Headlines

Hair of the Dog to close after 29 years

Portland, Oregon’s Hair of the Dog Brewing, one of America’s oldest craft breweries will close sometime this summer. Founder Alan Sprints announced this week he will retire from the industry. The brewery opened in 1993. 

Sprints gave the brewery fans a Continue Reading →

SweetWater acquires Green Flash & Alpine Beer

Atlanta, Georgia-based SweetWater Brewing has acquired the Mira Mesa, California-based Green Flash Brewing, and Alpine Beer brands. 

SweetWater is not acquiring the facility or brewing equipment, that will apparently remain with current owners to be put up for sale or other Continue Reading →

Posted in Pravda Brewery, Headlines

Ukrainian brewer releases recipes for international collaboration

Last week, Pravda Brewery, located in Lviv, Ukraine shifted from making beer to Molotov cocktails. As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the brewery has opened up their recipes and artwork to the world’s craft brewers. 

Pravda Brewery has made available the recipes and artwork of their award winning beers. The recipes include – Syla (Belgian tripel), Frau Ribbentrop (Belgian witbier), From San to Don (Ukrainian imperial stout) and Putin Huylo (a dry hopped strong ale). Incidentally, that beer name translates to Putin is a Dick. 

“Brewing in Lviv now sounds like a non-priority,” the company wrote on its website. “The city is bracing for a fight. Alcohol is forbidden, and we once in a lifetime support it. But brewing now – like giving birth or a marriage – is hope. Beer takes several weeks to be ready. We hope we win by then.”

Pravda Brewery hopes that a few of America’s nearly 10,000 breweries will brew some of Pravda’s beers. All the brewery asks if they do, they would make donations to their relief fund efforts. 

“As peaceful craft brewers, we want to return to the normal life asap and enjoy brewing and drinking. But first we must kick the cockroaches out of our land. No more Gulags, Holodomors and oppression. It’s a decisive moment for Ukraine, Europe and democracies of the world.

Soon will win this war and have a good beer. The Beer of Victory,” the post on their website ended. 

As of March 10th, the Russia invasion of Ukraine is now in its 15 day. According to Reuters, the death toll is more than 13,000, with 100 billion in property damage. 

Lviv, the home to Pravda Brewing is in western Ukraine near the border of Poland. The city has become a transit point for refugees fleeing the fighting.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Call To Arms Brewing, Headlines

Call To Arms Brewing cuts Putin from flagship beers

Putin is done at Call To Arms Brewing in Denver, Colorado. Effective immediately, Vladimir’s image and name have been removed from the brewery’s flagship beer Shirtless Putin Catching Rays Dark Czech Lager, as well as any other beer names in the series. 

The “Shirtless Putin” series debuted in 2016, when the internet was full of bizarre shirtless pictures of Putin, either on horseback or swimming in an icy lake. 

It was funny until Putin started killing Ukrainians. 

“The series’ original intent was to serve as a pointed criticism of Russian propaganda…The brewery does not want the name to be misconstrued in any way as supporting the Russian president or his actions,” says Call to Arms founder Chris Bell.

The series began with Catching Rays and Shirtless Putin Nuzzling with Dolphins Baltic Porter and grew to include Shirtless Putin on Horseback. All three beers will be renamed going forward. 

“While we often like to poke fun at ourselves, timely events, and cultural moments as a whole, at the core of Call to Arms, we stand behind human decency and condemn the action of Russia’s escalating aggression against Ukraine As a result, we no longer feel it is appropriate to reference Putin on our beers regardless of the original intent of the series.” – Chris Bell

A new name for the series has not been announced. In the meantime, Call to Arms has partnered with their Two Six Craft Beer Distributors to donate $1 of every Dark Czech Lager six-pack sold to UNICEF’s children of Ukraine Fund until all the inventory bearing the current imagery is gone. 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Hair Of The Dog Brewing, Headlines

Hair of the Dog to close after 29 years

Portland, Oregon’s Hair of the Dog Brewing, one of America’s oldest craft breweries will close sometime this summer. Founder Alan Sprints announced this week he will retire from the industry. The brewery opened in 1993. 

