In just its 3d year, Wash's Bale Breaker Brewing is on pace for 70% plus growth to 12K bbls in 2015 (about half in cans and half draft), reported Yakima Herald. That's after shipments last year more than tripled to 7K bbls. So fast-paced growth has already got Bale Breaker "in the midst of planning out our expansion now," co-owner Kevin Quinn told paper. Recall that Kevin Quinn, along with his wife Meghann and her brother Kevin Smith, is "fourth generation hop farming family that owns Loftus Ranches." They've filed "for a 16,200 square foot addition" to the current 11K sq-ft brewery that'd enable co to add "more and larger fermenting tanks, a faster and bigger canning line and increased dry and cold storage." With expansion, employment would likely "double to roughly 20 people" total.

Number of new facilities designed for contract production or multiple startup companies to work together just keeps on rising across US. This week, a Long Island economic development group announced a $12-mil project to re-develop a long-blighted building into The Bablyon Brewery, Newsday reported. State and federal grants plus non-taxpayer funded econ dev investment "will transform this property into a new and exciting collaboration with Long Island's brewers," according to the project's website. Meanwhile, out in Oregon, founder of both Crispin and Fox Barrel ciders, Bruce Nissen, opened LBG Beverage facility to help produce his new Jester & Judge cider brand and help other small-scale producers. Facility not yet set-up for brewing, but that's coming, The New School reports. And in meantime, packaging and pasteurization options available as it builds out to 90K bbls of annual capacity. Having left those cider brands after sale to MillerCoors, Bruce has unique perspective on US cider market: "If you want to be the next Angry Orchard volume-wise, I think you've a pretty tough row to hoe. If however you stand for something, have quality on your side and actually care about the craft, I think there are people out there willing to care with you. If you light yourself on fire, people will still come to see you burn."  

Bloomington IN's Upland Brewing announced bringing on Bob Kenney as new sales veep this week. Bob came over from role as senior sales director for Goose Island. So in different kinda way, another AB exec has ended up with a smaller craft brewer. He was most recently in charge of Goose's specialty beers on natl basis after being Goose sales veep that "built and led a sales team that doubled sales to 150,000 bbls in a short number of years," per statement. So Bob is already familiar with Midwest, including Upland's main distrib, Indiana Beverage. Indeed, "our Upland sales have doubled in two years and this hire demonstrates their on-going investment in great leadership to support their great beers," said president of distrib Indiana Beverage Jon Leetz. "We've worked with Bob for a long time, and think the world of him." Bob begins "effective immediately."

Recall that Upland is reportedly up 20% YTD (see Aug 14 issue) and was one of several craft brewers that reached regional status in 2014; up 17% to 15,112 bbls, according to Brewers Assn. Co just finished doubling capacity to 75K bbls as it turns attention to expanding adjacent sour facility, set to be completed by Mar 2016.  

New Belgium is takin' a page outta big brewers' books, and will begin packaging 3.2% alc by weight (4% abv) version of its flagship Fat Tire starting this October, reported Westword. Main reason for this is "to provide better access to our beer both on- and off-premise in Utah," noted NBB spokesman Bryan Simpson, yet move will also allow supermarkets and c-stores sales in other states with 3.2 laws such as home-state CO, KS, and "eventually" OK. "We've actually made 3.2 percent versions of Fat Tire for festivals where that was required, so we know we can get a good flavor match," Bryan added. It'll be available in 6pk and 12pk bottles and 12pk cans. NBB also announcing timing of Hawaii launch this week: coming next Feb with wine/spirits distrib Young's Market. Recall, NBB announced it'd get to the state way back in Jan 2014, estimating a spring arrival. But faster-than-expected growth pushed that and Kentucky launch back.

Unit Premonitions made earlier in year of big pilsner pops currently coming to fruition as the style still more than doubling in scans. And a new entrant from Goose Island sure ain't likely to slow that down. Goose will let new Four Star Pils loose into Midwest mkts in next 4 wks or so, after testing the pilsner recipe in home-market Chicago, AB's craft CEO Andy Goeler and Goose genl mgr Ken Stout told Craft Brew News. Draft-only at first; 6-pks of bottles likely to follow in Q1, when Four Star will get a "broader audience," Andy said. A "nice compliment...to the IPA we have out there," the 5.1% ABV pils will "pay homage" to classic versions, "but not replicate" them, Ken said, adding a "Goose Island touch," natch. That includes throwing some fruity new Equinox and Meridian hops into mix with German-descended herbal Mt Hood variety, pushing bitterness up to about 44 IBUs, he explained.

