For those of you following the transformation of Anheuser-Busch into Anheuser-Busch InBev, today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch had an interesting article about a “shake-up in its marketing department.” Essentially, it “divides responsibility for beer brands along consumer-segment lines and places greater importance on developing new products and reaching multi-cultural consumers.” A few more of the proposed 450 lay-offs will come out of this reorganization of its marketing efforts, but no specifics were disclosed.
Nørrebro Bryghus Fires Anders Kissmeyer
The Danish beerticker.dk is reporting that Anders Kissmeyer was fired by Nørrebro Bryghus. Kissmeyer was one of the founders and as the original brewmaster was one of the reasons for the beer’s success. He seems to be taking it well as part of a necessary restructuring. Kissmeyer still has 20% stake in the company, but I’ve seen these things go badly before, so who knows.
Knut Albert had this to say:
Despite a wide range of inventive beers, collaborations with brewers around the world and a high media profile, the brewery has been losing money at an alarming rate. Both in 2007 and 2008 the deficit was about one million Euros.
Kissmeyer, who founded the brewery in 2000, will still be used as a consultant by the company, but the details of his future status do not seem to be finalized.
I corresponded with Kissmeyer a couple of year ago when I was working on a feature for All About Beer on collaborations and also had an opportunity meet Anders at either CBC or GABF last year (I can’t remember precisely which). I hope things turn around for the brewery and Anders is back in the brewhouse soon.
UK Craft Paralleling US Craft Market
For several years now — maybe a decade? — craft beer has been growing at a faster rate than the older, big breweries. Naturally, they’re so big that even small percentage growth adds up to big dollars while craft beer, for the most part, with a smaller base has far more room to grow. As a result, this has been happening year after year without changing the overall landscape of the American beer market very much. It is changing, but very, very slowly (or at least slower than I’d like).
Perhaps more importantly, this sustained growth in the craft segment while the mainstream market continues to slip suggests a broader trend and what the future might hold, at least eventually. It certainly has worried the big brewers to some extent as they continue to test market micro-like products, niche products, buy into existing craft brewers and other actions calculated to take back some of the market share lost to the craft segment, no matter how small. It’s nothing sinister, just the way corporations operate. Perpetual growth sets the share price, and they must answer to the shareholders when sales goals are not met.
As our economy tanked this trend continued, with growth slowing in both big and small segments of the industry. While beer narrowly upheld its status as “recession-proof,” it did slow somewhat. Big beer went negative while craft continues to grow, but at a slower rate, at least in terms of volume of sales. In dollars, growth remained strong, but mostly because of higher prices. Of course, I also think that craft beer can sustain higher margins than big beer, whose drive to increase volume has seen price wars for decades. That gives craft another advantage, I think, because reaching a sustainable, profitable business model doesn’t have to involve going public, huge growth or answering to shareholders. Anchor Brewery is an excellent example of growing big enough and then sustaining that level while remaining profitable. Anchor has no desire to grow larger, and their future is entirely positive. It’s the opposite of the corporate model, and the one employed by most craft brewers. And I think it bodes well for the future of craft beer.
Today, the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) released a report about the state of things in the UK beer market, and there are some interesting parallels between the two markets.
Some key findings:
- Local brewers achieved a 3.75% increase in volume sales in 2009, while the overall beer market fell 4.2%
- Three-quarters of all local brewers recorded volume growth in 2009
- On average, they achieved a 17% increase in sales turnover
- Pubs continue to close, but local cask ale volumes rise by 1.27%
- Local bottled beer production up by 16%
The entire report is available as a pdf at the bottom of the article about it in today’s Morning Advertiser. Another interesting stat not mentioned is that 22%, the highest percentage, of independent beer is sold to the consumer directly by the brewery in their shops or via their website. Second was Supermarkets (21%) and third was through independent pubs (19%).
Fullsteam’s Brewery Porn From Space
Regular Bulletin readers already know I have an unnatural, some might say unhealthy, love of brewing equipment — a.k.a. brewery porn — so I was thrilled to see Fullsteam Brewery’s new brewhouse from space. I especially love the artists rendering of where his brewhouse might have ended up had it not been for the hand of fate stepping in and cutting NASA’s budget.
Recently, the reworked-for-full-gravity brewhouse was “docked” at the Fullsteam space in Durham, North Carolina.
To see more of it, check out the original post or the Flickr gallery.
James Beard Foundation Nominates 4 Beer Personalities
The semi-finalist nominations for the prestigious James Beard Foundation awards were recently released. If you’re not familiar with the awards, here’s a description from their website.
