Brewbound Podcast

Fresh Fest co-founder Day Bracey joins to discuss the beer festival showcasing Black-owned breweries, and industry professionals share taproom staff management best practices. Bracey shares his experience organizing a cultural event in a post-COVID-19 world. Dani Babineau, CEO of Worcester, Massachusetts-based Redemption Rock Brewing, and Adam Delaura, co-founder of Manchester, Connecticut-based L...

The leaders of Ballast Point Brewing discuss their journey from running small upstart craft brewery Kings & Convicts, to making one of the biggest acquisitions of 2019. CEO Brendan Watters and COO Chris Bradley shared the challenges they faced as they were handed the keys to Ballast Point from Constellation Brands just two days before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down on-premise establishments natio...

Danelle Kosmal, VP of Beverage Alcohol Practice at Nielsen, analyzes hard seltzer sales trends during the coronavirus pandemic, and leaders from hard seltzer brands Press, Nauti and Bubs discuss how their regional and national brands are competing in the fast-growing segment. Joining Kosmal on the panel are Archie Gleason, VP of sales for Bubs maker Sycamore Brewing; Amy Walberg, co-founder of Pre...

Brewing education is expensive, and it's often difficult for entrepreneurs who are Black, indigenous and people of color to secure capital. These hurdles often keep women and people of color out of beer, an industry that's long been dominated by white men. This week's panelists are working to provide scholarships, hands-on experience or business loans to people who want to enter the beer industry....

Border X Brewing co-owners David and Carmen Favela and Mujeres Brew Club co-founder Esthela Davila discuss the upcoming Mujeres Brew House, a taproom and community space for women in San Diego to learn about brewing and the beer industry. Dan Kopman, the CEO of Maryland-based Heavy Seas, discusses the current state of the beer industry and the regulatory assistance needed to help craft brewers get...

Legal experts Nichole Shustack of McDermott, Will & Emery and Shauna Barnes of Kaleo Legal joined Brewbound Frontlines to discuss recent privileges extended to brewers and retailers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the finer points of operating within the three-tier system. Jim Peters, director of the Responsible Hospitality Institute, discussed expansion of open container policies to create socia...

Leaders of Massachusetts craft breweries Jack's Abby Craft Lagers, Wormtown Brewery, Castle Island Brewing and Vitamin Sea Brewing discuss their 2019 volume growth and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conversation turned to the measure of success in the volume growth-obsessed craft beer industry. Panelists discussed what indicators they check to measure the health of their companies, such...

Weathered Souls Brewing co-founder Marcus Baskerville and marketing and sales manager Kimberly Machado discuss the Black is Beautiful collaboration, which aims to raise money and awareness to end police brutality and racism. So far, 635 breweries have signed up to participate. Buffalo Wild Wings beverage innovation manager Jason Murphy shares the sports bar chain's reopening plans post-COVID-19 sh...

Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson and National Beer Wholesalers Association chief economist Lester Jones discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected consumers' beer-buying patterns, what the road back might look like for the beer industry and what's needed in the interim as breweries attempt to recoup losses from a shuttered on-premise channel.

In Episode 21 of the Brewbound Podcasts's third season, leaders of Stone Brewing, Rogue Ales & Spirits and Revolution Brewing discuss how their companies are navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Stone Brewing CEO Dominic Engels, Rogue Ales & Spirits president Dharma Tamm and Revolution Brewing CFO Doug Veliky share updates on their breweries' business, how they've pivoted and what they're doing to ma...

In Episode 20 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, experts from leading e-commerce platforms Drizly and GoPuff, as well as beverage analysts from Rabobank discuss the success of the e-commerce channel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drizly director of consumer insights Liz Paquette, GoPuff director of alcohol Randy Ornstein and Rabobank analysts Bourcard Nesin and Jim Watson share how breweries...

Cinder Block's Bryce Schaffter, 2nd Shift's Libby Crider, Creature Comforts' Chris Herron and Monday Night's Jeff Heck discuss how they plan to ease back into on-premise service, safety precautions they're adding to their breweries and the emotional aspect of how it feels to weigh business conditions against the health and safety of staff and customers.

