Category: General

Innovation Helps Modernize Brewing Equipment

Cyndi
man writing in clipboard

By: Alyssa L. Ochs

At Beverage Master Magazine, we’re always looking to keep up with craft brewing trends, which more often than not relates to pieces of innovative equipment and new technologies. Certain types of new equipment are slowly but steadily being introduced to breweries, as are new technologies, tools, mechanisms and improvements to processes relied upon in the past.

  These things factor into how efficiently breweries can operate during challenging times and how memorable their beers are when they reach consumers. To learn more about the role of new equipment in the modern brewery setting, we looked into what’s being used in breweries lately and what industry leaders who work in this space are saying.

Types of Equipment & New Changes

  There are a few essential equipment types that breweries use today. Examples include the malt mill, mash tun, filtration system, heat exchanger and brite tank. Breweries also regularly use pumps, valves, kegs, hydrometers and equipment for dispensing and packaging.

  While experienced brewers are already familiar with all of these things, they might be interested in new equipment options and types of technology to potentially save time, money or labor. Certain machinery may preserve hops better, improve quality control or keep processes more consistent for a better result. Meanwhile, new technology might facilitate multi-purpose machines in a small space or accommodate a shift to using more cans as the business grows. As the industry continues to trend toward aluminum cans, canning equipment is in demand and being considered by brewers who have traditionally stuck to glass bottles.

Equipment and Technology Worth Learning About

  These days, there are fully automated, multi-vessel systems to serve breweries’ needs and specialized wort aeration and oxygenation equipment to

improve brewing processes. Developments have been made to pneumatic conveyors that remove spent grains and tank systems that save water and conserve energy by using compressed air instead of CO2 and have recyclable inner bags. Meanwhile, sustainable design and build practices have been gaining traction for environmental stewardship, future economic vitality and customers’ social enrichment.

  We’ve been following specific advancements, including BrewSavor’s kink-resistant hoses, Thielmann’s multi-purpose aseptic containers, and Twin Monkeys’ low-key and affordable automatic canning line. IntelligentX software compares supply chain and production constraints with beer drinkers’ preferences, and FliteBrite created a “smart flight” serving system to assist menu development at establishments serving craft beer.

  Other machinery and technology-related updates include fully automated, stainless steel crossflow filters for better beer filtration and automated brewing systems with touch screens and mobile technology graphics. These brewing systems are equipped with artificial intelligence features that give feedback on beer produced while integrating customer feedback with manufacturing data. Some professional brewers are not particularly interested in all these “bells and whistles” and believe they are not worth the money and extra staff training to do what they already do best. However, new breweries and current establishments undergoing transition may be curious to adopt a few practical, high-tech features to create a more automated, organized or modern operation.

  Even some seemingly simple pieces of equipment, such as kegs, have been updated to make them more suitable for the current brewing environment. Now you can find stainless steel barrels with automated control systems for better precision and slim diameter kegs to store beer in limited spaces.

  Justin Willenbrink, Blefa Kegs’ sales director for North America, told Beverage Master Magazine that while not much has changed over the years concerning stainless steel kegs, the innovation comes from the barrels’ safety and quality.

  “Each keg from Blefa comes with an integrated pressure relief valve to reduce the risk to producers and on-premise staff by creating a safe failure,” Willenbrink said. “Quality has been the cornerstone of our company for more than 100 years. Durability can only be guaranteed by high-quality material, reliable operating production equipment, highly qualified staff and high-precision manufacturing according to your specifications. These high-quality standards allow us to be the only manufacturer of stainless steel kegs in the world to offer a guarantee of 30 years – a promise to all our customers that they have purchased a reliable and extremely durable asset.”

  Blefa and American Keg partnered in early 2020 to serve the North American market with a domestic manufacturer. Since then, the companies have been working together to upgrade their equipment and support U.S. customer needs, ensuring that efficiency gains in production align with the quality standards of both companies.

  “As a world’s leader in stainless steel packaging, Blefa and American Keg can provide various sizes from 10 liters to 59.62 liters. The U.S. 1/2 bbl, slim 1/4 bbl and 1/6 bbl are the most popular for both on- and off-premise needs. All kegs from our stock are equipped with drop-in D-Type spears from Micro Matic,” Willenbrink said. 

Buy New, Used or Lease?

  When brewers think about updating their equipment, dollar signs often flash before their eyes as new equipment costs start adding up. However, there are options available for breweries on tight budgets, such as leasing new or buying used equipment still in great condition.

  Canning lines are among the most common systems that breweries debate about buying or leasing. Leasing involves entering into a legal agreement for a specified time and works somewhat like a loan. At the end of the lease period, the effectiveness of the equipment may be significantly diminished and therefore not an attractive purchase for another brewing operation. However, you may be able to purchase your current machine for a discounted price. As long as it is still in good working condition, this is an ideal option since staff would already be familiar with it, and you would not encounter any delay in production.

  Capital leases are common, especially when a brewery is only looking to update a single piece of equipment rather than start from scratch or do a total equipment overhaul. It may be beneficial to have a lawyer look over any lease agreement before signing to check the interest rates, accounting implications and terms of the lease in case of equipment malfunctions and who is responsible for repairs. Other considerations include any plans for expansion, durability and logistics of getting equipment into and out of the facility.

What’s Next for Brewing Equipment and Technology?

  There’s a lot to look forward to for brewers who keep an eye out for the next great invention. Many manufacturers and suppliers have a finger on the pulse of the industry and can anticipate the needs of brewers in the years ahead. These companies’ successes depend on how well they change and adapt to the shifts and evolutions of the industry, especially during pandemic times.

  When asked how brewing equipment can best adapt to the changing needs of the modern brewery, Willenbrink said stainless steel kegs are the most well-equipped for providing a quality product because they protect the beverage from harmful UV light and oxidation while ensuring that quality isn’t compromised. 

  “Not only is it the most profitable package, but it is also the most sustainable with stainless steel kegs being 100% recyclable,” he said. “When it comes to the packaging of beer, wine or soft drinks, kegs made of stainless steel offer the best protection. In their reliability, economic efficiency and sustainability, our kegs provide first-class results.”

Willenbrink’s advice to breweries looking at new equipment is to never compromise on quality and make investments in assets that offer maximum safety and reliability for your needs.

  “By choosing a quality supplier, you are making a decision to work with a company that has invested in automation and quality control systems that ensure the highest level of precision and process,” he said. “Comprehensive support from first contact through delivery and continuing with service capabilities from highly qualified technical staff ensure experience and commitment to each investment made.”

  With more automation, there should be greater consistency from one brewer to the next, something vital during staffing changes and high service industry turnover rates. Yet, these machines and technologies don’t remove brewers from their craft; they simply eliminate tedious processes so that beverage producers can have more time to be creative and take their passion for great beer to the next level.

Lots, Codes, and Life: Dating in the Beer Industry

Cyndi
beer can showing expiration date

By: Erik Myers

As the number of active breweries in the country exceeds 7000 and roars toward 8000, it’s more important than ever to consider one of the crucial facets of your packaged product: shelf life, and how to communicate it to your customer. It’s not just marketing; date lot coding and traceability is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002. However, the exact method of recording date lot codes is ultimately up to each individual brewer, and there is a vast array of practices in the industry that can ensure that your customer knows how fresh your beer is, and that you’re in compliance with federal code at the same time. 

Why Is Date Coding Important?

  The easiest answer to this question is because you must. It’s the law. In the unfortunate situation that your brewery – or one of your suppliers – might have to recall product from the market, having date lot coding that is on every package, is easy to find, and easy to understand will allow your staff and every downstream partner, whether it’s a distributor or a retailer, to comply with the recall efficiently and ultimately save you headaches and money.

  It’s also a great tool that your sales force–or your distributor–can use to be sure that beer in the market is as fresh as possible, it can help with FIFO inventory control and create an accountability tool for you to use with all of your downstream partners.

  Finally, it’s an extra layer of transparency for your customer, as well as an educational tool, allowing you to provide them with the best–and freshest–possible product, and the best possible customer experience.

How to Code

  For better or worse, there is no standard way or best practice guide to follow for date coding your beer. From a practical, legal standpoint, as long as there is a code on your package that is traceable to a batch at your particular factory and you can track that batch back to its component ingredients, you’ve complied with FDA standards. However, esoteric or confusing coding can be a problem in the marketplace and lacks customer transparency.

  Many food and beverage manufacturers use a Julian Code to signify what date an item was manufactured or packaged. Julian Code is a system designed by the U.S. Military to easily date MREs and is easy to track and assign with simple programming tasks. It uses the last digit of the year in question followed by the day of the year.  (For example, a product dated with December 15, 2018 the Julian Code would be 8349.  December 15 is the 349th day of the year in non-leap-years.)  While this provides a standard format that is unique per day and easily traceable on a package and within a database, it is not easy for a customer to read and gain information from. An eager beer drinker looking for a fresh IPA would have no way of knowing what information was being presented to them and might end up looking elsewhere.

