🍻 Alvarado St's JC Hill on Taprooms, Lager & Working with Dad

Alvarado Street’s J.C. Hill shares his philosophy after a decade of craft brewing on California’s central coast, as well as his partnership with his father. Brewbound Insiders are reading the full Q&A. 

Insiders are also:

• Finding out more on Athletic Brewing’s purchase of the Ballast Point Miramar brewery;
• Diving into the latest big brewers’ scans, including A-B’s performance;
• Seeing beer’s expectations for Father’s Day;
• Getting details on Hulk Hogan’s entry into the light lager wars.

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 The latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – features J.C. Hill, founder and brewmaster of Alvarado Street Brewery in Salinas, California. 

J.C. discusses what he’s learned in 10 years of brewing craft beer on California’s central coast and the “boringly civil” conversations he has with his business partner, his dad. 

Here is a snippet of the Q&A:

Alvarado Street is celebrating a decade in business this year. What do you think is the secret to your sticking power?

J.C.: I'm super grateful we've made it 10 years. I'd have to say a combination of talented, zealous co-workers, occasionally good timing, and a bit of luck. Just following our instincts and focusing on quality. That's a tough question, and I wish I knew the answer to guide us for the next 10 years.

You founded the brewery in partnership with your dad. What’s it like running a company with him?

J.C.: It's been great working with my father over the years – without his guidance and leadership we'd probably still be in our original location (which would have been totally fine!). 

He comes from an architecture and construction background, so when the opportunity to expand locations has presented itself over the years, he's made it a fairly easy process by helping us navigate the red tape and reduce our soft and planning costs. And he's designed some beautiful venues, of course. 

We see eye to eye on most aspects of the business, which keeps things boringly civil around the dinner table.

Insiders can read more about Alvarado Street’s hospitality strategy and the best business advice J.C.’s gotten.

Want to hear even more from J.C.? Check out his interview with Brewbound reporter Zoe Licata after Alvarado Street was named a Brewbound Rising Star in 2023.

The mystery surrounding who would take over the now former Ballast Point production facility in San Diego is officially over.

When Ballast Point owners Kings and Convicts announced in April that they had ceased production at the Miramar facility, whispers pointed to dedicated non-alcoholic (NA) beer maker Athletic Brewing Company taking over the space. The speculation proved true.

The addition of Carroll Way brings Athletic’s annual capacity to 1 million barrels. The company can produce 400,000 barrels at Carroll Way, 150,000 barrels at Trade Street, and 450,000 barrels at its brewery in Milford, Connecticut, Furnari said.

Insiders can read more about Athletic’s plans for the facility and its 2024 trends.

Greetings, beer enthusiasts! Zoe Licata here with a brief message. You're currently enjoying a taste of our Daily Briefing with the Lite Edition—a delightful preview, indeed. But let me share a little insider info: our editorial team packs even more knowledge into the full version of the Daily Briefing, available to our Insiders.

With full access to Brewbound.com, plus exclusive insights from our team, becoming an Insider isn't just a subscription—it's joining a dynamic community.

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Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) trends continue to improve in the latest monthly off-premise scans report from market research firm Circana. Meanwhile, positive growth trends for Molson Coors and Constellation Brands – the two largest gainers from A-B’s declines – decelerated, according to data through May 19.

Dollar sales for A-B’s portfolio, which is still the No. 1 overall beer vendor in Circana-tracked off-premise channels (total U.S. multi-outlet plus convenience) year-to-date (YTD), have now declined -8.7%, while volume has declined -9.4%. In the last four weeks (L4W), A-B dollar sales (-1.8%) and volume (-2.8%) declines were significantly smaller, and were actually less than declines for competitor Molson Coors. 

Constellation Brands, back at No. 2, increased dollar sales +5.7% and volume +4.5% in the L4W, and has now increased dollar sales +8% and volume +7% YTD. While outpacing Molson Coors, Constellation’s growth decelerated slightly versus the previous four-week period, which saw YoY dollar sales and volume growth of +6.5% and +5.1%, respectively

Insiders can read much more, including more context on c-store beer vendor movement, trends in grocery, and L4W performances for beer segments across all channels.

Hulk Hogan is getting into the beer business, lending his name and image to Real American Beer, a new light lager brand that launched Thursday at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. 

Hogan, the 1980s and 1990s professional wrestling star, is partnering with Terri Francis, who previously worked at Anheuser-Busch InBev’s innovation arm, ZX Ventures, as global VP and general counsel for investments and new business. 

Francis is serving as CEO of Real American Beer, with Hogan (real name Terry Bollea) serving as founder and “majority owner” of the business. 

She told Brewbound: “He's just so deeply passionate about it. He shows up to all the wholesaler meetings, he shows up to all the retailer meetings, nothing is too much. There's no restriction on his time.”

Insiders can read more about Real American Beer’s strategy, Hogan’s adoption of a “moderation lifestyle” and potential portfolio additions.

Burial Beer Company’s Doug Reiser discusses the culmination of a three-year project to open a rooftop wine bar for the company’s Visuals wine brand in Asheville, North Carolina. 

For Burial, it’s about creating “immersive experiences” at its venues, Reiser explains. He discusses reviving once-abandoned spaces, how the company got into beer and then moved into the wine space and how much overlap there is between the company’s beer drinkers and wine consumers.

But first, Jess, Zoe and Justin also discuss the news, including the key pieces Anchor Brewing is going to need in its resurrection. They also discuss the effectiveness of Brooklyn Brewery’s European ad campaign, and pour over Voodoo Ranger’s scans trends, with some brands in decline and others still on the ascent.

Listen here or on your podcast platform of choice.

Brewbound is excited to announce three additional speakers for the Brewbound Live business conference December 11 and 12 in Marina del Rey, California. 

The two-day conference will bring together leaders from all three tiers for business-focused conversations on driving the bev-alc industry forward, data presentations, networking and brand building at the Marina del Rey Marriott. 

Joining the speaker roster are:

• Arthur Moye, owner and CEO of Full Circle Brewing;
• Kaleigh Theriault, director of thought leadership, beverage alcohol vertical, NIQ;
• Brian “BK” Krueger, VP of business development and portfolio strategies, Bump Williams Consulting.

They join previously announced speakers include: 

• Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner, Russian River Brewing;
• Peter Skrbek, CEO, Deschutes Brewery;
• Lester Jones, chief economist and VP of analytics, National Beer Wholesalers Association;
• Jennifer Hauke, founder and president, Draftline Technologies.

Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. Interested in speaking? Follow this link to see our speaker guidelines. 

In addition to the mainstage programming and networking parties, Brewbound Live will feature opportunities for one-to-one conversations between brewers and bev-alc brands and retail buyers from chains such as Whole Foods Market. Registered attendees will be considered for meetings with buyers, as space is limited. Find out more details here.

Brewbound Live tickets are available now.