Spring 2018 | V.23 AMOSKEAG BEVERAGES KEITH VILLA BLUE MOON BREWING CO. Delivering Excellence Seasonals Rethinking Retail New Products Programs STONY CREEK BREWERY | SPRING SELECTIONS | PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN Letter toTHE TRADE Welcome to the World of Beer 2018 In This S YOU KNOW, THE BEST WAY to delight your customers and ISSUE A maximize profits in the beer business is to stay ahead of the curve. Consumers want what they want, when they want it and in the format that suits Delivering the the occasion. Through our emails, website Taste of Excellence ...............1 and Heady Times content, we do our best to keep you informed. But nothing cuts Cover Story .........................2 through the clutter like a check list. So we peered into beer’s “crystal growler” for ................. a list of six trends you should expect to Brewer Highlight 4 see in 2018. River Hill Market .................5 Canning The market is beginning to see a shift from bottles to cans. Cans make beer more portable, they increase freshness and give breweries more space Lab ’n Lager for design and advertising. Check out page 9 to read about Woodstock Inn Food & Spirits .....................6 Brewery’s transition to cans. IPAs aren’t going away New Products .....................7 Americans love bold flavors and brewers continue to create IPA styles that consumers can’t resist. From fruity IPAs like Stony Creek Ruffled Feathers or Great Rhythm Tropical Haze, to hoppy Smuttynose Finestkind and on to hazy, Seasonal Selections .............9 luscious Sam Adams New England IPA, there’s plenty to be discovered. Sessionable beers with great flavor Available Year-Round Reflecting the cocktail trend, these beers, like Dogfish Head SeaQuench Ale, Perfect for the Season ....... 14 Neighborhood Hallowed Hammock Blonde Ale and Two Roads Lil’ Heaven are low in alcohol and not too sweet, so you can enjoy several, when drinking time is “in session”. Programs ........................ 15 The return of lagers It’s tough to make a great lager, but the best brewers can’t resist a challenge. Rethinking Retail .............. 21 Try these innovative, best-in-class examples: Samuel Adams American Craft Lagers Variety Pack and Moat Czech Pilsner if you’re looking for a tasty lager. A rosé by any other name Loved by men and women alike, the U.S. is now the world’s second biggest market for rosé. Angry Orchard Rosé Hard Cider, made with hibiscus and rare, red-fleshed apples from France, has a floral aroma balanced by refreshing, light tannins found in the best semi-dry wines. Nauti Rosé and Crispin Rosé are also big on the rosé scene. Innovation Leave it to Boston Beer founder Jim Koch to create a totally new beer style. Sam ’76 is the first beer to be made with both ale and lager yeast. Beer writer Lew Bryson says the liquid “drinks smooth and slippery like a cellaraged lager, but with the round body of an ale.” Amoskeag Beverages understands that the retail business is a competitive and fast-paced one in which quality products, impeccable service and timeliness matter greatly. We strive to offer all of these to our customers every day. Thanks for making Amoskeag your partner in the beer business. Heady Times is published four times a year, courtesy Tom Bullock Ed Murphy of Amoskeag Beverages. Chairman of the Board President DeliveringTHE TASTE OF EXCELLENCE Find Out More About Amoskeag’s Employees Chelsea Moores Craft Beer Sales Administrative Assistant How long have you been with Amoskeag Beverages? I started last July. What is a typical day like at Amoskeag for you? My days never look the same and that’s what I love about my job! I could be getting a beer order ready for a brew festival or working on presentations for our current craft suppliers. I do lots of reporting and special projects which keeps things interesting. What was your first job? When I was 15 years-old I scooped ice cream at a shop in the Concord Mall. What’s your biggest pet peeve? Oh boy, that’s a good question. If you could be anywhere enjoying a This may sound weird but I can’t stand the sound plastic bags make cold beer right now, where would you when they’re blowing around. When I have groceries in the car and my be? Now this is an easy question. I’d be in windows are rolled down and the plastic bags start crinkling – I hate it! Nashville, on Broadway, listening to some Do I sound crazy? live music with a Great North Aleworks RVP. Todd Bulliner Night Warehouse Order Picker How long have you been with Amoskeag Beverages? I can’t believe it’s going on 4 years. What do you like most