Deemed “the Oscars of the food world,” by Time magazine, The James Beard Foundation Awards are the country’s most coveted honor for chefs; food and beverage professionals; broadcast media, journalists, and authors working on food; and restaurant architects and designers.
In the misnamed category “Outstanding Wine and Spirits Professional,” four luminaries from the world of beer made the cut. Those semi-finalists are Larry Bell (Bell’s Brewery), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head Craft Brewery), Jim Koch (Boston Beer Co.) and Garrett Oliver (Brooklyn Brewery), any one of which deserves to win, or at least move on to the final round. Of the 20 semifinalists in each category, five final nominees will be announced March 22, and the awards themselves will be presented May 3.
At the risk of losing my own media nomination (that’s a joke BTW) isn’t it time to lose the wine and spirits bias? With 20% of the semi-finalists from the world of craft beer, wouldn’t something like “Outstanding Beverage Professional” be more appropriate and less insulting?
Two American & Two Italian Brewers To Open Brewpub In NYC
Well, this is certainly big news in the craft beer community, news Russian River’s Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo have been playing close to the vest. They’re teaming up with Dogfish Head and two Italian craft breweries to open a rooftop brewpub in New York City. Dogfish Head issued a press release this morning with the details. From the press release:
Four well-know brewers are joining forces with Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and Italian food emporium Eataly to open a brewery-pub on a New York City rooftop with breathtaking views of the Flatiron and Empire State Buildings.
The four breweries collaborating on this project include two Italian craft brewers — Teo Musso, Brewmaster of Birrificio Le Baladin and Leonardo Di Vincenzo of Birra del Borgo, and two Italian-American craft brewers — Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and Vinnie Cilurzo of the Russian River Brewing Company.
The first floor of the building at 200 5th Avenue will house Eataly, an epic Italian specialty foods market and multiple restaurants which pair gourmet foods with artisanal beers and wines. Additionally, there will be an 8,000 square foot rooftop brewery and restaurant operated by B&B Hospitalitys Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich.
The rooftop bar and restaurant will house a copper-clad brewing system. The idea is to create an artisanal, old world Italian craft brewery that just happens to be located on a rooftop in Manhattan, says Dogfish Heads Sam Calagione. The four brewers are working together on recipes for Eatalys house beers. Those beers will feature Italian and American ingredients. The beers will be unpasteurized, unfiltered, naturally carbonated, and hand-pulled through traditional beer engines for the most authentic and pure presentation. The four individual brewers will also occasionally brew beers under their own names on site. The rooftop restaurant project will pair artisanal rustic, homemade beers with the artisanal, rustic cooking of Chef Mario Batali. Additional Italian and American regional craft beers will be served both at the rooftop bar and within the downstairs restaurants.
Vinnie Cilurzo (Russian River), Leonardo Di Vincenzo (Birra del Borgo), Sam Calagione (Dogfish Head) and Teo Musso (Birrificio Le Baladin). [Photo by Ryan Collerd.]
The four consulting brewers met in Boston this week to brew the first test batch of Eataly beer, an English Mild fermented with Italian chestnut powder (photos above). Plans call for Eataly New York to open late summer 2010.
More from the press release:
“Eataly is the representation of the earth, its products and an example of real Italian taste. The brewery will surely be a fusion of Italian and Italian/American styles and I am very happy to make this journey with this fantastic group!” Teo Musso, Brewmaster , Birrificio Le Baladin
“In 2006 I went to the Slow Food Salone del Gusto in Italy. Upon meeting many Italian craft brewers, I was not only impressed by the quality of their beer, but, their passion for brewing as well. It was at that time I learned how great Italian craft beer was! To now collaborate with two of the most dynamic Italian craft brewers along with my friend Sam Calagione at Eataly New York will not only be a lot of fun, but, very educational as well.” Vinnie Cilurzo, Brewer/Owner, Russian River Brewing Company
“Eataly Brewery will be a great fusion of the well-known Italian gastronomic culture and our rising beer culture with the taste and the creativity of the American craft beer movement. This may well be the craziest and amazing brewery in the world” Leonardo Di Vincenzo, Brewmaster, Birra del Borgo
“While the Italian craft brewing renaissance started later than ours here in the states , they have quickly made up for lost time with world class artisanal beers. Both Dogfish Head and Russian River have pushed the boundries of beer, particularly those that pair well with food, for many years. We are looking forward to working with our Italian Brewing Brethren, Mario Batali, Joe Bastianich, and the folks at Eataly to further strengthen the bond between world class beer and world class food in the most beautiful setting for a brewery I have ever seen.” Sam Calagione, President/Founder, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.
