Brewbound Podcast

In this Brewbound Podcast Interview , Justin Kendall sits down with Mitch Wedemeier, Director of Planning at Octopi Brewing, live from the Brew Expo floor at the Craft Brewers Conference. Now just over two years into its acquisition by Asahi (January 2024), Octopi has refined its strategic vision under the leadership of Paul Verdu. The company is pursuing two parallel paths: continuing as a best-i...

After a week of good (dare we say sunny?) vibes in Philadelphia, the Brewbound team regrouped to put a bow on the 2026 Craft Brewers Conference (CBC).    Jess, Zoe and Justin discussed the overall feel of this year's event compared to the previous two CBCs in Indianapolis and Las Vegas, as well as the Brewers Association attempting to change the narrative around craft beer. They discuss president...

The Brewers Association's Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) rolled into Philadelphia this week – and so did the Brewbound Podcast On Location Studio. In this episode of the Brewbound Podcast, the team shares their early reads on a week in which the vibes seem high compared to previous years.  Zoe recaps the opening keynote speech by Unreasonable Hospitality author and former restaurateur Will Guidara...

Ikasu Brewing founder Masahiro "Masa" Kitano believes his Los Angeles-based, contract-brewed brand has found its niche, leaning into "weird and good beer" that taps into Japanese culinary ingredients.    Kitano's history as a home brewer helped him craft out-of-the-ordinary beers, such as a matcha-infused gose.   "It's a sour beer with the aroma of matcha, but it doesn't look green," he said. "You...

How did craft close out Q1 in scans? In this episode, the Brewbound team convenes to discuss the early read on trends in off-premise retailers with the first three months of 2026 in the books.  The conversation shifts to the latest platform builders, as Oklahoma City's Coop Ale Works and Dallas' Four Corners Brewing have created the Frontier Beverage Collective. Meanwhile, Abita Brewing Company is...

In the wake of major shakeups in the middle-tier that will see the largest distributors getting even bigger and major manufacturers adding brands to their portfolios, Fingers newsletter author Dave Infante joins the Brewbound Podcast to recap a wild couple of weeks in the bev-alc industry.   The Brewbound team and Infante cover recent distributor consolidations by the Reyes Beverage Group and Sout...

Brewers Association president and CEO Bart Watson believes the Craft Brewers Conference works best when it's "the big-tent event that everybody is coming to and connecting with."   On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Watson explained that he views the largest annual gathering of craft brewers (April 20-22 in Philadelphia) in four buckets: Commerce via the BrewExpo trade show, where bre...

Maine's craft brewing industry has always punched above its weight despite being among the smallest in population. The state ranked second in breweries (14.3 per 100,000 21+ adults) and economic impact per capita, and third in gallons (9.8) per 21+ adult in 2024, according to Brewers Association data.    That outsized impact along with the state's robust tourism business gives Maine craft brewers...

Two months into her role as president of Portland, Maine-based Oxbow Brewing Company, Bri Warner is finding her groove and taking on more of the hands-on, day-to-day operations. The leadership transition allows founder Tim Adams to spend more time evangelizing for Oxbow and Rising Tide, which the company acquired in early 2025.   Warner joined the brewery from Atlantic Sea Farms, the largest kelp...

New York's 42 North Brewing has entered its second decade with a new mindset about what it means to be a craft brewer, founder John Cimperman said on the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast.    42 North Brewing celebrated its 10th anniversary last September. Business at its taprooms in East Aurora and downtown Buffalo has returned to pre-COVID-19 levels with some changes. Food and events make...

The pack mentality isn't going away anytime soon in craft brewing.    The Oregon Beverage Collective (OBC) – the tie up of Crux Fermentation Project, Cascade Lakes Brewing, Silver Moon Brewing, Goodlife Brewing and Tumalo Cider – launched a couple of weeks ago as one of the latest additions to this crowd.   OBC president Andy Rhine joined the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast to share how th...

In this Brewbound Podcast Interview , Ray Latif sits down with Paul Benner , U.S. CEO of Pinter , to explore how the company is reinventing the at-home beer experience at a time when traditional home brewing and craft beer growth have slowed. Benner explains how Pinter's all-in-one brewing and tapping system eliminates the biggest barriers to entry — cost, time, space, and inconsistent quality — e...