  However, a standard date might not be the easy go-to answer that it seems. A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Harvard University’s Food and Law Policy Clinic (The Dating Game, 2013, NRDC) notes that confusing date labeling leads to a tremendous amount of food waste in the United States as “open dates can come in a dizzying variety of forms, none of which are strictly defined or regulated on a federal level” and that “although most date labels are intended as indicators of freshness and quality, many consumers mistakenly believe they are indicators of safety.” Putting information on your package that isn’t well thought out may create more harm than good.

Finding the Right Date

  Back in 1996, Anheuser-Busch launched a marketing campaign in a bid to show that their beer was the freshest on the market and coined the term, “Born on date.” It has become a ubiquitous term in the beer industry, regardless of the fact that the date was dropped from all Budweiser labeling in 2015 in favor of a “Freshest before” date. Just because the biggest brewery in the land does it hardly makes it an industry standard, however. It’s not even standard across their entire company.

  Megan Lagesse of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s “The Higher End” craft division notes, “Some of [our] partners (Goose Island, [and] Wicked Weed) are doing dual date coding (brewed on and best by) but everyone isn’t because not all of our production equipment has the capability to dual date code,” she says. “So, we chose best by date coding [for] broader consistency, because everyone understands an expiration date but not everyone is educated enough to know IPAs should be drank as fresh as possible, but you can age wild beers and stouts.”

  Jeremy Danner, Ambassador Brewer of Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing, notes proudly that Boulevard prints, “both packaged on and best by dates on all cans, bottles, keg rings and exterior boxes. If you’re going to only print one,” he says, “it should be the packaged-on date, as thoughts vary when it comes to shelf life.”

  That shelf life–the basis of rationale behind a best by date–can be difficult, if not impossible, for a small brewery to determine. While larger breweries have the benefit of tasting panels, labs, and a vast number of data points, many small breweries get by with a microscope and a handful of jack-of-all-trade production team members. In small breweries, with limited, sometimes unique, production batches, shelf life is often the product of an educated guess, rather than a robust statistically significant tasting panel. Even pressure from a distributor can affect what date goes onto a package and in many cases a brewer will resort to relying on a packaged-on date and using phrases like, “Do not age” or “Best when its fresh” in lieu of a best by date.

  Doing so, however, relies on the customer to be educated about your product, and that might not always be as easy as it sounds. Pete Ternes of Chicago’s Middle Brow beer notes, “90% of consumers don’t know what it means for a particular beer to have been packaged on a particular date.” While there are many craft beer fans who are incredibly well-educated and can ascertain which beer styles can handle age and which can’t, most beer-drinkers don’t know the implications of a beer’s brewed or packaged-on date.

  Complicating the issue is lack of consistent temperature control once product leaves the brewery. A brewery may post a shelf life of 45 days for an IPA, but not the conditions under which that shelf life has been ascertained or should be maintained. A beer with a shelf life of 45 days at 38F has a shelf life of only 11 days at room temperature.

No Easy Answers

  Unfortunately, until an industry standard or federal regulation is put into place, there is no easy answer about how to best approach lot and date coding. Ultimately, it is up to you to choose the method that you think will both comply with the FDA and provide information to your customers. Regardless of what format you do choose, providing context and information to your customers–whether that customer is the distributor, the retailer, or the end consumer–as to how you arrived at the decision of what lot and date coding method you’ve chosen is the best path and can double as an excellent marketing and education tool for your brewery.

Re-Opening After the Pandemic

Cyndi

By: Donald Snyder, President/Consultant, Time & Tasks

For the first time as an author, I hope this article does not age well. With a bit of luck, you are reading this article in a post pandemic world where these concerns are a thing of the past. That said, as I write this, the world is slowly recovering from a pandemic that had a devastating impact on the hospitality industry including craft distilleries large and small. As you begin to welcome visitors and bring back staff, here are some important and helpful tips when planning your reopening.

Advice from Distillers who have Re-opened

  Throughout the pandemic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) published fluid and ever-updating recommendations for operating a business to keep both employees and patrons safe. Suggestions like contactless payment, outdoor and reduced seating, staff and customer mask use, and social distancing were mandated to help reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread to keep businesses open, if only at a lower capacity. (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus)

  However, the ultimate decision of whether a tasting room could re-open to the public was in the hands of local regulators. Every state had a different set of requirements for operating a business during the pandemic. Some states, like Florida, reopened and removed capacity limits very early in the pandemic as compared to New York City where most hospitality restrictions were not rescinded until the summer of 2021. Soon after the nation-wide lock down in the spring of 2020, some distilleries were able to re-open under various restrictions.

  Cardinal Spirits Distillery in Bloomington, IN was able to open in 2020 under pretty tight restrictions. The distillery opened for carryout bottle, food, and cocktail mixes only.  Additionally, they re-configured their front entry area into a curbside drive-by for order pickup. The state of Indiana did not permit cocktails-to-go so Cardinal Spirits developed hand labeled bottles of mixer kits that people could use to make cocktails at home. Using social media and on-line platforms, they maintained and increased customer engagement with distillery tours, cocktail classes, and even virtual tastings. They hope to fully re-open in Spring 2022 although they have recently re-opened their restaurant for in-distillery dining. Jeff Wuslich, co-founder and President of Cardinal Spirits, recalls his concerns with reopening. “We are most worried for our staff. We do not believe they should have to enforce mandates and safe behavior, but we know it will likely happen. It keeps me up at night. I believe that with our air circulation, safety protocols, and distancing we will all be safe, but I hate to think about our staff having to argue with customers.” Jeff offers this additional advice for distilleries thinking about their own re-opening. “Think of the customer and what experience you would like them to have. Then, work backward from there.” 

  Smooth Ambler Distillery in Maxwelton, WV was also impacted by COVID-19. At the beginning of pandemic, the entire distillery closed public-facing operations, including their gift shop and tours for about a month. During that time, they re-allocated their labor and resources into making hand sanitizer to be donated to front line workers across the country. Once they had a better understanding of the virus, they slowly reopened their production facility with a new set of rules that included social distancing, segregated teams, masks wearing, and frequent sanitization. Smooth Ambler’s continued priority is the safety of their employees and guests.

  They were cautious about reopening the tasting room. Many of their customers were from out of state so they initially re-opened to the public with curbside pickups only. A few months later, they opened with limited capacity and slowly increased indoor occupancy as the guidance from the state permitted. Masks, temperature checks, and hand sanitization were available for all guests. So far, the re-opening has been successful for Smooth Ambler as more and more people are beginning to travel again. Travis Hammond, Operations Manager of

  Smooth Ambler, cautions distillers not to be too hasty or rigid during their public reopening. “The past year has been very difficult on everyone – the best advice I can give to other distilleries that are about to reopen is to be patient and flexible.”

  Reopening slowly and cautiously with the appropriate safety protocols in place has given many distilleries across the country a beacon of hope that things can return to a sense of normalcy. However, even with the best precautions, there still can be issues. Asymptomatic employees and customers that spread the virus can be a serious risk to all parties involved. For those in the beverage industry, contracting COVID-19 can be especially dangerous as a possible long-term loss of taste and smell could impact a distiller’s ability to make and blend high quality spirits. In addition to transmission risks from reopening, there are also risks from patrons fighting required safety protocols.

  Golden Moon Distillery in Golden, Colorado experienced that firsthand when a customer refused to wear a mask and retaliated by shoving an employee. Physical altercations with employees about safety policies or verbally abusive customers are real risks that distillers need to consider when planning for a full or limited re-opening. Stephen Gould, Proprietor and Master Distiller of Golden Moon Distillery has made employee training a pivotal part of his re-opening plan. “We’ve coached our team members to be extremely polite and courteous when asking folks to wear masks. Our main concern is the safety of our staff and customers. Having said that, the one piece of advice I can give folks that are reopening is that they need to work hard to make both their staff and their customers feel safe.”

  Another consideration for reopening is how to deal with heavy foot traffic as people continue to feel more comfortable traveling. Large tourist areas like central Tennessee have many craft distilleries that offer tours, tastings, and spirits for every palate. Pigeon Forge, TN is in the gateway to Smoky Mountain National Park that sees over 10 million visitors per year. In the spring of 2020, when everything shut down, the owners of King’s Family Distillery in Pigeon Forge were understandably nervous. Like many distilleries, by taking advantage of small business loan programs and pivoting production to hand sanitizer for local consumption, they were able to stay afloat. Cara King, Owner of King’s Family Distillery, is starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “When our state began lifting restrictions in 2020, the people flooded back in.