about your job and what does it entail? I work a 4 day work week which gives me a 3 day weekend. You can’t get any better than that! My job responsibilities are picking the orders and loading them on trucks for delivery. What was your first job? My very first job was a bagger at a grocery store. What’s your biggest pet peeve? I really have a hard time with people that have no respect for others. We all need to show common courtesy to the people around us. If you could be anywhere enjoying a cold drink right now, where would you be? After this snowy winter we’ve had in New Hampshire, I’d say my dream vacation would be in the warm sunshine of the Caribbean. I’d be drinking a cold Yellow Red Bull on the beach. Look Who Retired Amoskeag sends our very best wishes for a happy retirement to Bruce Waldo (Tel-Sell/Sales) and Chuck Carter (driver), who were both employed at Amoskeag for 29 years, as well as Bryan McFarland (Area Sales Manager), who was with Amoskeag for 22 years! Congratulations on jobs well done and a retirement well deserved, you will be missed! www.amoskeagbeverages.com HeadyTimes v.23 1 CoverSTORY Blue Moon A-Rising In 2017, sales of Blue Moon Belgian White, the country’s largest craft brand, were up 9% according to I.R.I. Now, as the brand’s newest release Blue Moon Mango Wheat begins its ascent, some say it has the star power to “eclipse” the original. HOOSING WHICH BEERS WILL DELIGHT YOUR CUSTOMERS AND aromatic beer, while vacationing in drive sales can be a difficult and confusing task nowadays. Beer Scandinavia. One day as he passed by an Cstyles and releases have never been more varied or outrageous. artisanal bakery, the smell of freshly baked Beer drinkers are more adventurous and more finicky than ever before. bread with cardamom filled the air. That And there is an endless stream of new beers and breweries popping up scent inspired Keith to brew a beer with every day. With our business changing at breakneck speed, it’s hard to fresh apricots and a touch of cardamom.” remember how this all got started – not to mention the trailblazing beers Next up is their Summer Honey Wheat, that were there at the beginning and continue to drive volume today. which is crafted with clover honey and orange peel for a truly refreshing taste. Once in a Blue Moon New Year, New Look One such beer appeared in 1995. After receiving his PhD in brewing at a prestigious Belgian school, master brewer Keith Villa returned to A good brewery doesn’t just innovate by Denver’s Sandlot Brewery located in Coors Field, home of the Colorado brewing new beers, a good brewery looks at Rockies, and dreamed up the Belgian-style wheat ale that would end every aspect of their business with an eye up taking America by storm: Blue Moon. “At that time, drinkers weren’t for reinvention – and that’s exactly what necessarily used to seeing a hazy beer, much less one garnished with an Blue Moon did for its packaging in 2018. orange,” explains Cris Rivera, Blue Moon’s National Craft Director. “But, “Packaging evolutions allow Blue Moon to once they tried it and realized it was not only refreshing, but sessionable play in more occasions and offer additional and delicious, people became more open-minded to trying other unique value to our drinkers,” says Rivera. Cans styles of beer.” have become the format of choice for younger drinkers. So this year, Blue Moon By today’s standards, Villa’s Blue Moon Belgian White is thought of as will replace the 12-pack can package a “gateway beer” – one that helps drinkers transition from approachable with a 15-pack. “We’ll be launching the domestics like Coors Light to the world of craft, where IBUs and exotic 15-pack cans just in time for summertime hops reign supreme. But at the time, this craft brewer’s recipe was truly get-togethers.” revolutionary. “Blue Moon opened American drinkers’ minds to what was possible when it came to great tasting beer, allowing them to accept Reaching a Diverse Audience twists to what was, up to that point, considered ‘normal’,” says Rivera. Blue Moon is also well positioned to combat More than 20 years later, the creative brewers at Blue Moon continue to a growing concern in the beer industry – deliver on their mission to brew interesting, sessionable, American wheat younger drinkers veering away from beer beers, like Mango Wheat. as their number one beverage of choice. Villa and his team will leverage their light, Blue Moon Mango Wheat Lands a GABF Silver Medal refreshing wheat beer portfolio to bring those After experimenting with limited releases and seasonal offerings for drinkers back to beer.