Rob McPherson’s Post

When the sun goes down on our side of town, it's up to our Overnight Production crew to keep the beer flowing at our Fort Collins, Asheville and Daleville breweries. Comprised of two teams at each site, this crew oversees all aspects of beer production without the luxuries enjoyed by the "Day Walkers" — access to brewing leadership, maintenance and support teams, and open sandwich shops. Merely staying awake to brew while the rest of us snooze is impressive enough, but maintaining a mental edge when the brain is normally its foggiest is a superpower that these brewers possess. A large system unexpectedly goes down in the middle of the night? Someone drops a pen in a full dry hop tank? A raccoon sneaks in through the back door looking for a snack? Crazy things like this happen — have happened — and it takes a cool head to put out fires safely and efficiently. Sure, if something breaks down, they can always pick up the phone and call for backup. (And if an issue is serious enough, they do.) But would you want to ring your manager at 2 AM? Didn't think so. Thus, these brewers are experts at learning on the fly, quickly picking up the skills to repair parts and solve problems typically overseen by other departments. What's it like working the brewery when no one's around? According to Joni Pipal, Overnight Shift Lead, it brings you closer to the ones that are. Camaraderie is innate to the role, and it grows through late-night snack breaks, potlucks, Wordle competitions at midnight, Friday 1554 floats at shift change, and delusional conversations at 4 AM that "make us laugh until we cry." Oh, and brunch. Lots of brunch.

NEW: BrewDog is pivoting towards lager as it looks to become the fourth-largest brewer in the UK off-trade. With Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company's bestseller San Miguel set to switch to Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I in January, there was an opportunity for BrewDog to leapfrog the supplier, group sales director Stuart Harrison said. In a bid to win the battle for fourth spot, the Scottish brewer would place greater emphasis on lager to appeal to more shoppers, Harrison said. “Penetration of craft has plateaued,” he said. “There are no new consumers coming into craft. So we have to drive penetration to craft. That is why you will see a lot of focus from us next year on Lost [Lager].” Lost Lager, first introduced by BrewDog in 2018, will this year overtake Punk IPA to become the brewer’s biggest-selling beer in grocery, accounting for around 22% of its total off-trade volumes. As well as driving sales of Lost Lager via new pack formats and promotions, BrewDog would invest behind its 3.4% abv lager Cold Beer and extend its Wingman sub-brand into lager next year, Harrison said. Read more via The Grocer.

📸 Brewery in Focus: La Cumbre Brewing Co. Independent agents, here’s a valuable opportunity to learn from La Cumbre Brewing Co., one of New Mexico’s premier breweries. By getting a snapshot into their commitment to quality, community and some of the risks their business faces, you can better serve craft breweries in your portfolio. "Quality is measured in many ways, but to put it as easily as I can, a beer’s quality should be judged by how close the brewer came to their intended target." - Jeffrey Erway, President. Read more about their journey and insights that can help you advise your clients better. #CraftBeer #BrewingIndustry #InsuranceAgents #RiskManagement #QualityBrewing #LaCumbreBrewing 👉 https://lnkd.in/e3Wi2yst

Once beer leaves the brewery, it’s in a distributor’s or retailer’s hands. However, that doesn’t mean breweries can’t monitor how it’s being stored, handled, and poured. Self-distributing breweries have more visibility and control over this, of course, but even those with wholesaler contracts should make it a priority to evaluate their beer’s quality in the market and flag any issues. For the Brewing Industry Guide, I dug into the complicated but critical issue of field quality: what small breweries can do, and why it matters. Big thanks to Jessie Polin, Julie Smith, Sean Lawson, Neil Witte, and Stoup Brewing's Jason Bass for speaking with me:

🚨 Major NA #beer News: On Tuesday, Athletic Brewing Co. announced it closed a $50 million equity financing round led by private equity firm General Atlantic, with participation from other investors. As part of the transaction, General Atlantic assumed a seat on Athletic’s board of managers. According to a press release, the company plans to use the funding to drive long-term growth. This includes renovating the recently purchased Ballast Point brewing facility in San Diego and expanding distribution to new international markets. Athletic is America’s fastest-growing non-alcoholic beer brand with over 19 percent of the category’s total market share, and according to NielsenIQ, is currently driving 32 percent of the category’s growth. Read more at VP Pro: https://lnkd.in/eAAeqF3q

Tilray's acquisitions highlight an important truth: adding distribution alone doesn't ensure brand growth if the brand lacks the ability to resonate with consumers. Points of distribution do not automatically translate to rate of sale. Expanding to new markets isn’t just about increasing distribution—it’s about creating brand resonance. Simply adding brands to a portfolio does not guarantee increased sales or profitability for those brands. The craft beer industry, in particular, demands more than just analyzing numbers on a spreadsheet. It requires a deep understanding of brand identity, market plans, and effective distribution strategies—areas where I’ve seen brands either thrive or struggle firsthand. Without a clear plan to enhance these brands and make them resonate with consumers, Tilray risks repeating the mistakes of previous owners. Successful brand building is more than just expanding reach; it's about forging meaningful connections with consumers in each market.

In today's CBD: Two of the largest Black-owned breweries, California's Crowns & Hops Brewing Co. and Full Circle Brewing Co., have struck a watershed alliance to leverage its members’ strengths and show up at market in a much bigger way. The new shared resources platform is dubbed “Circle of Crowns Beverage Group” (CCBG). The alliance “combines two leading Black-owned brands and centralizes production, sales and marketing between the two companies,” per announcement. Production will be centralized at Full Circle. Currently, the brands produce about 10,000 barrels collectively. It’s about “unlocking untapped opportunities” in the craft market, by "leveraging retail and venue diversity programs." Historically, Black suppliers have lacked the infrastructure to address these opportunities on a wide scale. CCBG also includes the historic Speakeasy Ales & Lagers brand, one of the oldest in San Francisco, and Sonoma Cider. "As you know, there's 9,000-plus breweries out there, and there's only 1% that are Black-owned," Arthur Moye, Full Circle founder, told CBD. "And I think, during a good period of the last half a decade or so, people have wanted to support Black-owned businesses. So you have major retailers reaching out to those 1%; you have distributors reaching out to those 1%; but then there hasn't been a structure by which they could significantly respond, because that 1% is mostly represented by people that don't have production facilities and can't create the margins and the economies of scale to sit on the shelves throughout the distribution networks of the chains." This starts to solve that. More here, we left the story open to all. https://lnkd.in/gsHErbeK

In the brewing industry, margins are under attack. No longer is growing revenue and volume enough to succeed. There’s a new game: increasing profitability and maximising margin. As Luca Lorenzoni wrote in his popular series on The Future of Craft Beer, breweries must analyse their margin pool and ensure their pricing strategy is right across their various routes to market. Sellar exists to put breweries back in control. Where breweries can sell direct to anyone, keep all of their margin, all while reducing the admin that typically comes with direct sales channels. We've whacked out the spreadsheet, and the numbers don't lie... 👇🏼 https://lnkd.in/eMjERYvE

You have to know your brand's value and assert it through your team's daily actions. Consistent communication and accountability from a supplier always conveyed to me that they likely had their act together across the board. If you don't actively demand your brand's value in everything you do, how can you expect anyone else to? The values you demonstrate through your daily operations shape how distributors and retailers perceive and treat your brand. Ensuring quality control and maintaining high standards, even after your product leaves the brewery, shows a commitment to excellence. By consistently upholding your brand's value, you not only protect its integrity but also build strong, respectful relationships with your distribution and retail partners.