  More than before, even. We took precautions, put up plexiglass, and welcomed the tourists, masks, and all. Our distillery has reached the other side of this epic world event bigger than we were before.”

Capital Investments and Infrastructure

  Safety protocols, standard operating procedures and thorough employee training are critical to a successful re-opening. However, some additional capital investment may be required. Dalkita, an engineering and architecture firm that assists distilleries with design, safety, and construction, was instrumental in helping businesses re-open.

  Colleen Moore, Director of Marketing & Operations for Dalkita, kept up to date with all the CDC recommendations, re-opening phases, and safety recommendations. Dalkita kept the distilling industry updated with recommended and required re-opening procedures via regular webinars and blog updates (https://www.dalkita.com/news/).

  The group quickly became aware that each state and jurisdiction had varying requirements for re-opening protocols, social distancing rules, seating capacity limits, and mask requirements.

  In terms of physical and capital improvements to the distillery’s public spaces, Colleen Moore from Dalkita has been advising distilleries what they should consider. “With COVID-19 in mind and trying to reduce the likelihood of a lockdown situation due to a highly communicable airborne disease from recurring, I would suggest upgrading ventilation inside buildings. Any feature that would increase the amount of outdoor air you can bring into a building such as window walls, roll-up glass garage doors, and new increased air handling units with better filtration media and filters.

  If cold, rainy, or snowy weather put a stop to your outdoor activities, consider adding flexible open courtyards or structures with roofs and no walls for use during inclement weather. Anything that can increase the health of the people using a facility is a good investment.”

  As I write the article, I fully acknowledge that regulations are still changing. I began writing this article in March of 2021 before the mass availability of COVID-19 vaccines while most distilleries were under 30-50% occupation and seating capacity. It is now July 2021. Some states are open 100% with no restrictions but the Delta variant is growing. The article will be published the Fall of 2021 and who knows how much the world will change by then.

  For distilleries reopening or increasing capacity in 2021 or early 2022, connect with local authorities for the latest restrictions. Make every effort to keep employees and guests safe. Then again, by the time you read this, hopefully the pandemic and social distancing will be just a distant memory as we all return to normal.

Legal Implications of Playing Music at Your Brewery

Cyndi
man in pirate hat

By: Tarah K. Remy, Dinsmore & Shohl, L.L.P.

Visiting a brewery is meant to be an experience, and customer engagement plays a large role in creating a great one. As the owner, you know your brews are unparalleled, and your goal is not only to share them, but to keep customers coming back. One way to do this is to establish an inviting atmosphere. In most cases, that involves music.

  Music and beer go way back. In 1800 B.C.E., the Sumerians composed the “Hymn to Ninkasi,” which served as not only a song of praise to their goddess of beer, but also as an ancient recipe for brewing.  So, it is safe to say when a customer walks into your brewery, they’ll expect to hear music playing over the loud speakers, or even to see a live band. However, there are serious intellectual property considerations every brewery must take into account when choosing music to create that perfect experience.

What the Copyright Act Protects

  As a general matter, the Copyright Act lays out the basic rights of a copyright owner. Among other things, it protects a songwriter’s and their publishers’ (the copyright holder) musical composition or written work, also known as a musical work. When a musical work is performed or broadcasted in a public space, the copyright holder is entitled to receive a performance royalty, which is the money paid to the copyright holder in exchange for the right to publicly perform their musical work.

Why Your Brewery Needs a Performance License to Play Music

  Copyright is a form of property, and once music is written down or recorded, it is copyrighted. The copyright holder is the owner of that copyright and is granted a performance right to the copyrighted materials. If you want to publicly perform a musical work, you need to pay a performance royalty to the copyright holder. The performance license acts as written permission to play a copyright holder’s musical work in a public space.

  Doing so without a performance license, (without legal permission) places your brewery at risk for litigation. Though the Copyright Act limits the award for copyright infringement to between $750 to $30,000, it is within the court’s discretion to award between $200 to $150,000, not including attorney’s fees and costs. Whether the court can increase or decrease the award depends on whether you knew you were violating copyright law. No matter the circumstance, if you violate copyright law, you will be required to pay, and the gamble of just how much is not worth the risk. Acquiring a license removes the guesswork and allows you to maintain control over your brewery’s finances.

When You Need to Consider Acquiring a Performance License

  You will need a performance license or permission from a copyright holder under at least the scenarios below:

1.  The musical work is played in your brewery using Spotify, Amazon music, Pandora, Apple Music, or any other streaming service. Though you are covered bunder your personal subscription to play music for yourself or in very small spaces, once you plug your device into a loud speaker to be played in a large space where a substantial number of people are present, this triggers the performance license requirement.

2.  The musical work is played in your brewery using CDs, records, or anything similar. Buying the CD or record does not count as obtaining a performance license. Once you decide to play your favorite CD or record inside your brewery to be heard by a substantial number of people, in most cases, you must obtain a performance license.

3.  A live band is hired to play covers of music originally written by a third party in your brewery. In this case, the venue, not the cover band, is required to acquire the performance license.. If you hire a band to play in your brewery and they plan to play covers, make sure your brewery has a performance license covering the songs on the band’s set list before hiring. Keep in mind, however, this generally does not apply if the band is playing music it has composed or is playing music in the public domain.

How to Obtain a Performance License

  Contact a Performance Rights Organization (PRO):  You can obtain a performance license through a Performance Rights Organization such as BMI , ASCAP, and SESAC. These entities function as middle men between the copyright holder and the entity acquiring the performance license. Given the rate at which music is played and experienced around the world, it is virtually impossible for copyright holders to keep track of performing rights. Acting as facilitators, PROs acquire rights from these copyright holders and grant a performance license covering their entire music set to businesses and requesting parties. So not only do PROs simplify the process for copyright holders to receive their performance royalties, but business owners no longer need to contact individual copyright holders to acquire performance licenses.

  Each PRO covers specific musical works by various copyright holders. By obtaining a performance license through just one PRO, you are limited to that PRO’s specific list of music. Be sure to review each list covered by each PRO to determine whether you need a license from one or all. You can also consider acquiring a blanket license that covers all three of the main PROs (BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC) to reduce the chance of potential copyright infringement claims from these organizations. A blanket license is convenient, as it likely covers a large list of music, which in turn reduces the need to carefully review a cover band’s set list and further gives you the freedom to stream music without a second thought.

  Sign Up for a Streaming Service Business Account:  Some streaming services, like Spotify and Pandora, offer business accounts. Simply by signing up and paying a subscription fee, business accounts provide access to fully licensed songs. Via their business platforms, these streaming services have obtained performance licenses from PROs on your behalf, and in most cases, they have performance licenses from more than one PRO, which broadens your music list options.

How much a Performance License will Cost

  The cost of obtaining a performance license through a PRO may vary depending on various factors, including how many breweries you have, the square footage of your brewery, your brewery’s customer capacity, how often music is played, whether the music is recorded or live, and more. The costs start at $500 and increase from there. Streaming service business account costs can be found directly on their websites, where they periodically provide discounts. At the end of the day, though obtaining a performance license may seem pricey or a low priority, the costs of arguing a copyright infringement claim are significantly higher. Budgeting in the cost of a performance license will save your brewery money in the long run.  Here is a link to help you learn more. https://www.bmi.com/digital_licensing/more-information/business_using_music_bmi_and_performing_rights

  Finally, keep in mind the Copyright Act covers exceptions to the performance license requirement, meaning it’s possible your brewery may not require a performance license. So before you sign up or register for anything, we always recommend reaching out to an attorney to review the performance license agreements and your circumstances. Additionally, if you are not sure whether your business meets the requirements, or whether your business might be exempt from the performance license requirement, for peace of mind, reach out to your attorney or the Dinsmore Beer, Wine and Spirits team. We are here to help!

Craft Malt with a Conscience

Cyndi
hands holding crushed crop

By: Erik Lars Myers

Sebastian Wolfrum, the German-born owner of Durham, North Carolina’s Epiphany Malt, wants to do the right thing.

  Wolfrum’s epiphany came in 2012, while he and his wife attended a meeting for local farmers about how they could get involved with North Carolina’s burgeoning craft beer industry. The problem, however, was that at the time, there were very few options for farmers to sell the crops they might grow. North Carolina’s one malt house at the time, Asheville’s Riverbend Malting, was still nascent and small. Wolfrum, drawing on his background in brewing and malting education at Ayinger Brewing near his hometown of Munich, and his experience at Natty Greene’s Brewing Company in Greensboro, North Carolina, started Epiphany Craft Malt in 2015.