As the distribution tier continues to shrink, what must brewers and bev-alc brands do to protect their routes to market? ArentFox Schiff partner Nichole Shustack and senior associate Isabelle Cunningham  joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss how suppliers can navigate the turbulence that comes with wholesaler consolidation.   Shustack and Cunningham also share updates on the uncertain future of...

How did a drink that was concocted for the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games find relevance in the U.S. today?    Finnish Long Drink co-founder and CEO Evan Burns explained on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast how the gin-based ready-to-drink (RTD) brand has connected with modern consumers through sampling, storytelling and authentic celebrity partnerships.     Burns shared that first-time Lon...

In this Brewbound Podcast interview, host Jess Infante sits down with Sarah Bryan, Executive Director of the Maine Brewers Guild , to preview the 10th Annual New England Craft Brew Summit , taking place Friday, March 6 in Portland, Maine . The one-day conference, New England's largest B2B gathering for the craft brewing industry, brings together brewers, brewery owners, suppliers, and industry par...

Monday Night Brewing co-founder and CEO Jeff Heck had an Office Space moment a couple of years ago after returning from a three-month sabbatical in the South of France.    "When I came back, I realized the company was generally doing great," he said, adding he had a moment straight from the movie's famous meeting-of-the-Bobs scene and asked himself: "What is it that you say you do here?"   "If you...

Minneapolis has dominated national headlines for weeks as area residents protest the Department of Homeland Security's heightened crackdown on Minnesota's large immigrant population. Tensions have intensified as agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have killed two American citizens in shootings that have been recorded by observers.    Local businesses such as Insight Brewing have...

How can a craft brewer expect to win away games if they're not winning at home? That's the sports analogy pFriem Family Brewers co-founder and CEO Rudy Kellner used to describe the Hood River, Oregon-based brewery's strategy when it comes to expanding its distribution footprint.    This week's Brewbound Podcast highlights a stage conversation from Brewbound Live featuring Kellner and New Trail Bre...

After a lengthy delay that included much fretting among industry insiders, the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were unveiled earlier this month. Any fears that anti-alcohol activists had infiltrated the quinquennial process were eased, as the new guidelines preach moderation over specific daily drink allowances.    Beer Marketer's Insights senior editor Christopher Shepard, who ha...

A new year means it's Brewbound's annual roundtable conversation with our peers in beer industry journalism.  This year, the Brewbound team is joined by Kate Bernot, lead analyst for Feel Goods Insights, and David Steinman, VP and executive editor of Beer Marketer's Insights. The discussion covers the biggest bev-alc news stories of 2025, including middle-tier consolidation, overall category healt...

Earlier this year, wine industry veteran Jason McConnell acquired 38-year-old Anderson Valley Brewing Company [AVBC] (Boonville, CA). Now he is focused on maintaining AVBC's cherished traditions, such as its annual fest and its celebrated disc golf course, while adding his own flair.   McConnell chatted with Brewbound editor Justin Kendall during the California Craft Beer Summit in November about...

Brewbound Live 2025 is in the books! Podcast co-hosts Zoe Licata and Jessica Infante recap this year's conference, as well as news stories that broke during the week.    Then, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego, CA) co-founder and CEO Chris Cramer joins Brewbound editor Justin Kendall for this week's featured interview. The conversation was recorded at the California Craft Beer Summit last month in I...

Pizza Port wants to be a staple of your Southern California grocery run.   "I call it the Southern California grocery basket," Pizza Port director of sales Jill Olesh said on the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast. "It's your chicken, your tortillas, your black beans, your spinach and your 6-pack of Swami's [IPA]."    Pizza Port is riding a wave of momentum as the 38th-largest craft brewery b...

The Lost Abbey's Tomme Arthur's current tagline is "We're surviving, not thriving."   "We'd love to turn that into thriving," he added on the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast.    "We're trying to get to next year. That's the standard answer," Arthur explained. "Next year will be our 20th year in business. So it's a pretty big milestone in terms of continuity or continuation. So [we're] defi...

Smog City Brewing co-founder Laurie Porter is a prepper. Even during craft's days of double-digit growth in the middle 2010s, Porter, who calls herself "an incurable optimist," was eyeing a future when that growth wouldn't be there.   So Porter and her husband, Jonathan Porter, built Torrence, California-based Smog City with diversified revenue streams – distribution, exports to international mark...