Beer Marketer's Insights - More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys: Barrel One Aims for Curation of Complex Biz; 2026 to Bring Harpoon Refresh & So Much More

Closing in on a year after the merger of two New England craft-focused portfolios into Barrel One Collective, it's "amazing how good it feels," Harpoon co-founder and Barrel One prexy Dan Kenary told Craft Brew News of the complex integration process during a recent visit to co's HQ and longtime Harpoon location in Boston. Positivity in the ailing craft beer and broader beer biz isn't easy to come by and Barrel One faces considerable challenges of its own with many of its brands still in decline. But looking back at effort to stitch together this sprawling set of brands and bizzes, "it's gone awfully well," CEO Nathaniel Davis agreed, citing "very little left" to do to integrate the biz that now sells well over a dozen different brand fams and operates breweries and taprooms in 4 different states. Barrel One formed at very end of 2024, bringing together Mass Bay and Finestkind, a pair of cos that each sold sizable portfolios on their own, recall. Anchored by Harpoon, Mass Bay also held onto legacy craft brands like Long Trail, Otter Creek, The Shed and Catamount, the Harpoon spin-off UFO, plus Clown Shoes and partner brands like Dunkin' Spiked. The other part of the portfolio came from NH-based Finestkind, named for longtime flagship of lead brand fam Smuttynose, plus Wachusett, NY's Five Boroughs and small RTD brand Island District. Mid-year, co acquired the Worcester-based Greater Good brand fam, focused squarely on higher ABV, imperial-style beers. It's among largest portfolios in craft. And much like the broader craft biz, growth stories had been hard to come by for each portfolio. Managing so many brands isn't easy and ain't for the faint of heart. But Nathaniel and Dan indicated a clear-eyed view of the challenges and aren't shying away from them.Resisting "Vinification" with Curation, Building Local Depth There's got to be more curation up and down the craft supply chain, Dan and Nathaniel discussed. "Shopping for beer sucks," Dan said flatly, when it takes 20 mins to find a 6 pk. "The wholesalers aren&#39;t happy. The retailers aren&#39;t happy. The consumers aren&#39;t happy." That's far from a recipe for success. Barrel One is actively reducing its own SKUs, natch. It beefed up in-house analytical work so it can act as "a filter and a curator for our buyers" and bring them "stuff that works, stuff that moves," Nathaniel explained. It aims to "limit the priorities in any conversation" with a single wholesaler to 4, 5 max, he said, which means being hyper-selective across its portfolio.The segment also appears to have fallen victim to a phenomenon many industry vets cautioned against as craft surged over a decade ago. For many folks outside the industry or beyond its core consumer base, "craft is hazy IPA," Dan lamented. The risk of this kind of style-first "vinification" is clear, Nathaniel reminded. It points folks to exploration for its own sake and "lateral movement" by consumers who look solely for one style at a specific price point. So alongside its curation efforts, Barrel One has been aiming to rebuild brand strength by establishing greater local resonance for each brand fam, Nathaniel explained.So "hospitality has been a big effort" in the co's 1st yr, investing energy in "professionalizing" that biz (including hiring of dedicated hospitality veep Will McNeil). Running a successful taproom and pub biz means each one must be "objectively excellent and compete with restaurants" in the area, Nathaniel understands. And to help deepen the distribution biz, they've also got to be the "spiritual homes for the brands," even if they're disconnected from production (tho co does do small scale pilot brews at most sites).Harpoon Refresh and Harnessing Wachusett Momentum Top Co's "Ruthless Priorities" Coming into co as mktg veep from prior outside consulting work, Rob Day took CBN thru Barrel One's "ruthless priorities." Co can't address the needs of every brand fam at once. But "I'm working my way through the list," he said, sharpening brand positioning and strategy one by one.Next yr, "we're giving equal weight and budget and emphasis to Harpoon and Wachusett," he explained. Harpoon's "been in a downturn for several years and has a massive legacy to protect," in addition to a whole lotta volume. Co's "improved the trends double digits" on Harpoon since the merger thru "tactical work," cutting the decline to single digits by just "getting to work on the block and tackle." Next yr, co will debut a sizable "brand refresh" that's a "stark change from where we are," Rob said, with hope to turn the trend positive. Behind that, Wachusett "will probably be our number two brand" by volume, since it's "been catching Long Trail in our portfolio for a while" and is getting strong growth this yr, he reminded. The vision for 2026 is clear. Given its scale, "if we do the right maneuvers on Harpoon," getting it to grow makes a big difference. And "if we do the right things for