  Epiphany has a lot of disadvantages to cope with, like any other small manufacturer, primarily driven by scale. They are tiny compared to national and international malt providers like Rahr, Briess or Weyermann, and they lack the economy of scale that allows them to produce high-quality malt at competitive prices. It is a trade-off that brewers must be willing to make when using a local maltster. You will pay more for the product—in some cases a lot more—but that money goes to support the local economy, and you are potentially buying a product with more of a local “terroir” or “maltoire.” In some cases, like Epiphany, it means supporting even more than just a local economy.

  Wolfrum says that evening out the environmental impact of the business is considerably more difficult at a small scale. Large maltsters have the personnel and resources to dedicate toward reducing a carbon footprint, but a three-person operation like his must find another way.

  Enter Indigo Agriculture, a company that provides farmers financial incentives to practice regenerative agriculture—a method of farming that improves soil health, builds ecosystem biodiversity and closes the “carbon cycle.” Wolfrum was first made aware of regenerative agriculture in his Ayinger days while working on their Regional Impact Study back in 2002.

  He describes farming as having essentially three modes:  The first he considers “the old way,” what he deems “exploitative.” In short, it involves farming a piece of land until all of the available nutrients are gone and extracted, then moving on to a new plot and beginning again.

  The second he deems “contemporary” or “conventional.” It is farming land and using additives or practices that maintain soil health, allowing the farmer to continue using the same plot each year without degeneration. Those practices may involve crop rotation or artificial soil additives to maintain soil health and keep it at the base level that the farmer needs. It might also take the form of supplemental fertilizers and nitrogen additives that take energy—and thus carbon—to produce and disseminate.

  The third is regenerative, an ethos that encourages building and improving soil health, increasing water retention and biodiversity and significantly reducing carbon emissions during farming and cleansing the atmosphere of CO2. Regenerative practices include implementing crop rotation and cover crops, no-till farming, reducing fertilizer and pesticide use and increasing soil biodiversity through compost additions and well-managed livestock grazing practices—ideally, many of those tactics working together in concert.

  It’s not really reinventing the farming wheel. These practices have been around for decades or longer, but using them together is the goal. Unfortunately, a commercial farmer doesn’t always have the financial incentive to invest in natural soil additions, plant a non-harvested cover crop in a field that could generate income or take the short-term risk of not using pesticides.

  Wolfrum was put in touch with Indigo Agriculture through Dogfish Head Brewery in Rehoboth, Delaware. A chance meeting at the Brewers’ Association Craft Brewers Conference had him talking with the lead brewer at Dogfish Head’s small-batch/brewpub facility, and they found their interests aligned. Together, they worked on a project released in September 2020, Dogfish Head’s “Re-Gen-Ale, the first traceably sourced beer to address climate change.” With the help of Indigo Agriculture’s grain marketplace, Dogfish Head purchased raw regeneratively farmed wheat, hops from several local farms on the East Coat and barley from Epiphany. In doing so, they created a traceably sourced beer with a small carbon footprint. Dogfish Head also committed to purchasing carbon credits to offset the production of brewing the beer.

  When Wolfrum learned about Indigo’s regenerative programs, he immediately got in touch with his local growers. In 2020, three of Epiphany’s farm sources began working with Indigo Agriculture, farming regeneratively to provide a carbon-neutral, or even carbon negative, source of barley for Epiphany’s malting operation. It hasn’t been a difficult sell. “Talking to these farmers, no matter where they are—in eastern North Carolina or Virginia—you don’t need to explain it to them. They live it. They know that it’s not going to get easier to grow anything without some work,” he says.

  Other farms they work with provide heirloom corn and rice as well. So far, it’s a small sliver of Epiphany’s output—in 2021, the entire crop of regeneratively farmed malt is spoken for by just two of his customers—but his plans do not end there.

  Wolfrum has started to build financial incentives for farmers into his own business plan, paying more per pound of grain to incentivize his farmers to add at least one regenerative practice into their operation. As Epiphany grows, he plans to create a contract with each grower that requires them to add regenerative farming practices into their operation but also ensures that they’re compensated for doing so. “We will pay for it,” he says, “We’re going to pay a little bit more because we expect you to do the right thing.”

  He hopes that he can also convince brewery and distillery partners to do their part to reduce their carbon footprint in freight and their day-to-day operations as well.

  According to Epiphany’s Three-Year Resilience Plan, in 2020, “each pound of malt produced by Epiphany produced 0.93 lbs of CO2,” so the company bought carbon credits to offset all 421 metric tons of CO2 produced, officially making Epiphany Craft Malt a carbon-neutral craft maltster.

  Epiphany’s virtuous cycle doesn’t end at carbon credits, however. In 2020, they started working with two farmers who grow heirloom and ancient grains—both corn and rice. Wolfrum recognizes, however, that some of these grains have complicated pasts.

  The origin of the heirloom corn that Epiphany sources can be traced back to Native American tribes of Virginia, and the heirloom rice was first brought to the Americas and flourished as part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. “If we want to help create beers that incorporate these grains,” Wolfrum says, “we have to turn our attention toward understanding the injustice at their roots.”

  Because of that, Epiphany donates a portion of the sales of each of these grains to appropriate organizations. For the corn, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, which helps to increase the representation of Native Americans in STEM. For the rice, Epiphany donates to a local charity, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.

  “At the moment, it’s really small scale, and we’re not a very big player,” Wolfrum says. “Could I use those couple thousand dollars we spend on [incentives, carbon credits, and donations] for something else? Sure. But you have to start somewhere. That’s my perspective. It’s not perfect, but it’s the right thing to do.”

  Learn more about Epiphany Malting, the grain and malt they offer and read their Three-Year Resilience Plan at www.epiphanymalt.com

  Learn more about Indigo Agriculture and its grain marketplace at www.indigoag.com

  Erik Lars Myers is an entrepreneur, author, professional brewer, and lover of beer. He currently works as an independent consultant in the brewing industry in Durham, NC where he strives toward innovation in fermentation through a wide variety of projects.

Best Practices: Beer Wholesaler Agreements

Cyndi
lone beer glass

By: Kary Shumway, Craft Brewery Financial Training

The wholesaler agreement can be a point of contention between breweries and wholesalers. Before any beer is delivered, the agreement must be reviewed, negotiated, and signed.

  The challenge with many agreements is that both parties want the terms to be in their favor. Breweries want options to get out of the agreement, and freedom to move their brand if the business relationship isn’t working.

  Wholesalers want the brewery to be committed to them indefinitely. From the wholesaler perspective, they invest millions or tens of millions, in infrastructure and want to be sure that brands stay on the trucks to pay for all the investment.

  Both parties want the advantage, but at a minimum, neither party wants to get taken advantage of in the agreement.

  With so much emphasis on the wholesaler agreement, what steps are you taking to ensure you get the best arrangement possible?

  Below are five steps you can take to improve your agreements, and contractual relationships.

Five Steps to a Better Agreement

1.   Seek first to understand (Basic agreement structure and terms)

2.   Know your state laws

3.   Do your research, ask questions, determine the wholesaler options

4.   Play a game you can win (Develop your own standard agreement)

5.   Self-Distribute (Enter into an agreement with yourself)

  Since we’re talking legal contracts, here is the important disclaimer: I’m not an attorney, and this is not legal advice. The guidance here should be used for informational purposes only.

Basic Agreement Structure and Terms

  As any business textbook will tell you, the primary purpose of agreement law is to enforce an agreement between parties. In this case, the parties are the wholesaler and craft brewery. For there to be an agreement, an agreement must exist, and the parties must have freely intended to be legally obligated. A breach occurs when one party breaks a big promise in the agreement.

  The requirements of a legally binding agreement are: 1) offer, 2) acceptance, 3) consideration, 4) obligations by parties, 5) competency and capacity, and 6) a written document.

  In other words, a wholesaler offers to distribute the beer of a craft brewery, and the brewery accepts. The brewery agrees to brew beer and sell it to the wholesaler. The wholesaler agrees to pay for it. The brewery is obligated to make a saleable product, and the wholesaler is obligated to sell it.

  Both brewery and wholesaler state they are competent and have the capacity to fulfill these obligations. All this is then wrapped up in a written agreement.

  The wholesaler agreement contains a variety of clauses and terms that you should understand: Trademarks, Terms of Sale, Assignment, Transfer, Ownership Changes, and Termination to name a few. A typical wholesaler agreement can be 20 pages in length and contain a dozen or more different clauses. It’s a lot to understand, but very important to do so.

  To begin, read over the agreements that you already have in place. Highlight any items that you don’t understand and start asking questions. What you don’t know can hurt you in a contract situation.

Know Your State Laws

  Thanks to the 21st amendment, we have 50 different sets of laws related to alcohol distribution. Many of those laws are difficult to understand and a giant bore to read. Get a lawyer and get a commonsense interpretation of what your state laws are. Specifically, know your rights and obligations.