Covering "Broad Bases" and Niches; Putting High-End Food on the Farm Eyeing craft portfolios, Andy believes Goose has "got to have some core brands that are hitting a broad base of consumers." And Four Star is "more of a broad-based product." At the same time, "variety creates internal excitement" as well as "great storytelling." So "churn" of the new, experimental, innovative can be a "good thing," Andy said. You just "need balance." As he works to "stay focused on long-term growth," he reiterated his team's work "elevating beer."

"Beer is in places it's never been before," he told CBN during separate talk during 2-night media trip to AB-owned Elk Mountain Farms in Northern Idaho last week. And those new places for beer include alongside white-chocolate braised pork belly prepared by a James Beard Award-nominated chef at a table set up between rows of Amarillo hops. Paired with Goose Island's Sofie saison, that was 2nd of 5 courses served at the final dinner of the trip. It's these moves into fine dining that help beer compete in different ways with wine and spirits, Andy reminds. Later in the week, a group of wholesalers and then another of consumers repeated the largely educational program. Read on for views CBN got of AB's navigation, so far, in craft waters.

Hands-On and Digital: Education/Marketing Go Both Ways The 3 waves of outsiders that AB and its Goose team hosted at Elk Mountain got close-up looks at how the hop farm supplies "such a critical component of beer," as Andy said. "Access to a wealth of ingredient sources" is, of course, "one of the best things about being connected to Anheuser Busch," he reminded. It "takes a lot of pressure off of us," exactly as August Busch III originally intended when he made the decision to buy Elk Mountain in the late 1980s. But after quietly doing just that for years, the co's shining new light on the farm, bringing writers and photojournalists focused on food and drinks, outdoor lifestyle and the industry to see it. Consumers too, who get a lower-key, higher-end version of the immersive brand experience AB's created for its Whatever, USA weekends.

AB invited a group of 30 wholesalers to the farm this year as well. And the kind of knowledge they pick up on the trip and through other Goose educational programs is "absolutely critical" for distributors, in Andy's view. Their employees sell the beers (and pass that knowledge on) "in bars every day." And wholesalers are "hungry for it," Andy said. "They want the brands" and "they want the training." So AB's high-end unit is "giving them some good support behind some great beers." That includes a group of 3 educators, who spend time with wholesalers, consumers and other Goose employees. At Elk Mountain, infusions of fresh Hallertau or Amarillo hops into 312 Urban Wheat demonstrated varietal differences (and wide range of perceived aromas) during lunch-time tasting workshop led by one of those educators.

Goose educators play key roles in the hands-on education at traveling Migration Weeks across US too. "You have to be able to connect to people," And said. And the co's working the other end of the marketing spectrum, digging deep into digital and social platforms. Same for wholesaler relationships: the co's developed tech to aid distrib education, tho Andy didn't share specific details.

Big and Small At Same Time: Costco-Exclusive 24-Pk, Seasonal Flight Packs While going big with IPA, Goose has to go smaller too. Brewing innovation mgr Mike Siegel helps teams of Goose employees to develop experimental beers, some of which end up in the limited Fulton & Wood series. This yr, 2 of those brands will head into a Costco-exclusive 24-pack along with 4 other higher-end brands like Sofie and Pepe Nero. Separately, the co's putting experimental beers that point back to Elk Mountain with logo and text into seasonal variations of Flight Packs. The variety pack's currently up 25-26% in IRI MULC, slightly faster than total craft variety, +19%. This yr's summer pack included new Summer Ale, hopped solely with Amarillo. New Goose Autumn Ale also uses Amarillo, in conjunction with Mt Hood. Descriptions of both brands point out origin of hops at Elk Mountain, a tour of which showed off multiple yards of the relatively hard-to-find variety.

Light and Dark: Sofie the "Sleeping Giant" and Bourbon County Custom Glass Goose's dry, partially wine barrel-aged saison Sofie also gets hit with Amarillo. Andy sees that Vintage Ale as a "sleeping giant," one of those "appealing beers for males and females." Along with saison, Andy pointed to stout as another style worth paying attention to. It's another area of focus for Goose too, of course. Its Bourbon County brand of stouts will be packaged in custom embossed glass for the first time this year, bottles like those more familiar in the spirits world. It'll no longer be available in more familiar 12- and 22-oz beer pkgs.

Working all these angles ain't easy and ain't cheap. Coordination involved in hosting 3 sets of visitors to Elk Mtn in one week? No different: AB got most media attendees to respective airports and flew them out to Spokane, WA (where they met CBN's assistant editor), then shuttled them all 2.5-3 hours northeast to the farm just a few miles from the Canadian border. They also borrowed chef Jeremy L. Hansen and some of his team from both Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie and Common Crumb Artisan Bakery in Spokane, who worked around the clock (literally) to prepare food for the week. That included a family-style opening dinner, 2 breakfasts, a lunch and the high-end pairing dinner. Visitors stayed in rows of spacious canvas tents, decked out with king-sized beds, dressers, coat racks and folding chairs. Goose employees managed interviews, departure times, food allergies, farm tours, basic camping supplies, swag and of course, beer. Costs to compete in the craft space may remain relatively low for small players that focus efforts locally. But for those at the other end of the category, how high is up?

