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Dogfish Head aims to keep the growth train runnin' this summer after another positive qtr in Q1 2026, when beer depletions rose low-singles and canned cocktails were up high-singles, co-founder Sam Calagione told CBN earlier this wk. New summer program "Drink Summer Louder" kicks off in July as a "comprehensive marketing support plan" to get more displays and placements with "awesome air cover," unique "limited-edition" merch, collabs and additional retail programs. New collab with Rolling Stone mag prompted Dogfish Head beer and cocktails, along with Boston's Sun Cruiser vodka teas and Angry Orchard hard ciders, to become the alc bev sponsors for Rolling Stone's first-ever standalone music festival on July 4 in Kingston, NY, headlined by Noah Kahan with 4K-person capacity. Sponsorship with Touch Tunes digital jukeboxes collabs with Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux to offer customers who order a Dogfish to win a code to curate their own DJ set at the bar. Dogfish Groovy variety pk features both Grateful Dead beers this yr, along with 30 Minute IPA and Festina Peche session sour, keepin' it ~5% ABV or lower across the board. And newest merch items include a "fishin' is b*tchin'" line of clothing and a "secret stash cooler" for canned cocktails that has a "secret compartment" that fits two slim cans.Juicy Pale is Dogfish's #2 Brand; "Staying Strong" on Draft at Increased Velocity Sam and co remain encouraged that Dogfish Grateful Dead Juicy Pale and Citrus Daydream lager brands haven't cannibalized the rest of the portfolio. It hit "an inflection moment" this spring as Juicy Pale surpassed 90 Minute IPA to become Dogfish's 2d largest brand overall, marking the "first time in over a decade" 90 Minute wasn't the #2 brand. It's still #3 and "healthy," but Juicy Pale keeps truckin', especially on draft as ~40% of its mix is still sold on-prem into year 2. Volume for that brand "is staying strong" on draft even as it lost some PODs, leading to nice velocity per tap gains, Sam underscored, feeling vindicated in decision to keep Citrus Daydream as a 6pk-only launch while maintaining focus on Juicy Pale and 60 Minute draft. As a result of limiting SKUs, Citrus Daydream oppy isn't as big this yr, but it can potentially reach #5 in the portfolio by next yr, Sam thinks, behind only 60 Min, Juicy Pale, 90 Min and Seasonal. And he can "see a world where it does become the number 4" brand in Dogfish's portfolio ahead of seasonal down the line.Canned Cocktails Getting Bigger Focus from BBC Sales as Part of Co's RTD Spirits Portfolio Play Dogfish Canned Cocktails fits in neatly as a complementary piece to Boston Beer's growing RTD spirits portfolio, Sam highlighted. "We're only starting to amplify" the ways that can play out in mkt, he added, pointing to recent Natl Independent Venue Association (NIVA) conference in Minneapolis where both Sun Cruiser and Dogfish Canned Cocktails were sponsors. Between Dogfish Canned Cocktails growin', Sun Cruiser vodka tea flyin', and Sinless vodka cocktails rolling out to more mkts this yr, all representing "very different" propositions, Boston's sales force can "sell it as a portfolio" and could fill out "half a cooler door" on its own. That's a standout proposition within "one of the few growth segments" in alc bevs, and Boston plans to "amplify that resource" this summer, Sam assured.Milton Facility is the Bull Durham of BBC Dogfish Head's production facility in Milton, DE is "by far the smallest" of Boston's 3 wholly-owned facilities, but "we have the coolest Batman utility belt," said Sam. It can make everything from beers and hard ciders to full proof spirits and canned cocktails, including "where Sinless came from" initially for incubator test last yr. Milton got to tweak recipes, packaging and all before "going up to the big leagues" this yr, Sam said proudly, equating Milton to the minor leagues in the vein of Bull Durham. ("Just happy to be here. Hope I can help the ball club.") Milton produces 100% of Dogfish Head's beers and some of Sam Adams' smaller SKUs to further "unclog" Cincy and Allentown. And co continues to host "a lot of events there," including its annual Analog A Go Go festival.In the Pages of the Rolling Stone As Sam befriended Rolling Stones mag ceo Julian Holguin, they began to geek out on collab for "the most complex whiskey we've ever made," he quipped. Trying to replicate layering tracks in a recording studio, the small, limited-edition whiskey "layers" flavors, putting it thru "twelve layers of whiskey barrels," amounting to a 1K bottle release and a cocktail program for the Rolling Stone festival. The newfound friendship also led to Sam penning an article for Rolling Stone on the crossroads of punk, hip hop and craft beer's early days in 1976, published "in the same issue as Obama" among others, he noted. Sam also does a quarterly series for Cream magazine, getting to interview music legends like Joan Jett, Quest Love and Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips coming right up.While mainly passion projects for Sam, they help show how Sam and Dogfish's love of music is truly authentic, he reflected, further demonstrated by co's growing Grateful Dead beer collabs and projects with Dead archivist David Lemieux. Impressively, that includes "about a half million" $$ of co-branded merch. But Dogfish merch program remains "a big part of what we do" beyond the music/Dead collabs too, he reminded. Another way to "flex our creative muscles" and feature "onshore" manufacturers, planning a new collab with a 120-yr old American fashion/clothing brand in a few mos next, he hinted.

Dogfish Big Music & Merch Programs, Groovy Vty Pk, Cocktail Push This Summer; The Bull Durham of Boston Beer

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