  The Brewer’s Association does a nice job in summarizing the various state laws. However, the summary only scratches the surface of what you’ll need to know about the rules of engagement. Know the rules, use them to your advantage, and build them into an agreement that works best for your brewery.

  Agreements and State Laws: Agreements and state laws are often intertwined. There may be sections of the wholesaler agreement that refer to the applicable state laws. For example, ‘wholesaler or supplier may terminate this agreement in accordance with applicable state laws.’ An understanding of the state laws in combination with a working knowledge of agreement rules will give you a leg up when negotiating your wholesaler agreement.

  Lastly, there is a common assumption that the agreement really doesn’t matter that much because the state law will over-ride the agreement anyway. For instance, in a case where an agreement says one thing and the state law says another, the state law wins.

  I’m not a lawyer, but I’ve hired lawyers to deal with this issue. What I’ve found is that the question doesn’t have a clear answer. Bottom line – the agreement still matters.

Do Your Research

  When opening up new sales territories do your homework to find the best wholesaler partner. Talk to other craft breweries, talk to retail accounts (on and off premise), and of course meet with prospective wholesalers. Do your research to find your best match. There’s no point in learning about agreements and state laws if you wind up with a lousy partner.

  Many of the larger craft breweries hire consultants to conduct market research in advance of opening a new territory. The consultants talk to retailers, learn the nuances of the market, and find out who the best wholesaler is. Then they gather information and report back to the brewery with a recommendation.

  Key Questions to Ask Your Wholesaler:  You may not have the resources to hire a consultant, but you can do some leg work yourself. Below are sample questions to ask wholesalers during the research phase:

•    How do you assess opportunities for my brands at retail?

•    What is a recent example of a brand launch success?

•    What are the demographics and tourism of the market?

•    What is the pricing landscape?

•    What did you do for craft beer week?

•    Tell me about your draft line cleaning process and personnel. If line cleaning is not allowed by state law, ask what they do to ensure lines are cleaned (surveys, education) and to determine if they are cleaned (logs, vendor, and frequency of service)

  Invest the time upfront and do you research on your wholesaler options. An agreement helps define a partnership. It’s up to you to find the best wholesaler to partner with.

Play a Game You Can Win

  A wise friend once told me: “always write the agreement.” In other words, if there is an option, don’t let the other side present you with the agreement. Do it yourself.

  Writing the agreement ensures you have control over what gets included or excluded. It allows you to shape the language and create an agreement that works best for your brewery. Have your lawyer develop your own standard agreement. Talk with them about what’s important to include and what isn’t. Use your working knowledge of agreement law and state laws to shape an agreement that works.

  Use Your Leverage: When you meet with a wholesaler, simply present the document as a matter of fact: “This is our standard agreement.” They may negotiate certain points, or counter with their own standard agreement, but they might just sign what you give them.

  Many craft breweries have their own agreement these days, even the smaller guys. Craft breweries have leverage with wholesalers. If you have a brand that multiple wholesalers would like to have, they will make concessions on the terms of the agreement to ensure they get your brand.

  Recognize and understand where you have leverage and use it to your advantage. Develop your own standard agreement, include the terms you want, and insist that it is used to govern the wholesaler relationship.

Self-Distribute: Enter into an Agreement with Yourself

  Another option related to wholesaler agreements is to avoid them altogether and self-distribute your own beer. State laws will dictate whether you can do this, and what the guidelines are.

  There are many advantages of distributing your own beer: you keep the gross profit that normally goes to the wholesaler, you control where and how the brands are presented at retail, and you ensure the brands get 100% focus and attention. Despite best efforts, a wholesaler with hundreds of brands can’t possibly present your beer during every sales call. But you can.

  There are many challenges with self-distribution: increased capital costs for trucks and warehouse space, more people needed to sell and deliver the beer, and a new business model that you need to learn. Nothing wrong with learning, but it can be expensive.

  The fundamental question to ask is whether self-distribution can be profitable. To answer the question, check out the short guide on creating a financial pro forma for self-distribution. This will walk you through the steps of putting together your sales projections, expected margins, operating costs, and capital investments needed.

  Research your state distribution laws, do the financial analysis, and determine if self-distribution is the right move for your brewery.

Wrap Up

  The wholesaler agreement is important, and it’s important that you get it right. Understand the agreement terms and know the state laws. Do your research on the market and the wholesaler options. Create your own standard agreement and use your brand leverage to get the wholesaler to sign it. Lastly, explore whether a self-distribution option makes sense for your craft brewery.

  It’s up to you to find a great wholesaler partner. It’s up to you to ensure you have a good agreement that governs the relationship. Use the steps outlined here, talk to other craft breweries, and consult your attorney. A good wholesaler agreement is within your power to achieve. Now, go and get it.

For more information please visit…

https://craftbreweryfinance.com

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Lawson’s Finest Liquids: A Hophead’s Nirvana

Cyndi
lawson's finest liquids

By: Nan McCreary

In the small town of Waitsfield, Vermont, an iconic brewery looms large among visitors. It is Lawson’s Finest Liquids, producer of world-class IPAs and unique maple beers and, according to many, a benchmark for hoppy beers among the nation’s beer drinkers.

  “I’m a hophead,” owner Sean Lawson, along with his wife, Karen, told Beverage Master Magazine. “I’m a fan of hops in a big way.” This love of flavorful beers has been a driving force in Lawson’s life since he first started making homebrew as a college student at the University of Vermont. “In the beginning, I was making five gallons at a time,” Lawson said. “My friends loved it. I couldn’t make it fast enough.” 

  After graduation from college with a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies and a master’s degree in forestry, Lawson pursued a career as a scientist and outdoor educator but continued to hone his brewing skills. The art and the craft of making beer were in his genes.

  Finally, in 2008, with increasing demand for beer from his friends, Lawson and his wife, Karen, got a beer license and built a 280-square-foot nano-brewery in a shed next to their house. Lawson brewed his beer one barrel at a time, producing 31 gallons—or 10 cases of beer—all while keeping his day job. 

  “I worried that if I turned my hobby into a full-time job, it would end up being a drag, but the opposite happened,” he said. “It really sparked my passion. I loved coming up with new recipes, and I really enjoyed the whole process from start to finish. I would walk into the brewhouse and make things up as I went. I had a lot of ingredients, so I would look at what I had and say, ‘Umm, what do I want to brew today?’”

  As Lawson’s passion grew, so did his customer base. “From day one, we didn’t have enough beer to go around,” Lawson said. At the time, he was making a few maple-infused beers —this was Vermont, after all—but the core of his business was IPAs, which were flying off the shelves. In mid-2008, Lawson decided to quit his day job and make his “hobby” a full-time vocation. He expanded the brewery to a seven-barrel system, which he thought was a big leap but, in fact, still wasn’t enough to keep up with demand. 

  “The beer kept going away faster than I could make it,” Lawson told Beverage Master Magazine. “I could only do two batches a week because it was a small building, and I’d stuffed in as much equipment as I could.” 

  In the meantime, the accolades kept coming and coming and coming. In 2010, Lawson’s Finest Liquids became the smallest brewery ever to capture an award at the World Beer Cup, winning the Bronze medal with their Maple Tripple Ale in the specialty beer category, followed in 2012 by a Silver medal win and another Silver medal in 2016.  Lawson’s beers were also a big hit at the American Craft Beer Festival in Boston, the largest beer festival on the East Coast.

  “People were impressed with the quality and flavor of the beer,” Lawson said. “Skiers and tourists would come to Vermont, buy the beer and take it home and share with friends. ‘You gotta try this beer,’ they’d say.  There was a lot of ‘word of mouth’ success for our products.”

  All along, Lawson’s goal was to “produce beer of the highest quality with outstanding freshness.” Lawson strongly felt that to retain that freshness, the beer needed to be kept cold during the entire journey from the brewery to the customer.

  “When I started in 2008, it was a challenge to get the local distributor to keep it cool in the warehouse,” Lawson said. “But once the brand caught on, I made it a prerequisite: keep it cold in the warehouse, on the truck and while on display at the retailer.”

  Lawson’s persistence paid off. His “home run” beer was Double Sunshine, a double IPA packed with juicy, lush fruit character and herbal aromas with an 8% ABV. With the increased capacity of the seven-barrel brewery, this beer—and other specialty Lawson’s Finest Liquids—created a sensation in Vermont and throughout the Northeast, such a sensation that demand continued to get further ahead of supply. Clearly, Lawson needed to produce more beer. “I read about a brewery in Stratford, Connecticut—Two Roads Brewing Company—that offered contract services, so I decided to consider this option as a way to expand without investing in more equipment or employees,” he said. 

  From the beginning, Lawson was very particular about his requirements. His reputation was on the line, and he was adamant that this beer meet his and his fan’s expectations. “The first thing I wanted to know was if the chemistry of their water would meet my standards for making quality mash,” Lawson said. “As it turned out, the water they used for brewing was nearly identical to what we used in Vermont.”