Would what we call "craft beer," by any other name, taste as good to as many drinkers? Be as valued to as many consumers? The discussion of "what's in the 'craft beer' name" never really went away. But a number of recent developments bring the topic back into focus. "Craft" has become "the C word," in spirits, Wall Street Journal alerted us just this morning. For a beverage conference in May, "an edict went out to speakers saying, 'Don't mention the C word,'" Nomura's Ian Shackleton told WSJ. And tho that dive into sometimes divisive term is focused on liquor, the relevance of overlap and interaction between different alc bev types only increases, as many other stories below show. Speaking to broader craft movement in food and drinks, "a renaissance" of handmade products results in "a story that the big boys can't tell," prexy of American Distilling Institute Bill Owens, an early craft pioneer said. Au contraire, say Diageo execs. "Craft is just a label," CEO Ivan Menezes told the paper, claiming that "the real question is, how do you engage with consumers around authenticity, craftsmanship and stories that resonate." And then North American leader Larry Schwartz stated 2 yrs ago that the company "wanted to become the No. 1 craft distiller in North American whiskeys in the US," WSJ reminds. (Recall, MC touted Tenth & Blake as "#1 Craft Brewer" also back in 2013.) Diageo's lost share of spirits for last 4 yrs in US. Back to Ivan: aligning Bulleit bourbon with craft involves word-of-mouth and "a lot of experiential stuff," not so much TV, as they "make sure Bulleit stays with the hipsters in Williamsburg." That ain't all. ADI's goal is for craft spirits to hit 8 share by 2020, from 1, quite a bit lower than BA goal for craft beer. WSJ also calls ADI's insistence on independence (which reads as nearly identical to "independent" arm of BA's craft brewer def'n) a "circuitous interpretation of the term." And we may not have seen anything yet when it comes to spirits: "The advantage that the Diageos and Brown-Formans have right now is inventories of well-aged whiskeys," owner of Kings County Distillery, Colin Spoelman said. "It'll be interesting to see in five or 10 years where things stand." In beer, the time is now. To review:

• Back and forth in class action suit against Blue Moon, puts "craft" and "craft beer" dictionary definitions, plus Brewers Assn's "craft brewer" definition to legal tests, asking if a specific use of fairly common trade practice (big corps selling small brands under different names) counts as "deception." Dismissal of spirits cases over "handmade" or "hand-crafted" could be bode well for MC. But those decisions dismissed expectations that such beverages involved much actual hand labor. But a decision based on broader craft term and broader issues, including ads, mktg and more, could end differently.

• Acquisitions of US craft brewers by multitude of entities has folks asking which buyers keep brewers within BA membership and craft data set and which don't. Recent podcast featuring Dave Engbers and Jeremy Kosmicki of Founders put focus back on fact that sale of stake to Mahou San Miguel leaves the co outside of BA "craft" tent. Smaller size of Duvel Moortgat, even if a foreign co, means its purchase of Firestone Walker seen as ok by BA. Sales of current craft brewers in whole or part to major US and foreign brewers or private equity groups with other alc bev holdings (already-known and yet-to-happen) continues to complicate tracking volume and growth of the segment with flux of what's counted when.

• Constant flow of innovation across beer, wine and spirits segments also challenge categorization: more brewers of all sizes work in the cider segment; wineries are making beer, many breweries now distilling; already-distilling Ballast Point jumping into ready-to-drink pre-mixed cocktails biz, a product more-popular overseas, largely replaced in US by FMBs; hard sodas that some contend fit better with FMBs but largely marketed with craft; Spiked Seltzer, hopped cider, mead, all forcing retailers to choose which products to make room for and where to find it.

Mix into this blend some similar conversations from abroad:

• The new United Craft Brewers group (founding members include BrewDog, Magic Rock and Camden Town) plans to nail down an official definition of "craft beer" in the UK, presently. But that may be "a retrograde step," according to Tony Naylor, writing for the Guardian this week. His arguments largely boil down to one statement: "Craft beer is antithetical to rules." Discarding potential definitions that hinge on "ingredients," "how it is packaged," and "size," even restriction on brewing practices "would run contrary to the spirit of craft which has, repeatedly, overturned the shibboleths around beer." That's not to say he doesn't understand the UCB's intent: big brewers "are cashing in on a scene they did nothing to cultivate and exploiting a cachet they have not earned," (ouch), but "legally, how will you ever stop big breweries using the term 'craft beer'?" He, too, raises the spectre of using the term as marketing more than anything else. And "marketing" still somewhat of a dirty word in craftdom (though n ot as much as it used to be); words like "education" or "storytelling," and the differences in intent that they impart, still largely preferred.

