Shane Lohman’s Post

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:

Michael Roper, owner of one of the US's best beer bars, described Maine Beer Company thusly: "You could almost say that they are diabolically brilliant in their counterintuitive marketing strategy." If a brewery sticks to its guns long enough, and its beers are great enough, maybe those unorthodox choices become a point of distinction rather than a liability. That's what's happened for Maine, and it's set the brewery up for growth at a time when most other regional breweries are treading water. I dive into the brewery's decision-making, trade-offs, pricing, and more for this Brewing Industry Guide case study: https://lnkd.in/gSb-akKE

Let's address the elephant in the room: exploding beer cans. 🍺💥 It's a serious concern facing the craft brewing industry, with safety risks and reputation on the line. This blog dives into the science behind these explosions and offers crucial insights to safeguard breweries from such catastrophic outcomes. ⬇️https://hubs.la/Q02nybkC0

📸 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

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

Interesting insight into cellar management thanks to Wye Valley Brewery Ltd. It's so vital that everyone in the chain understands the nuances - if the beer doesn't look right don't serve it - it could be an issue with a cask, the beer, or the cellar, let's not make memories for the wrong reasons. The less cask ales on the bar the better - there is a far higher likelihood that they are going to be fresh. 🙏 https://lnkd.in/eSuNgHbY

Ballast Point brewery was sold to Constellation Brands for $1 billion in 2015 … Yet craft beer sales ‘chinks in the armor’ we’re already showing in 2015 — craft beer was over-supplied in a crowded market. Constellation had made a huge mistake. They overpaid for a business in a declining marketplace — Constellation needed to cut their losses. Its distillery business was spun off to a new company, Cutwater Spirits, in 2017 and subsequently purchased by Anheuser-Busch in 2019. Also, in 2019, Kings & Convicts announced it was buying Ballast Point from Constellation. While Constellation took a huge haircut in selling to Chicago-based brewery Kings and Convicts for an “undisclosed price and terms,” a pittance of Constellation paid for Ballast Point a mere four years earlier. Now Kings & Convicts has closed Ballast Point brewery operations and subcontracts out all brewing, canning, packaging and distribution for Ballast Point. Across town in Chicagoland, Heineken was struggling with Lagunitas’s soft-sales and heavy expenses. A month ago, Lagunitas announced they’re closing the massive Chicago brewery, taproom and merch store. There’s more, too (notably CANarchy’s sale), as Monster Brewing is closing production facilities rght and left. And none of this is because of the pandemic. Tastes and habits stated changing 10 years ago. Never expand, or buy, in a declining market. The days of wine and roses are long-past. “Cha-cha-cha-changes, turn and face the stranger changes…” — David Bowie Source: Beerconomy PRO (Coming Soon!) #Beer #CraftBeer #NonAlcoholicBeer #Cider #Microbreweries #Taprooms #Brewpubs #Taverns #ConsumerBehavior #BrandAwareness #EmergingTrends #BusinessIntelligence “The best beers are the ones we drink with friends.” — Beerconomy Cheers🍻! ✦✦✦ Stephen Carter King Chief of Growth and Marketing and Strategy, Beer Market Analyst and CEO of Beerconomy sharing beer market trends, insights, data and forecasts • Thought Catalyst • Advisor • Sherpa • Speaker • Publisher of ‘The Beerconomist’

Recently Max Coleman participated in the Craft Beer Industry panel at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Regional Economic Conference in Bend, Oregon. Additional panelists included Tyler Brown of Barley Brown's Beer, Ben Edmunds from Breakside Brewing and Tonya Cornett of 10 Barrel Brewing. TAKEAWAYS: Brewers expressed these feelings regarding the current craft brewing market... While there are challenges (generational shifts, changing style preferences, and post-Covid behaviors) it is not the end of craft beer. By innovating in taste, educating new consumers, and dialing in business practices and beer quality, breweries can evolve with the challenges, rather than being overcome by them. Areas of interest included embracing traditional beer styles, community building around the brewery and beer drinking experience, as well as how diversity within the industry attracts new consumers while developing new flavors. Specific challenges facing breweries:  * Large numbers of players in the market, leading to need for specialization and true understanding of consumers and core competencies, both in beer and business.  * The threat of regulatory burdens in the form of increased excise taxes at the state level.  * Three-tier distribution and the lack of control for breweries, whether that is direct-to-consumer shipping or contractual obligations around distribution partners, which continue to impact choices and flexibility by brewers. Which issue do you believe impacts you the most?

If you know anyone from Wisconsin, you’ve likely heard them talk about the New Glarus Brewing Company. Heck, if you know anyone from the Midwest, New Glarus beer has likely crossed their lips at some point. Is it really worth the hype, though? I get into all that and more in this guide to whether New Glarus beer is overrated, including thoughts from Brian, a local from these parts! https://lnkd.in/ggHcVKqF

Biz New Orleans Magazine Louisiana's craft beer industry faces a dynamic landscape, with nearly 50 brewers contending with slowed growth and fierce competition. From transformed industrial spaces to innovative business strategies, breweries are adapting to thrive in a changing market.