  Lawson also wanted to differentiate this beer from what he brewed in Vermont, so he created Sip of Sunshine, inspired by Double Sunshine but lighter in color and easier on the palate, and still at 8% ABV. Expecting some trial and error in creating a new brew, everyone was surprised—and delighted—that the first two batches were hugely successful. They hadn’t even packaged the beer yet, so they sold it on draft. “It took off from day one,” Lawson said.

  Over the next three years, inspired by the continuing popularity of his beers, Lawson increased production at Two Roads, with its 100-barrel capacity, while making specialty beer at his brewery at home. He also began expanding his footprint with distribution in Vermont and Connecticut and eventually to Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and New Jersey. Sales skyrocketed, and, ultimately, the Lawsons were able to realize the culmination of their original business plan: To build a large production facility of their own and have a taproom where they could welcome the public. In 2018, that “dream” became a reality when the Lawsons opened their 40-barrel facility and timber-framed taproom in Waitsfield, located in the heart of Vermont’s Mad River Valley. The taproom is open year-round and features 10 to 12 beers on tap, as well as a food program with an emphasis on local fare. Lawson’s Finest boasts 41 full-time and 17 part-time employees. That’s a far cry from the mom-and-pop operation that began in an outbuilding on their property.

  Today, after a 20-plus year journey, Lawson’s Finest Liquids is recognized as one of the best breweries in the Northeast, especially among hopheads. The brewery produces dozens of beers, some year-round and others as special releases. Year-round beers include the flagship Sip of Sunshine; the Super Session series, brewed with the same malt base and specialty malts but each brewed with a different single-hop variety; and Little Sip, a cousin to Sip of Sunshine but with 6% ABV. Sip of Sunshine and the rotating Super Session series are brewed at Two Roads, and the rest at the Waitsfield Brewery. Lawson keeps one barrel in his brewhouse for experimenting with new flavors. If he likes the beer, he will create small-batch productions on his original seven-barrel brewery. “We’re always looking for new flavors,” he said.  “That’s where we have our fun. These are specialty beers that are only available in the taproom.”

  While Lawson’s Finest Liquids has enjoyed phenomenal success, Sean and Karen have not forgotten one of the core values that inspired their journey—to give back to the local community and communities where they do business. “Even when we were very small, we’d give a portion of our proceeds to non-profit organizations here in the Mad River Valley or Central Vermont,” said Lawson. 

  Today, this mission is organized under their Social Impact Program. The SIP includes six initiatives that support healthy communities, food and economic securities, natural resource protection and sustainable recreation in the Green Mountains. One of these initiatives is a “no-tipping” policy that offers a living wage and generous benefits to all employees. In lieu of tips in the taproom, Lawson’s Finest Liquids invites guests to donate to the Sunshine Fund, the heart of SIP. 

  “It has been wildly successful, way beyond our dreams,” Lawson said. “In the first year, we raised over $380,000. Even with COVID, donations continued with our drive-thru retail store. From October 2018 to present, we have raised over $575,000 just through the Sunshine Fund.”

  In 2020, the Lawsons received the Outstanding Vermont Business award in recognition of the brewery’s employment growth, success in the marketplace, company expansion and community involvement. The award is sponsored by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce and Vermont Business Magazine.

  As Lawson looks to the future, he said the plan is to “grow the business to thrive and not to sell.”  They hope to accomplish this by optimizing capacity and continuing the use of Two Roads to produce their flagship beers and Waitsfield for specialty releases. While they continue to increase points of distribution within the Northeast, there are no new market expansions planned in the near term. In the meantime, Lawson remains modest in his attitude toward his achievements.

  “A lot of people make great beer,” he told Beverage Master Magazine. “Why have I been successful compared to others? Maybe a sprinkle of magic.” That, and creating a nirvana for hopheads.

For more information on Lawson’s Finest Liquids, visit their website at www.lawsonsfinest.com

Exploring the Variety of Spirit-Based Canned Cocktails

Cyndi
4 assorted can cocktails

By: Becky Garrison

Over Memorial Day 2014, Bronya Shillo launched the Fishers Island Lemonade, a signature cocktail that originated at her family’s bar, The Pequot Inn, on Fishers Island, New York.  She refined their decades-old recipe and canned the premium distilled vodka, whiskey, lemon and honey cocktail. The drink is one of the first craft cocktails in a can, making Shillo and her brand a leader in the ready-to-drink market. Fast forward to 2021, and she’s expanded her portfolio to a full family of vodka and whiskey lemonade canned cocktails, as well as a fun and innovative frozen Fishers Island Lemonade spirit popsicle.

  Convenience remains the most touted selling point in the growing RTD market. According to Nielsen IQ, in 2019, annual sales in this segment were up 574%, and malt-based cocktails now account for $4.7 million in annual sales. Spirit and wine-based RTD cocktails are generally available in smaller packages; they’re also more established and generate larger sales—$62 million and $83 million in annual sales, respectively, according to the May 21, 2019, Nielsen IQ. One factor that may be influencing some of these sales from growing even higher is that in con-trol states such as Oregon, spirit-based cocktails can only be found in liquor stores instead of grocery stores in non-control states.

  In 2020, consumers in lockdown sought ways to savor their favorite spirit-based cocktails once enjoyed at a bar or restaurant. Establishments responded to this demand by offering cocktails-to-go. Depending upon state laws, these to-go packages contain all the ingredients needed to make a given establishment’s signature drinks or all the items sans the alcohol.

  This to-go trend looks to continue as the world opens up post-COVID, with customers looking for convenient ways to consume their favorite cocktails while on the go. Molly Troupe, Master Distiller for Portland-based Freeland Spirits, speaks to the appeal of canned cocktails. “Canned cocktails are great for those who like convenience and don’t want to make their own cocktails at home. Cans can go much easier than a bottle to the lake, on a hike or wherever adventure may take you.”

Carbonated Canned Cocktails

  The majority of spirit-based cocktails appear to be carbonated and designed for easy sipping with a low ABV. Ali Joseph, co-owner of Portland, Oregon’s Wild Roots, commented about their 2021 foray into the RTD market. “We always recommend simple two-ingredient cocktails to our fans and wanted to take that idea one step further. There’s nothing easier than cracking open a can.”

  According to Tuan Lee and Hope Ewing, co-founders of Los Angeles-based Vernet, they launched their line of sparkling craft cocktails when they observed the market was dominated by bulk spirits made with flavoring agents. Ewing said, “We really wanted to make something high-quality that we would drink ourselves. Tuan’s dream was to share his love for LA’s immigrant cultures through food and drink, and ready-to-drink cocktails felt like a great vehicle for this. We wanted to package in cans for convenience—being pool-friendly, beach-friendly and lightweight —and because aluminum is the most recyclable packaging around.” She added that their goals in producing these products were twofold. “We wanted to showcase the awesomeness of LA’s immigrant food cultures by using ingredients we loved from local farms and markets and to make something as complex and high-quality as I was used to making in craft cocktail bars.”

  Canned vodka cocktails like those produced by Wild Roots differentiate themselves by using natural ingredients instead of “natural” flavorings often found in canned vodka products. Wild Roots’ canned cocktails are made using their top-selling raspberry, blackberry/marionberry and peach spirits. They also added lemon to the lineup because they often use citrus in their Wild Roots cocktails. Spiritfruit is a ready-to-drink canned vodka soda made using all-natural ingredients, a splash of real fruit and five-times distilled corn-based vodka.

Gin & Tonic Canned Cocktails

  In the spirit-based RTD market, taste and innovation are already proving to be key market differentiators. Take, for example, the different ways three distillers produced a canned classic gin & tonic.

  Melissa and Lee Katrincic, co-founders and co-owners of Durham Distillery in Durham, North Carolina, launched their Conniption canned cocktails in 2018 and were among the first distilleries in the U.S. to add them.

  “We saw the increasing popularity of malt-based seltzers and with them mimicking cocktail flavors and/or names. We wanted to bring authentic, delicious spirits based cocktails in the convenience of a can,” Melissa Katrincic said. They chose rosé spritz, cucumber & vodka and gin & tonic because they found that these seasonable flavors are perfect for the warmer months in the southeast United States. Their gin & tonic emerged as the fan favorite.

  Durham’s canned cocktails must be prepared in large batches of approximately 5,000 cocktails. This process involves ensuring that the precise amount of ingredients are measured and pumped into their 450-gallon tanks, then mixed and carbonated. They have an automated canning line for getting the product into containers, whereas their spirits are hand bottled. The canning line is made of hundreds of working parts that are finely tuned but can sometimes be problematic if out of adjustment. Carbonated products can also be prone to “misbehaving,” leading to the final product being foamy or difficult to get into the cans at the right volume.