• In Germany, a similar struggle over a different word: "bekömmlich," often translated as "wholesome." A district court ruled this week that a small brewery's use of the term constituted a health claim, illegal for alc bev producers in the EU (and a no-no here too), according to a Handelsblatt report. The Assn of Family-Owned Breweries in Germany promises an appeal, even though a European Court of Justice ruled the same term couldn't be used by wineries in 2012. "The rival Federation of German Brewers, which represents larger breweries accounting for four fifths of the market, is keeping a close eye on the dispute," too. Gotta figure that's one thing all brewers agree on: beer is "wholesome."
 

At same time as Blue Moon suit took next legal turn, UK beer drinkers took issue with confirmation that some Meantime London Lager is produced at the Grolsch brewery in Holland, according to the Morning Advertiser. Observers took particular offense with that fact considering the brand's assertion that it's "born and brewed in London." Recall, SABMiller bought Meantime just a few months ago. As in the US, "large brewers want to get in on the ground floor" of craft growth, Gavin Cleaver wrote for the Grocer. "In doing so, they'll need to remember craft beer consumers want to feel like they're an upmarket product produced with love and care in small batch breweries." According to the Advertiser's report, recent investment in Meantime will help create more space, "with the eventual aim of keeping production entirely in London."

Five-year test of offering select beer, wine and small-plates worked out for big coffee chain Starbucks. Dubbed "Evenings," the program aimed at bringing patrons into coffee shops in late afternoons, evenings, rolled-out to a couple dozen more stores last week, according to USA Today. Recall we first reported on Starbucks' foray into alc bev sales way back in Oct, 2010. Over the next few months, Starbucks plans to expand concept to 2,000 of its 12,000 stores. Beer and wine menus change regionally, the company reminds. So Brooklyn, NY stores will stock beers from Brooklyn Brewery, while Chicago outlets offer Goose Island brands. The co points out that "70 percent of Starbucks customers drink wine, as compared to 30 percent of" total population, on its website. Also, the chain's customers are twice as likely to drink craft than natl avg, it writes, citing Mintel report. The company thinks Evenings will offer a billion-dollar boost in sales by 2019, spreading the wealth across a broader selection of day-parts and helping cover costs of some expensive real estate held by the chain.  

Coupla new developments in Fla craft community comin' soon. Titusville's less than yr-old brewery, Playlinda Brewing, plans to build $3.65 mil, 16,000 sq-ft "offsite production brewery and distillery, both co-branded as The Brix-Project," co announced via its blog. It hopes to complete project sometime in 2016, pending approval from "Brevard County and the City of Titusville." Just in case, co's lookin' into potential locations in Orlando as well. All in co "will add approximately 38 new jobs" by end of 2016, have "upwards of 30,000 barrels" of annual capacity "as well as distilling small-batch gin, vodka and whiskey."

Then too, Khoffner Brewery USA co-founder and chief brewmaster, Rauf Vagifoglu-Khoffner has goal "to amass the area's largest selection of German-style craft ales," outta Fort Lauderdale, FL, reported Broward Palm beach. Rauf comes from long line of German brewers, including his "esteemed" father Karl Hoffner, along with "more than 300 family recipes." Originally the brewery was based in Turkey before Rauf set his sights on South Fla. He points to the "still evolving and maturing" Florida beer scene, and declares "it's my goal to put Florida on the map for good beer in the U.S," Rauf told paper. The 5,000 sq-ft brewery is expected to begin production in October and co signed with Double Eagle Dist to cover "bars and restaurants from Fort Lauderdale to Miami." A 2,000 sq-ft tasting room is in process of being built as well.  

Yesterday Naragnasett ceo Mark Hellendrung told WPRO radio that co is "still moving forward with plans for a Rhode Island location" and "should have some pretty big news come October or November." Recall that Naragansett still makes most of its brews with NAB in Rochester, NY. In March co "had been eying a vacant mill building on Kinsley Avenue in Providence that was destroyed by a massive fire." Mark called the fire "a speed bump" yet "we've been pressing forward," and has since found a location (undisclosed). So "we're just dotting the I's and crossing the T's."

Then too, Naragansett recently released its 12th craft beer; a limited release brew called Town Beach IPA that includes "a nod" to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady with "FREE TB12" message at the bottom of each of the 6,000 cans. Recall, Brady-related messages on bottoms of beer cans kicked off by Sun King Brewing's "Tom Brady Sux" message earlier this summer, with multiple breweries running similar plays either in the QB's defense or piling on Sun King's offense. Town Beach IPA cans "could become a collector's item," Mark noted, as co's "already had requests for shipments from Pats fans in Ohio, Florida and Texas."