Brewbound Podcast

In this era of cross-beverage convergence, anything is possible, even a beer-flavored energy drink. Nutrabolt SVP of marketing Emily Hoyle joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss, All Hopped Up, the limited-edition offering from energy brand C4. Hoyle, a Pabst Brewing alumna, explained C4's strategy behind the citrusy, beer-flavored, non-alc beverage, which the company designed to be "really accessible to a lot of different people." Before the interview, the Brewbound team discusses Stone Brewing founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner's plans for their former brewery's former flagship location in Escondido, California; hard sports drinks' potential 2027 ceiling, according to Circana; and final takeaways from the National Beer Wholesalers Association's Annual Convention.

Two Robbers Spirits Co.'s partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles is helping the 7-year-old company fly. On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Two Robbers founders Vivek and Vikram Nayar share how partnerships with Philadelphia pro sports teams have helped raise their local profile and increase rate of sale in off-premise retailers. "It's sort of like the ultimate sampling weapon being able to sell in the stadium," Vivek said. "People talk about how valuable sampling is, but it's even more valuable if someone pays for your product to try it and enjoys it that way." Two Robbers is entering Year 2 of its sponsorship with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, a deal that allows them to leverage the Eagles' marks on packaging. The Nayars are planning to open up their portfolio playbook this year, introducing single-serve cans featuring the Eagles' logo exclusive to on-premise retailers starting this month. Vivek and Vikram go deep on their long-term vision for sports partnerships and explain how the company's pivot from hard seltzer to spirits-based cocktails future proofed the business. They also explain why they believe there's room for multiple brands to compete in the category, even in a ready-to-drink stronghold such as Philadelphia. Before the interview, the Brewbound team catches up on their travels, with road reports from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) Annual Convention and the Great American Beer Festival (GABF). Brewbound editor Justin Kendall, managing editor Jessica Infante and senior reporter Zoe Licata offer takeaways from the first day of the NBWA's biggest meeting of the year, including a strong push for franchise law protections and more ironclad contracts with producers, along with the conspicuous lack of hemp talk on the first day. Plus, Jessica shares her firsthand experience at the revamped GABF, including what worked for the outdoor festival, what didn't and what we're hearing might be next. The team also covers the big deal of the last week: Constellation Brands' acquisition of SpikedAde for $75 million, with a five-year performance-based earnout that could add $278 million to the sale price. They explain why Constellation dipping its toe into M&A is the bigger story even as hard sports drinks dominate headlines.

As far as we know, Bill Murray has never worked for a brewer or a distributor, but employees of both have probably identified with Phil Connors, the character he played in Groundhog Day who was forced to relive the same day over and over. Tech firm Groundhog thinks it has eliminated the recurring sameness of the annual business plan (ABP) process with collaborative software that ensures brewers and distributors are aligned and able to follow through on objectives. On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, founders Chris Russell and Eric Rabinovitz share the pain points they're trying to solve and how they plan to streamline the process to avoid that Groundhog Day feeling when brands and distributors meet months later. Before the interview, Brewbound's Justin Kendall and Jessica Infante recap the latest news, including Diageo's plans to shutter the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore, Mars backing away from its BuzzBallz collab, the end of the FTC's price discrimination probe into Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits and Deschutes' entry into hard sports drinks.

How do you balance two brands that are runaway successes? Stateside Brands president Matthew Quigley explained on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast how the maker of vodka iced tea brand Surfside is juggling the addition of Super Lyte, a non-carbonated hard sports drink (vodka + ade). From a marketing perspective, Stateside has created dedicated teams for each brand, he explained. On the sales side, the company has built a national accounts team and stable of state managers who, after two years, finally have the bandwidth to take on another brand. The result is another brand in Super Lyte that is being dubbed the drink of the summer, while Surfside is on pace to sell 13 million cases this year, Quigley shared. Meanwhile, Super Lyte is expected to sell four million cases by year's end, making it the largest spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) launch of all time, he added. "It shot the lights out in our core in Pennsylvania, Jersey, New York," he said. "It just went gangbusters and it's still doing incredibly, incredibly well." Stateside is now pushing Super Lyte into 40-plus states to gain a "first-mover advantage" with a host of new challenger brands entering the hard sports drink segment, Quigley said. The target now is for both brands to cross the 25-million-case threshold. "If they both get over 25 million cases, which is like High Noon's highwater mark, I'm a happy guy," Quigley said. "I think I've done my job. Time will tell." Ahead of the interview, Brewbound's Jessica Infante and Zoe Licata breakdown the the latest headlines, including: Samuel Adams front of house workers' successful unionization effort; Mark Anthony's termination of Coors Distributing in the Denver metro; The end of Stateside's lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch InBev over its Skimmers brand. The duo also tackles the NFL's crackdown on player celebrations pantomiming drinking a beer (or juice).

Intoxicating hemp beverages as they appear now may vanish from the market in mid-December. A looming federal ban was delayed a month, but the industry hasn't slowed down amid the existential threat. BevNET and Nosh senior reporter Lukas Southard joins the Brewbound Podcast to give a pulse check on the market, alternatives that may be in play if a ban goes into effect and why some states may ignore the ban altogether. "When people are being realistic … most of them concede that the December 12th deadline will pass without regulatory being in place," Southard said. "And that brands and stakeholders in this industry are gonna need to at least bide their time into 2027 until some type of regulatory framework is put into place." Before the interview, the Brewbound team discusses the latest news, including C4's beer-flavored energy drink; Kroger pulling Red Bull from shelves, Tilray's positioning of BrewDog as an Ohio craft beer brand and the Shock Top-Spirit Halloween candy corn beer collab.