  Freeland Spirits added canned cocktails to their lineup following the success of the kegged ver-sion of their Gin and Rose Tonic, which they offered in their tasting room. They launched their canned version in 2019, followed in 2020 with the French 75. The latter is a collaboration made using women winemakers and distillers and features Freeland Gin, Chehalem Chardonnay, lemon and simple syrup.

  According to Troupe: “While canned cocktails add an additional step to spirits production, play-ing with carbonation levels and different cocktail ingredients is a lot of fun.” Also, stability is a more significant issue because these canned cocktails are lower-proof than their bottled spirits.

  As the makers of Aria Portland Dry Gin, Martin Ryan Distilling Company in Portland, Oregon, is known as a gin house. So rather than develop another product in a different spirit category, a G&T seemed like a natural extension of the Aria Portland Dry gin brand. Ryan Csansky used his background in the bar and restaurant industry to create an in-house tonic using a proprietary blend of lime, bergamot and lemongrass, hints of allspice, orris and star anise, a flavorful tonic that complements the classic London Dry style of Aria Gin. The result is a G&T canned cocktail made using all ingredients with chemicals or artificial sweeteners and one of the lowest sugar counts of any tonic on the market. Since a canning line is an expensive system to purchase, they work with a mobile canning company that brings their system and operating crew to them as needed.

Other Non-Carbonated Bartender Inspired Cocktails

  Drnxmyth, a collective of drink makers with a shared interest in bringing fresh craft cocktails to people everywhere, invented an ingenious bottling technology that, in their estimation, unlocks the freshest cocktails ever produced. Each drink created is a collaboration between them and a bartender, drink maker or drinksmith, who shares in the sales profits for this particular drink.

  The TTB licensed Drnxmyth’s factory to handle bulk spirits and fresh cold press juicing, batch-ing and filling. A patent-pending bottle separates the spirits from the fresh ingredients, since al-cohol alters the sensorial nature of juice and freshness over time. Then the drinks are pressurized at 85,000 psi, which brings the microbial count in the juice close to zero. After that process, the beverage will remain fresh for five months while refrigerated and unopened.

  Through his work in the music festival industry, Neal Cohen, co-founder of Atlanta-based Tip-Top Proper, saw demand growing for quality cocktails, though in his assessment, the category had yet to deliver the quality and convenience for classic, spirit-forward, non-carbonated cock-tails in high volumes. “We fantasized about creating a world-class cocktail in an easy-to-serve vessel, thinking maybe we could help solve a problem for venues, events, restaurants, bars, air-planes and regular folks at home on the couch. Eventually, we stopped fantasizing and started actually doing it,” Cohen said.

With that mindset, Tip Top Proper was founded in 2018, focusing first on the trifecta of bitters-forward, stirred, high-proof cocktails—Old Fashioned, Manhattan and Negroni. Next, they gravi-tated toward a “Shaken Line”—Margarita, Daiquiri and Bee’s Knees—all cocktails that allow for warm weather, outdoor consumption. Their products come in 100ml sizes, which Cohen said is the appropriate single-serve size for a cocktail.

  In 2016, The Perfect Cocktail began offering classic cocktails—Old Fashioned, Manhattan and Negroni—packaged in mini bags. Their “made in Italy” production process and functional and sustainable packaging are patented to ensure the best mix of convenience and flexibility.

  Alley 6 Craft Distilling in Healdsburg, California, first came out with their canned Old Fash-ioned in 2019 in response to consumer demand for a portable version of the drink made in their tasting room using rye whiskey or apple brandy and candy cap (mushroom) bitters. A bottle didn’t seem to fit their purposes when compared to a canned cocktail that could be enjoyed while on the go, traveling or adventuring.

  Oregon-based 503 Distilling offers their canned Mt. Hood Old Fashioned, a blend of their rye whiskey, hazelnut bitters and maple syrup. This canned cocktail follows their first release, the Wicked Mule, along with other offerings—Blood Orange Greyhound, La Vida Mocha, Five-O-Tea and Huckleberry Lemonade.

  For a Brazilian twist on the Old Fashioned, Novo Fogo is launching a Brazilian Old Fashioned Highball hybrid that features tropical flavors of orange and vanilla. Their initial foray into the canned cocktail market was their Sparkling Caipirinha, a canned version of Brazil’s national cocktail available in three flavors found across the Brazilian food and drink spectrum—lime, passion fruit and mango.

  Finally, for consumers looking to savor a hot, after-dinner hard coffee that’s easy to make, Cask and Kettle produces small-batch hard coffees in flavors such as Irish, Mint Patty, Hot Blonde or Mexican Coffee, and a Spiked Cider in a k-pod. The k-pods, packaged and distilled by Temper-ance Distilling in Temperance, Michigan, contain liquid distilled spirits, concentrated coffee and flavorings, and can be placed into any pod home brewing system or poured into hot or iced water.

Just Add Honey: The NEW Buzz Worthy Ingredient!

Cyndi
apple cocktail on glas

By: Hanifa Sekandi 

You may have heard about the Bee’s Knees honey-infused prohibition-era cocktail. Perhaps it is your go-to drink on a warm summer night. This drink is a refreshing blend of gin, lemon juice and a touch of honey, a guilt-free beverage to indulge in. It was crafted by Australian-born bar-tender Frank Meier in the 1920s, who simply elevated a Gin Sour by replacing simple syrup with honey. One hundred years later, it’s still a buzz-worthy beverage, with an ingredient favored due to its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Honey is also considered a healthier sweet alternative to refined sugar since it consists of trace minerals and vitamins. It can still be high in calories, but it’s a better option than high-fructose corn syrup and sugar.  

Why is Honey all the Buzz? 

  The term Bee’s Knees means “the best” or “outstanding,” and honey does more than add a little sweetness to your life. Although one might not liken a few cocktails to health and well-being, honey has become a star ingredient for nouveau bottled and canned beverages that appeal to the health-conscious consumer, and a cocktail isn’t the exception.  

  A question that may come to mind is, why honey? Honey, liquid gold, has been an important component in alcohol that predates the prohibition era. Mead, known as the “drink of the Gods,” is a fermented alcoholic beverage made with golden honey, bacterial culture or yeast, and water. This ancient honey wine found in Africa, Asia and Europe has a long lifeline dating approximately 4,000 years. Fast forward to the 21st century, and honey is not just a royal sweetener with great health properties. It’s an ingredient that makes one brand stand out from the rest. 

  Once touted as your grandmother’s therapeutic cure-all for staving off a cold or sore throat during winter months, as health becomes a primary concern for consumers, honey has become a coveted and cherished ingredient due to its undisputed benefits. As the negative impacts of refined sugar consumption become clear, the alcoholic beverage industry turns to alternatives like honey, which add a sweet touch while being much better for the body. 

Sipping Guilt-Free Cocktails  

  Since refined sugar is a frowned-upon ingredient, brands that do not pivot with the health-conscious consumer will find themselves left behind in a market that calls for change where curation, sourcing and production is concerned. Yes, having a few libations with friends during a funfilled cottage weekend is the norm, but ingredients matter. As more people take the time to read the label, what’s in a premixed cocktail will not be overlooked simply because it tastes good.  

  For individuals who see fitness as a lifestyle, finding alcoholic beverages that support this ethos is a top priority. Wellness websites often list low-calorie and reduced-sugar canned cocktails without artificial sweeteners or chemicals that can diminish a health-conscious nutrition plan. Most people look for caloric content first and then what ingredients are used to provide flavoring and added sweetness. This higher standard from consumers has brands leaning towards natural ingredients and moving away from artificial flavorings, sweeteners and additives.  

  A la carte specialized cocktails are now accessible at the consumer level. Access to simplified, clean versions created by top bartenders and mixologists can be found at your local liquor store or delivered to your doorstep. Feeling a little bit better about decisions where imbibing is con-cerned has gained strong support via social media initiatives and marketing campaigns by brands who aim to shake up the industry. Once the new kid on the block, premixed drinks made with honey, natural sweetener or real fruit are now taking center stage.  

  Honey-infused cocktails are the gateway to what is next on the horizon for “fun nutrition.” Although honey is a rockstar ingredient, it doesn’t lend itself to every cocktail due to its rich flavor profile. Unlike refined sugar or corn syrup, it is more than just sweet. Brands that plan to join this new wave will have to experiment with other sweet alternatives to hit the mark.  