In Episode 18 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, guild leaders from California, New York and Illinois, as well as Brewers Association senior VP Paul Gatza discuss challenges during the COVID-19 outbreak.  Gatza, along with Illinois Craft Brewers Guild executive director Danielle D'Alessandro, California Craft Brewers Association executive director Tom McCormick and New York State Brewers Ass...

In Episode 17 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, Harpoon Brewery co-founder Dan Kenary and Deschutes Brewery founder Gary Fish discuss the survival mode thousands of craft brewers find themselves in. They would know -- Kenary and Fish's companies have ridden out many storms during their 30-plus years in business. They discuss leadership, what it's like to be an employee-owned company and wha...

In Episode 16 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, the founders of Other Half, Trillium and WeldWerks discuss how they're adjusting their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Trillium's JC and Esther Tetreault, Other Half's Matt Monahan and WeldWerks' Colin Jones discuss how their businesses have pivoted, how they're approaching innovation, the future of the on-premise and much more.

Representatives from Iowa's Exile Brewing, Oklahoma's COOP Ale Works and North Dakota's Six Shooter Hospitality share what it's like to operate in states that haven't issued statewide stay at home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nick Cervine, Sean Mossman and Angie Pelton share safety measures they're taking, their experiences applying for government assistance programs and more in the first...

Brewers Association president and CEO Bob Pease, Beer Institute president and CEO Jim McGreevy and National Beer Wholesalers Association president and CEO Craig Purser discuss the industry's responses and legislative priorities in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Bump Williams Consulting VP of business development and portfolio strategy Brian "BK" Krueger discusses the slowdown in alcoholic beverage purchasing during the week ending March 28 following two weeks of stocking up during the COVID-19 outbreak. Krueger also shares thoughts on the patterns consumers are beginning to settle into, including the frequency of shopping trips, the regionality of purcha...

Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione, Denizens Brewing Company co-founder Julie Verratti, Total Wine director of beer Matt Bardill and Winking Lizard Restaurant and Tavern co-owner John Lane share how the COVID-19 outbreak has impacted their businesses and discuss strategies for navigating the crisis during a special Brew Talks event.

In Episode 11 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, Monday Night Brewing's Jeff Heck shares how the Atlanta craft brewery went into "survival mode" due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Heck discussed the existential threat facing small breweries and the entire hospitality business during a crisis few could have predicted, how business owners must balance the tension between a lack of cash flow and the...

In Episode 10 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, editor Justin Kendall interviews Rabobank analysts Jim Watson and Bourcard Nesin. Watson and Nesin share insights into the shift in consumer purchasing behaviors caused by the coronavirus disease, the effect on premium products, the opportunity for e-commerce sales and the challenges facing small brewers and much more.

In Episode 9 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, editor Justin Kendall interviews Arlington Capital Advisors principal Ryan Lake. Lake discusses why deal-making in the craft beer industry hasn't slowed in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lake provides insights into those conversations, stresses that good brands will always find a home and more.

In Episode 8 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, editor Justin Kendall interviews Vitamin Sea Brewing co-founder Dino Funari. Funari shares how Vitamin Sea's growing popularity doesn't make the company immune to the realities of business, the challenges of balancing time at the brewery with his day job, the goal of maintaining a work-life balance and much more.

In Episode 7 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, editor Justin Kendall interviews Atlanta Brewing marketing director Cameron Davis. Davis shares what it's like to deconstruct a legacy brand and relaunch it anew, as well as the fallout of rebranding, the realities not matching expectations, the importance of working with an agency, and more.

In Episode 6 of the Brewbound Podcast's third season, editor Justin Kendall interviews FIFCO USA chief sales officer Josh Halpern. Halpern discusses how FIFCO USA came to embrace being a big-small brewery, how that leads to co-creating brands with reality TV stars and why ceding some creative control to popular platforms such as Barstool Sports to build brand equity is necessary.