a surging brand" like Wachusett, "we'll have a one-two punch for the year."Refresh for Harpoon IPA to Anchor "Firsts are Forever" Campaign; New Low-ABV Lager Still Barrel One's largest brand, Harpoon has "such a history," reaching 40 yrs in biz next yr, Dan commented. And "classics are now fringe," Nathaniel finds, citing growing interest in "simplicity." Coming brand refresh aims to rekindle the "emotional connection," remind folks of the brand's "heritage and authenticity" and emphasize "approachability versus elitism," Rob explained. Brand's lead IPA will be central figure in Harpoon's "Firsts are Forever" campaign next yr, coming to life in "moments throughout the year," like a special celebration for 1st time Boston Marathoners (about 1/3 of runners, per Rob) and a "Bingo card-like tool" during Father's Day to mark "memorable firsts for a first-time dad." Big new bet for Harpoon will be lower-ABV (or "mid-strength" lager called Low Key, clocking in at 3.3% ABV and 97 calories. "We feel really bullish that it's going to be a legit category over the next several years," Rob said, citing changing drinking habits of aging core craft drinkers having kids at same time that "Gen Z is coming into the category with moderation in mind."Wachusett Walking in Fruit First, Owning Blueberry, Having Fun Building on its current growth, Wachusett will keep leading with Blueberry Ale, its top brand by far. "What we're doing is working," Rob reminded, so new efforts aim to highlight the brand as "the leader in blueberry" and more broadly as "the fruit brand" in the Northeast. On the beer side, there's a new Country Lemonade lager, a 4% ABV lemonade shandy launching in Feb. After no-pressure launch this yr, co's blueberry lemonade vodka RTD will be the brand fam's (distant) #2 in the back-half of the yr, Rob reported. "Seeing the results gave us permission" to build out from there, so co has a non-carbonated raspberry sweet tea vodka RTD "to flank that," he said. On a small scale, a new "double, juiced-up version" of Blueberry Ale called Big Blue will show up in 16 oz cans at 8% ABV, helping ensure co can "be talking 'blueberry' all the time." That beer will be accompanied by a "mascot" of the same name, "a giant blueberry character" (yes, there will be a costume) designed to keep the "fun" in craft beer.Smuttynose Set for Rebalance with Haze Gains and New NH-Focused Lager On Smuttynose, two long-term brands are still upwards of 80% of the brand fam. Finest Kind IPA "is doing okay," Rob said, tho "down for the year," while Old Brown Dog brown ale is up 1-2%, an encouraging result in a tuff yr. But "those scales are going to tilt in a very different direction," co suspects. Because Smutty's Whole Lotta Haze IPA is growing 65% off a small base and next yr it's focused on new launch, Cold Shoals light lager. Overall, co won't dedicate any major resources to Smutty outside of its home state. Cold Shoals epitomizes that strategy. It'll only be available in NH, Rob said, seeing it as a "great market for the style." And "if we can succeed in the state of New Hampshire," it'll be a "huge win for us."&hellip;and So Much More; From Five Boroughs to Tuck-Ins: "The More the Merrier" And that's just a drop in Barrel One's proverbial bucket. Elsewhere in the portfolio, co's been happy to see that its NYC-based Five Boroughs is "doing amazing" in the on premise, Nathaniel said. It's done "surprisingly well with very mid-grade focus from us," Rob acknowledged. It's putting in "the ground work" to build a limited-time only rotating draft program for what he sees as just about the "only market this can really work in." On the other hand, The Shed is still basically all one style, one beer, one brand, Dan reminded us. And it's "the little malty number that could," as Nathaniel put it, "catching wind" without co pushing for it.The small "tuck-in" addition of Greater Good mid-yr was a sign of "trust" that the platform "can be a magnet for like-minded people," in Nathaniel's view. And he sees "plenty of room" for more such deals: "the more the merrier." The co takes a "people first" perspective to prospective deals, with "portfolio right after that." Admittedly, "the portfolio's big and we don't need a lot of overlap" in terms of either geography or brand position. But co still has capacity to spare, so it's willing to take oppys that are win-win to fill it. It's "not scared of joint ventures" or co-packing oppys either. It's already built RTD partnerships with much larger brands like Dunkin or the "megabrand" Crystal Light, which is still only sold in a fairly limited footprint. Those remain some of the co's few extensions outside of its core craft beer biz and Dunkin Spiked has fallen steep double digits vs its bigger rollout last yr. The "whole organization gravitates to beer," Rob told us, promising that Barrel One may "dabble" beyond it, but the org has "beer in our blood."

More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys: Barrel One Aims for Curation of Complex Biz; 2026 to Bring Harpoon Refresh & So Much More

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