Ouch, ABIB Begans New Round Of Layoffs
Ouch, according to St. Louis Today, Anheuser Busch InBev has announced layoffs of 90 key people, including four vice-presidents. Some of the people let go “included workers responsible for handling every facet of the brewer’s national sales.” Though the layoffs were spread among 25 states, HQ in Missouri lost the most — 17 — and California lost 12, the second highest number by state. An inside source told the St. Louis newspaper they believe about 450 U.S. jobs will be cut over the next few months. Current President, Dave Peacock, told reporters that the cuts were designed to make ABIB “optimally organized and as efficient as possible,” as meaningless a bit of gobbledygook business-speak as I’ve heard in quite some time. Wasn’t this exactly what InBev said they would not do when they were courting the sale? But cost-cutting is classic InBev behavior, as we saw before the sale and have continued to see afterward, too. It comes as no surprise to anyone who’s been paying attention to their actions, and not their homilies, for the last several years. Now, with more cuts coming, you have a workforce that’s scared for their own jobs, not exactly the work environment anyone would enjoy. Maybe it will make some perform better, work harder, to save their livelihoods but in the end all it does is breed resentment and will likely be ABIB’s ultimate undoing, at least until the next bigger corporation swoops in and buys them.
Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Collaboration Video
Sierra Nevada Brewing, of course, is celebrating their 30th anniversary this year in grand fashion. Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman is doing collaboration beers with some of the true pioneers of craft beer: Fred Eckhardt, Fritz Maytag, Jack McAuliffe and Charlie Papazian. The 30th anniversary website, Sierra 30, has a great little video of the pioneers with an overview of the collaborations.
Celebrator Anniversary Party 2010
The last big event during SF Beer Week was the Celebrator Beer News 22nd Anniversary Party, which was held at Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, California. It felt good and appropriate being back in a brewery for the event, after two years in the cavernous Marriott Convention Center. There was a great turnout, all in a celebratory mood. Over thirty breweries were pouring their finest beers for four hours on a beautiful February Sunday evening.
Lars Larson, from our hosts, Trumer Brauerei, with Homer Smith from the Oak Barrel and Shaun O’Sullivan from 21st Amendment.
It felt like a fitting end to ten days of events for what to all accounts seems like a very successful 2nd SF Beer Week. Although a lot of hard work by quite a large number of people went into the festival this year, it feel like it ran far smoother too, thanks to great work by everyone, and especially Rich Higgins, Meg Gill and Dave McLean, who spearheaded a lot of the effort this year.
Me and Tom Dalldorf (photo by Mike Condie).
Below is a slideshow of the Celebrator anniversary party. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.
Below are a few videos of random happenings at the party.
One interesting impromptu phenomenon that occurred Sunday night was that I kept noticing a seemingly random number of people who had dressed more dapper than most (excluding the people in costumes). At some point in the evening, they all came together and broke into song with the Trumer brewery as a picturesque backdrop. Below is a video of one of their acapella numbers.
Late in the evening, with less than an hour to go before closing time, someone started throwing coasters high into the air and it became epidemic with almost everyone there joining in. I felt sorry for the clean-up crew, so I didn’t participate, but I did capture a few minutes of the melee on video.
Brewers Sunday Tea
Here’s how 21st Amendment described their Brewers Sunday Tea:
What do Brewers do on Sunday? We drink tea. Yeah, right. Join us Sunday February 14th, from 11:30 until 3:30PM for Brewers Sunday Tea with beers from the 21st Amendment, Stone Brewing, Elysian Brewing and Dogfish Head. Fatted Calf will be serving up brats and sausages with the 21A’s infamous egg pizza. And it’s Valentine’s Day — bring a date!
Merideth, with the “infamous egg pizza.”
And out back — really on the side — in the beer garden, they were serving more beers and Fatted Calf had several meat dishes, too.
Shaun O’Sullivan channeling Jackie Chan
Below is a slideshow of the Brewers Sunday Tea at 21st Amendment. This Flickr gallery is best viewed in full screen. To view it that way, after clicking on the arrow in the center to start the slideshow, click on the button on the bottom right with the four arrows pointing outward on it, to see the photos in glorious full screen. Once in full screen slideshow mode, click on “Show Info” to identify each photo.