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Two Robbers founders Vivek and Vikram Nayar share how partnerships with Philadelphia pro sports teams have helped raise their local profile and increase rate of sale in off-premise retailers.   "It's sort of like the ultimate sampling weapon being able to sell in the stadium," Vivek said. "People talk about how valuable sampling is, but it's even more valuable if someone pays for your product to try it and enjoys it that way."   Two Robbers is entering Year 2 of its sponsorship with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, a deal that allows them to leverage the Eagles' marks on packaging. The Nayars are planning to open up their portfolio playbook this year, introducing single-serve cans featuring the Eagles' logo exclusive to on-premise retailers starting this month.   Vivek and Vikram go deep on their long-term vision for sports partnerships and explain how the company's pivot from hard seltzer to spirits-based cocktails future proofed the business. They also explain why they believe there's room for multiple brands to compete in the category, even in a ready-to-drink stronghold such as Philadelphia.   Before the interview, the Brewbound team catches up on their travels, with road reports from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) Annual Convention and the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).   Brewbound editor Justin Kendall, managing editor Jessica Infante and senior reporter Zoe Licata offer takeaways from the first day of the NBWA's biggest meeting of the year, including a strong push for franchise law protections and more ironclad contracts with producers, along with the conspicuous lack of hemp talk on the first day.   Plus, Jessica shares her firsthand experience at the revamped GABF, including what worked for the outdoor festival, what didn't and what we're hearing might be next.   The team also covers the big deal of the last week: Constellation Brands' acquisition of SpikedAde for $75 million, with a five-year performance-based earnout that could add $278 million to the sale price. They explain why Constellation dipping its toe into M&A is the bigger story even as hard sports drinks dominate headlines.

As far as we know, Bill Murray has never worked for a brewer or a distributor, but employees of both have probably identified with Phil Connors, the character he played in Groundhog Day who was forced to relive the same day over and over.   Tech firm Groundhog thinks it has eliminated the recurring sameness of the annual business plan (ABP) process with collaborative software that ensures brewers and distributors are aligned and able to follow through on objectives.   On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, founders Chris Russell and Eric Rabinovitz share the pain points they're trying to solve and how they plan to streamline the process to avoid that Groundhog Day feeling when brands and distributors meet months later.   Before the interview, Brewbound's Justin Kendall and Jessica Infante recap the latest news, including Diageo's plans to shutter the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, Mars backing away from its BuzzBallz collab, the end of the FTC's price discrimination probe into Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits and Deschutes' entry into hard sports drinks.

How do you balance two brands that are runaway successes?   Stateside Brands president Matthew Quigley explained on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast how the maker of vodka iced tea brand Surfside is juggling the addition of Super Lyte, a non-carbonated hard sports drink (vodka + ade).   From a marketing perspective, Stateside has created dedicated teams for each brand, he explained. On the sales side, the company has built a national accounts team and stable of state managers who, after two years, finally have the bandwidth to take on another brand.   The result is another brand in Super Lyte that is being dubbed the drink of the summer, while Surfside is on pace to sell 13 million cases this year, Quigley shared.   Meanwhile, Super Lyte is expected to sell four million cases by year's end, making it the largest spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) launch of all time, he added.   "It shot the lights out in our core in Pennsylvania, Jersey, New York," he said. "It just went gangbusters and it's still doing incredibly, incredibly well."   Stateside is now pushing Super Lyte into 40-plus states to gain a "first-mover advantage" with a host of new challenger brands entering the hard sports drink segment, Quigley said.   The target now is for both brands to cross the 25-million-case threshold.   "If they both get over 25 million cases, which is like High Noon's highwater mark, I'm a happy guy," Quigley said. "I think I've done my job. Time will tell."   Ahead of the interview, Brewbound's Jessica Infante and Zoe Licata breakdown the the latest headlines, including: Samuel Adams front of house workers' successful unionization effort; Mark Anthony's termination of Coors Distributing in the Denver metro; The end of Stateside's lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev over its Skimmers brand. The duo also tackles the NFL's crackdown on player celebrations pantomiming drinking a beer (or juice).

Intoxicating hemp beverages as they appear now may vanish from the market in mid-December. A looming federal ban was delayed a month, but the industry hasn't slowed down amid the existential threat.   BevNET and Nosh senior reporter Lukas Southard joins the Brewbound Podcast to give a pulse check on the market, alternatives that may be in play if a ban goes into effect and why some states may ignore the ban altogether.   "When people are being realistic … most of them concede that the December 12th deadline will pass without regulatory being in place," Southard said. "And that brands and stakeholders in this industry are gonna need to at least bide their time into 2027 until some type of regulatory framework is put into place."   Before the interview, the Brewbound team discusses the latest news, including C4's beer-flavored energy drink; Kroger pulling Red Bull from shelves, Tilray's positioning of BrewDog as an Ohio craft beer brand and the Shock Top-Spirit Halloween candy corn beer collab.

On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, the team analyzes the tectonic shifts in the bev-alc market in the last week, including: Constellation Brands giving Coors Distributing Company the proverbial black rose, with plans to terminate their relationship in the next 30 days, and the odds of its portfolio heading to the Reyes Beverage Group, which entered Colorado earlier this year; Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits paying $12.5 million to resolve a federal probe into bribes given to retail chain grocery buyers; Underwhelming Labor Day off-premise scans; A major equipment manufacturer shuttering its brewing division; And more industry upheaval. Brewbound's Justin Kendall, Jessica Infante and Zoe Licata also ponder the creation of the Two-Zie, a double koozie from mid-strength beer maker Dad Strength.

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.

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.