Sprints gave the brewery fans a bitter Valentine’s Day gift when he posted his retirement video to the brewery’s Facebook group page on Monday. 

Hair of the Dog has long been known for barrel-aged and strong ale offerings. Sprints went the strong beer route because he never liked feeling full on beer, saying on numerous occasions he wanted to drink two beers that make you feel like you’ve had six. His success is hard to argue, as some of  Sprint’s creations e sold for hundreds, and in rare cases- 1000’s of dollars in the secondary market over the years. “I was making barrel-aged beer when folks thought it was weird to do so,” Sprints once told Beer Street Journal. 

The brewery was originally built near the Brooklyn rail yards in 1993. In 2010, the brewery moved to Portland’s southeast industrial warehouse district, making Hair of the Dog more accessible to visitors and residents alike. 

Even as the brewery winds down operations near the 3-decade mark, Hair of the Dog still only produces just shy of 600 barrels (18,600 gallons) annually in a 4-barrel brewhouse. Sprits is still one of the smallest craft brewers in America.

“Beer has been very very good to me, I feel so fortunate to have been able to spend over half my life doing something I love so much,” Sprints said in his announcement video. A specific closing date was not announced, other than summer 2022. 

Additionally, Sprints said he is open to collaborating with other breweries in the future. Hair of the Dog itself will not be sold. 

Signing off, Sprints invites the public to come through before the taproom closes. “Please plan on coming down in the next few months, and help us celebrate the diverse world of beer that exists today.”

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Brewery Acquisitions, Cigar City Brewing, Headlines, Oskar Blues Brewing, Perrin Brewing Company

Monster acquires CANarchy, which includes Cigar City & Oskar Blues

If you think the beer industry has cycled through every weird style trend or odd business acquisition, think again. Monster Beverage Corp, makers of Monster Energy Drinks has acquired CANarchy, the craft beer collective. CANarchy includes Oskar Blues, Cigar City Brewing, Perrin Brewing, Deep Ellum, and Squatters and Wasatch Brewing. 

It had been heavily rumored that Monster Beverage had intended to enter the alcoholic beverage industry as early as pre-pandemic 2019. 

The $330 million all-cash deal sees Monster gaining the 6th largest craft brewing company in the United States, with an annual beer volume of nearly 500,000 barrels. In addition, the beverage company gains instant access to all brewery infrastructure, employee expertise, and distribution channels. 

In a press release, vice chairman and co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg of Monster stated,  “The acquisition will provide us with a fully in-place infrastructure, including people, distribution, and licenses, along with alcoholic beverage development expertise and manufacturing capabilities in this industry.”

In 2020 it was also rumored that Monster wanted to make their mark in the hard seltzer market, competing with Coca-Cola’s Topo Chico, and Pepsi’s Hard Mtn Dew, a collaboration with Boston Beer that debuts in the spring. Additionally, Monster was in talks with Constellation about a potential merger as well last year. 

With the purchase of CANarchy, Monster Beverage picks up nationally distributed Wild Basin Hard Seltzer, Cigar City Limeade Seltzer, Ellum Ranch Hard Seltzer, and Rewired Hard Seltzer by Perrin Brewing.

Monster plans to roll out new beverages later this year, testing them regionally before ramping up to national distribution. 

CANarchy will continue to operate independently of Monster Beverage Corp.  

UPDATE:  The Brewer’s Association, the not-for-profit trade organization representing the craft brewing industry, has issued a statement surrounding the purchase of CANarchy this afternoon.

The Brewers Association (BA) is aware of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective’s pending sale to Monster Beverage. Based on our current information, CANarchy meets the Brewers Association’s craft brewer definition under the ownership of Monster Energy as presently constituted. In this instance, Monster is not a beverage alcohol industry member, so this new ownership structure does not affect CANarchy’s independence in regard to the beverage alcohol industry. The Brewers Association defines small and independent craft brewers as:

  • Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to rules of alternating proprietorships.
  • Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.
  • Brewer: Has a TTB Brewer’s Notice and makes beer.
by Reid Ramsay
Posted in SweetWater Brewing, Green Flash Brewing, Headlines

SweetWater acquires Green Flash & Alpine Beer

Atlanta, Georgia-based SweetWater Brewing has acquired the Mira Mesa, California-based Green Flash Brewing, and Alpine Beer brands. 

