COMING SOON!

The two key craft brand families managed by Duvel USA both outperformed the broader US beer and craft beer bizzes last yr, even if they didn't grow by overall volume. Boulevard and Ommegang each ended 2024 flattish, sales & mktg exec veep Bobby Dykstra shared with Craft Brew News, the former at about 152K bbls and the latter around 15K bbls. Biz for both brands is becoming more concentrated in their home regions and states, Bobby explained. An 11% gain for Boulevard's Quirk brand family, mostly hard seltzer plus new Quirktails FMBs, offset declines in the brewery's beer biz. Meanwhile, the co's small cadre of higher-end Belgian imports are on a tear, +15% in 2024 all in. Beyond Beer Over 1/3 of Boulevard's Biz in 2025; Quirk Hard Tea Arrives Early Boulevard is one of the few US craft brewers that's managed to keep growing outside of craft, even as the hard seltzer segment tumbled in recent yrs. Co's beyond beer portfolio ended last yr at about 35% of Boulevard's biz, Bobby shared, or well over 50K bbls, up double digits again. It saw some major wins on distribution last yr, with more support from natl accts and chains throughout co's core midwest mkt, while it built biz further in local independents. "Genuine brand loyalty" from both consumers and distrib/retailer partners has been key to these ongoing gains, Boulevard mktg veep Ali Bush told us, citing "authentic consumer engagement" and ongoing focus on unique flavor formulations and quality.Last yr, co moved outside of seltzer with unique bottled FMB-like entry Quirktails. That launch was "not as explosive" as seltzer had been, but co aims to keep building it with a vty 12-pk this yr. The big focus for Quirk in 2025 is new hard tea entry, using green tea and a cane sugar base for a 4% ABV lighter take on the fast-growing FMB segment in 4 flavor variants (lemonade, raspberry, peach, pomegranate), recall. Co recently moved up that launch to this wk to ensure the brand is on the floor ahead of the Super Bowl as co's hometown Chiefs seek a coveted threepeat. That would be another boon for Boulevard's biz and co feels "very fortunate" for the success of its local sports teams.Back to Beer in 2025: Room to Run on IPA, Space Camper; Boulevard Light, Barrel-Fresh, Partners Co by no means wants to take its foot off the gas for Quirk. But this yr, "we're really committed to growing our beer business," Bobby said. Unfiltered Wheat remains its biggest brand by volume, despite a pretty steady decline over time. It's "still important to us" and co will "still program around it." Yet Space Camper IPA and the brand family Boulevard built around it presents the clearest oppy with "volume and distribution gains." It's "locally become the number one IPA," Bobby said, and "regionally" is becoming "more and more relevant" as co sees "the velocity pick up." In fact, the base IPA's "velocity on draft rivals any brand that we have."Crucially, in co's home midwest mkt, "IPA development is a little bit slower than the coasts," Bobby pointed out. So the style "still has head room" in the region, in his view. And Space Camper has "head room in gaining share in IPAs," as far as the co's concerned. That includes higher-ABV sibling brands like Quantum Hop, joined at the end of last yr by Juice Nova, a more fruit-forward entry at 9% ABV. This yr co's adding Chill Break as a more sessionable, dryer 5% ABV entry to "build out that shelf set," Ali explained. And it's releasing Zero Gravity non-alc IPA, also in the Space Camper family. While IPA-centric brand fams have become increasingly common for some of the largest craft brewers that seek to reach new audiences with imagery separate from the core brewer brand, few if any cross the full strength spectrum for non-alc to hi-ABV.Also joining the party this yr is Boulevard Light, co's take on a light American lager. Coming in March, the brand will bring some "levity" and "humor" in its messaging, leveraging partnerships with a number of local and regional personalities, Ali and Bobby explained. Sixers and draft will be line-priced with Unfiltered Wheat and Space Camper, Bobby said, while 12 pk cans will sit a price-point below as co aims "to drive display activity." It's "another new world for Boulevard to play in," he remarked. Growing Quirk helped co understand that some folks who "want to support local, want to support regional brands&hellip;may not be as interested in some of the flavors that leading craft brands have." So this is another way to reach those consumers.And don't think Boulevard is walking away from its esteemed barrel-aged portfolio either. Interest in those beers may not be what it was a decade ago, but co's still working on them. This yr, it's launching Wood Baron, what it's calling a "Barrel-Fresh Ale" because it's a blend of 40% bourbon barrel-age stout with 60% fresh porter. At 8.2% ABV, it's aimed at inviting new folks to the barrel-aged party while opening up "new occasions for existing barrel-age beer fans," Ali explained. It's also digging deeper with local partners and personalities, including with Kansas City Royals (official craft beer and hard seltzer), the Kansas City Current (Natl Women's Soccer League), the Chiefs' offensive lineman Creed Humphrey and more local leaders to be announced soon.Ommegang Up 5% in Home Upstate NY; Chouffe +40%, Duvel 4 Pks +18% Tho significantly smaller parts of Duvel USA's biz, NY-based Ommegang and co's growing Belgian import portfolio are coming along. Originally a national play for Belgian-style ales, Ommegang is now firmly refocused on NY, especially upstate, which is panning out. The brand fam grew 5% there last yr, Bobby shared. By focusing on "grocery development in our home market," largely with core brands like Rare Vos amber ale, its chain biz is particularly strong, showing a big double-digit, 20% gain in NIQ all outlet data.Again, high-end imports like Duvel and Chouffe did even better. Up 15% in all, the launch of NA Chouffe and the continued push behind more sessionable Duvel 6.66 buttressed gains for core brands. Chouffe in particular is on fire, up 40% last yr in NIQ data. And core bottled 4-pks of Duvel's flagship ale grew 18%. In all, getting cos US breweries back to flat, with solid growth pockets for each, plus strong gains for imports made 2024 the "strongest year we've had," Bobby commented.

High-End Imports Drive Gains for Duvel USA as US Brands Flattish; Quirk +11% as Co Enters Hard Tea

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