Maple Syrup and Monk Fruit Are Making Things A Little Sweeter  

  It turns out maple syrup is just as good in a cocktail as it is on a warm, delicious stack of pancakes. You may have heard of or tried maple syrup-infused still and sparkling water. If you add a little gin, some lime and ice, it’s a drink worth singing about. (You can thank us later for this DIY cocktail.) There are numerous cocktails made to order with maple syrup, drinks you can make right at home. Beverage companies looking to pivot will most likely take a few of your favorites and turn them into simple, clean, ready-to-drink cocktails. For example, an Apple Sour is just as simple to make as the Bee’s Knees cocktail if you have Calvados, lemon juice and maple syrup. Another easy-to-make cocktail that marries well with this decadent sweetener is an Old Fashioned.  

  Monk fruit, also known as Luo Han Guo, a natural sweetener originating from Southeast Asia, is a new replacement for stevia in protein powders, meal replacement and energy drinks. It’s de-rived from dried monk fruits. Monk fruit extract is ideal for individuals on a low sugar or carbo-hydrate diet since it contains zero sugar or carbohydrates. It boasts antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. This ancient fruit, harvested and cultivated by monks in the 13th centu-ry and first used for traditional herbal medicine, can be found in beverages such as the Slightly Mighty, a low carb 95 calorie beer infused with monk fruit.   

Leveling Up – Health Conscious Imbibing  

  Whether it is honey, maple syrup or monk fruit, there are better options to sweeten alcoholic beverages. What will determine the success of a health-conscious beverage is for producers not simply to replace refined sugar but craft drinks that complement this alternative. Alternative sweeteners come with nuances that may either create the perfect blend or overpower other ingre-dients. Some people have described the aftertaste of Monk fruit as bitter, and honey is derived from many sources: manuka, wildflower, buckwheat and sourwood, to name a few. The flavor profile and depth of sweetness vary with each. The same can be said of maple syrup, which can have a rich, robust caramel or honey-like fruity taste.  

  These are not the only natural sweeteners that consumers will find in their canned cocktails. Agave nectar, molasses, coconut sugar and even dates will be infused into the next wave of clean canned alcoholic beverages. Date syrup is already shining bright as a deep and rich sugar re-placement in cocktails. Not only is this tropical fruit a great source of fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, but it also scores lower than honey and maple syrup on the glycemic index. 

  Some brands take it a step further and clearly label the ingredients on the front of the can so con-sumers won’t miss it. Although refined and simplified ingredients are making headway, it re-mains a niche market against headlining brands that hold a loyal consumer base despite un-healthy additives or sweeteners.  

  With that said, simplicity lends itself to cocktail making, allowing mixologists to move away from fancy frills or adding too much in favor of a little less. The best drink served doesn’t have to be the loudest in the room, but it certainly could use a little honey.   

African Craft Brewing & the Pandemic

Cyndi
man brewing drink

By: Calvin Obbaatt  

The negative impact of coronavirus has been felt globally in all sectors of the economy, resulting in a worldwide production deficit. With consumers being unable to access products, large and small companies have been forced to stop production or produce less than usual. Companies in the hospitality sector have suffered a major blow as pandemic regulations have caused many businesses to shut down completely. Among the companies significantly impacted is the brewing industry, specifically craft brewery. 

  Initially, craft breweries enjoyed massive sales that yielded millions of profits in Africa alone. The industry also employed a vast staff, and production was increasing day-in and day-out. Compared to their competitors, craft breweries stood out for producing unique products that suited customer demands. In Africa, craft breweries thrived, and craft beer was some of the most consumed beer. Nearly all pubs, restaurants and bars sold craft beer. These products became more popular with the introduction of cheaper and smaller packages that are accessible and cost-friendly. 

  Unfortunately, with the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic, millions of breweries in  

Africa were directed by different governments to stop on-site consumption of beer completely. The taprooms that had become popular drinking places and earned the breweries massive income were shut down for hosting large amounts of people. Consumers were instructed to stay at home and avoid any public places. Similarly, parties and public events were also shut down. Clearly, parties and events were significant markets for the breweries. Bars, significant purchasers of beer products, were closed indefinitely, causing beer sales to drop significantly. This, in turn, caused breweries to take tough measures that impacted that production greatly. Many brewery workers were laid off, a move that increased the workload of the remaining staff. 

  The breweries were also forced to adopt creative but expensive delivery services. The companies adopted a pick-up and delivery system whereby the drinks were transported to each individual who ordered. The idea proved costly to the producers as they had to incur transportation costs as well. Additionally, the producer was forced to use glass and aluminium packages for all the products distributed by these criteria. In other countries with strict measures, breweries were required to produce hand sanitizers to accompany their products. 

  Restricted consumption of brewery products has led to the expiry of billions of kegs of beer on the African continent. This loss will be directly felt by the breweries as bars and restaurants purchase the products on loan and only pay after the sale. The loss of millions is likely to see some bars close completely. These closures mean that breweries lose potential customers as well as the money owed from the bars’ debts to them. 

  Breweries also face challenges of inadequate carbon dioxide since the production of CO2 has also been affected by the pandemic. The inefficient quantity of CO2 is likely to stop beer production due to the lack of a carbonator. The low availability of carbon dioxide has shot its prices to levels quite uneconomical to producers. Additionally, the small amounts of highly-priced carbon dioxide available are highly sought by multiple organizations and industries that are in a constant scramble for the commodity. According to a recent survey carried out by EABL, 60% of breweries in Africa have wholly stopped production, and only the large companies are still producing. These large companies, such as the East African Breweries Ltd (EABL)., have suffered a significant loss in enforcing the measures advised on by the experts to contain the pandemic. These measures will cause the company to lose $86.4 million in net earnings. Accompanied by other issues from the pandemic, EABL will lose at least 25% of its annual revenues: 28.7 million dollars. 

  EABL is based in the Eastern part of Africa and operates in the four countries of the East African Community. Countries within this trade block, such as Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, imposed some of the strictest laws to stop the spread of the pandemic. Meanwhile, neighbouring countries like Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan were reluctant to impose COVID-19 restrictions. The reluctant countries blamed the pandemic for imposing an economic tragedy, a road that they were unwilling to walk down. 

  According to Paul Mwai, CEO of EABL in Kenya, the pandemic was not only felt by the breweries but also in all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, hotels and catering. The brewery further reported a worse decrease as the situation was not getting better. Workers, who were the major consumers of beer products, had lost their jobs and thus income due to layoffs, business closures and job losses.  

  The pandemic has led to shareholders pulling back their resources when it comes to investing in the company. Most Boards of Directors advised their shareholders and the public that company profit will decrease significantly from the previous year when breweries recorded massive profits after taxation. Previously, EABL faced the problem of high taxation that increased after every financial year. The trend is worrying to the EABL Board of Directors, as the government – specifically the Kenyan government – has imposed hefty taxes on bottled beer brands. 

  The company’s woes were further castigated by the government when an excise tax of 5.2% was introduced on beer and a resounding 15% on spirits, making these drinks unaffordable to many consumers. A similar situation was felt in Uganda when the government banned spirits from being sold in plastic containers. The Ugandan government’s ban on plastic reduced the growth and sales of spirits. 

  The majority of breweries in Africa are internationally owned, predominantly by European and American entities. Travel bans imposed by the African countries have made it difficult for international owners to access these institutions. For instance, the EABL is owned by British Diageo, accounting for 50.03% of the shares. The restrictions and the inevitable losses predicted have made the Board of Directors rethink their judgment and resort to returning the shareholders’ investments in the form of dividends. The pandemic has put the companies in a situation that demands high capital investments that will enable them to pull through during the unfortunate events. The financial pressure is mostly felt by the shareholders who are in the tightest position on whether to invest more and risk in order to salvage the situation or withdraw entirely and wait for better seasons. 

  Major stakeholders, such as the banking industry, have also withdrawn any lending activity as advised by the central banks globally. The European Central Bank has also advised against paying dividends to shareholders. 

  The coronavirus pandemic has led to the loss of lives of some of the best brains in the breweries. With labor and expertise being a major driving force in the success of any economic sector, the impact of the loss is felt heavily. Breweries depend widely on human labor. Loss of this labor will be felt long-term as replacing some of these workers will not be a walk in the park. Training a new individual will take time and money. For instance, EABL had some of its technical staff trained efficiently in the developed countries, and these people have been a significant asset for the company. The death of such experts minimizes the production potential of the company to extraordinary lengths. 

  Currently, most organizations have adopted medical policies to cater to the welfare of their staff, a way of promoting the efficacy of workers. However, with the rise of the pandemic, the brewing industry has incurred considerable expenses in staff treatment. With the disease tending to attack people through contact, many people within a single organisation will likely get infected within a span of one week. The companies, at this point, will have no option but to provide for the entire sick staff as stipulated within their agreement. Such a move is likely to render the organisation bankrupt and incur huge losses. 

The situation is likely to worsen if the pandemic persists as the government is relentless in reducing the pandemic through control measures. However, hopefully, scientists will overcome the situation and produce a viable vaccine, getting the brewing industry back in business and thriving once again.