SweetWater is not acquiring the facility or brewing equipment, that will apparently remain with current owners to be put up for sale or other entrepreneurship opportunities. 

Green Flash and Alpine beer production will move to SweetWater’s newly opened Fort Collins, Colorado facility. 

Just over a year ago, SweetWater Brewery was acquired for $300 million dollars by Aphria, a Canadian-based cannabis company. The deal in part due to the brewery’s successfully ‘420 Strain’ of beers created using cannabis terpenes (organic smell compounds). 

Financial details of the acquisition have not been disclosed. 

SweetWater Brewery is ranked 11th overall in annual production according to the Brewer’s Association. 

Developing story. Check back for more details.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Bell's Brewing, Brewery Acquisitions, Headlines

Bell’s Brewery sells to Kirin, joining New Belgium Brewing

Larry Bell, founder of Bell’s Brewery announced at noon today a sale to Lion, an Australian subsidiary of Kirin, which is currently New Belgium’s parent company. Upon this this announcement, Bell will retire. 

Bell framed the sell in his announcement as “joining forces with New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado (and Asheville, North Carolina). New Belgium Brewing sold to Lion almost two years ago this week in 2019. The sale includes Bell’s spin-off venture, Upper Hand Brewery in Escanaba, Michigan. 

“By bringing together two of the largest and fastest-growing craft brand families in the country and unifying our companies under a single business model, we’re creating one of the best and largest craft portfolios in the country. Under the terms of the deal, I am selling my stake in Bell’s to Lion, who acquired Colorado-based New Belgium in 2019,” says Larry Bell.

This sale will strip Bell’s Brewery’s “craft brewer” status definition set by the Brewers Association, who are currently ranked 7th largest craft brewery in the United States.

Larry Bell started Bell’s in his basement in 1983 on Wheaton Street, which then turned into a homebrew shop on Burdick Street in Kalamazoo. The brewery’s Two Hearted Ale has long been considered the India pale ale in America, in close contention with Russian River’s Pliny the Elder.

Bell says the day to day operations of the brewery and its nearly 550 employees will remain unchanged. Those employees join New Belgium’s 700 employees, for a combined brewery workforce of more than 1,200. 

Bell’s Brewery in on track to produce 500,000 barrels (15,500,000 gallons) of beer in 2021. Operations will remain in Kalamazoo County.

Financials of the sale have not been disclosed.

Developing story. Check back for more details as they become available. 

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines

Arby’s is releasing 80 Proof French fry flavored vodka

Just when you think every weird alcoholic drink has been invented, think again. Here’s Arby’s Vodka, flavored like their French fries, debuts this month. 

Here’s the gist. In a week, Arby’s launches two vodkas that comes in two different flavors – Curly and Crinkle. A countdown is now live at ArbysVodka.com.

Arby’s, part of Georgia-based Inspire Brands, partnered with Tattersall Distilling in Minneapolis, Minnesota on spirit, which the distillery announced today on Facebook. 

The Curly Fry Vodka is distilled with cayenne, paprika, onion and garlic. The Crinkle Fry Vodka is apparently more subtle, made with kosher salt and sugar. 

 “Being a potato-based liquor, this limited edition vodka is infused with Crinkle and Curly Fry flavor so Arby’s fans who are of legal drinking age can responsibly enjoy our menu from bag to bottle.”  – Patrick Schwing, chief marketing officer of Arby’s.

Arby’s Vodka is part of a larger partnership with celebrity (and apparent Arby’s fan) Justin Sutherland, who has created two sBloody Mary recipes using both vodkas. These drinks feature other Arby’s menu items like Horsey sauce and Arby’s sauce. The bloody Marys are intended to be topped with mozzarella sticks or even more fries. An official announcement from Inspire Brands on the mixes are coming soon. 

These limited editions vodkas are 80 Proof each, and will be a available for $59.99 per bottle on November 18th

Surdyk’s Liquor will fulfill orders through ArbysVodka.com to residents in California, Connecticut, District for Columbia, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

by Reid Ramsay