Brewbound Podcast

Athletic Brewing co-founder and CEO Bill Shufelt is "the most excited" he's felt since founding the dedicated non-alcoholic (NA) beer brand. On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Shufelt shared what's driving his hyped feeling, with a foundation he and co-founder John Walker laid about a decade ago. That foundation is built on a team of 300 co-workers, bicoastal brewing facilities, a strong distribution base for its core beers, a slate of new products hitting retailers and marketing campaigns beginning to ramp up. "I'm very bullish on the long-term health and growth of the category and our part in growing that," Shufelt said. "It was very hard to get non-alcoholic beer from zero to 2% of beer, but there are actual retailers in the U.S. [where] non-alcoholic beer is touching up against 20% of their beer sales." Those retailers lend credence to Shufelt's belief that NA beer can be a much bigger part of the beer category. Shufelt explained that consumers are very early in the NA beer discovery curve, with the vast majority unaware how the product has changed in the last decade. Even with the stage set for growth, Shufelt acknowledged that Athletic still has work to do for the company and the segment to reach some of his loftier goals. For Athletic in particular, which holds around 22% of the NA beer segment, distribution remains its biggest opportunity. "In independents, no matter how much our distributors smile at us and tell us we're a priority, we're in like 10% of their independents," Shufelt said. "And I can go into stores in almost any state in the country and look at a shelf that is controlled by our distributor that has five-plus non-alcoholic beer products on it, and Athletic will have none. There's just such untapped distribution out there still." For now, Shufelt is focused on driving Athletic and NA beer forward. But could the future include an IPO? An Athletic led by someone else? Shufelt said it's possible, but he doesn't want to be on the outside looking in on an opportunity he was one of the few people to see. Before the interview, Justin, Jess and Zoe discuss the latest headlines, including the mixed results craft brewers are seeing from the World Cup, the American Cider Association co-locating its 2027 CiderCon conference with the Brewers Association's Craft Brewers Conference, the closure of Nebraska's largest craft brewery and the top new products of so far this year.

How did a drink that was concocted for the 1952 Helsinki Olympic Games find relevance in the U.S. today? Finnish Long Drink co-founder and CEO Evan Burns explained on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast how the gin-based ready-to-drink (RTD) brand has connected with modern consumers through sampling, storytelling and authentic celebrity partnerships. Burns shared that first-time Long Drink consumers often get "Long Drink Face" – a range of emotions that start with confusion for what the product is, to surprise after they try it, to ultimately delight. That starts a domino effect with the newfound fan turning their friends and spouses on to the product, Burns said. It also opens them up to the story of the cocktail made from gin, grapefruit juice and water more than half a decade ago for Finland's Olympic moment. During a conversation with Brewbound senior reporter Zoe Licata, Burns emphasized how the Long Drink has stayed true to its citrus roots and isn't a product to be spun off into 30 flavors. "It's about building brands with soul," he said. Burns also discussed how a celebrity partnership with actor Miles Teller led to other celebrities organically signing on with the brand, how the Long Drink leverages social media and tips for any CPG brands seeking growth.

Monday Night Brewing co-founder and CEO Jeff Heck had an Office Space moment a couple of years ago after returning from a three-month sabbatical in the South of France. "When I came back, I realized the company was generally doing great," he said, adding he had a moment straight from the movie's famous meeting-of-the-Bobs scene and asked himself: "What is it that you say you do here?" "If you can leave your job for three months and things are generally fine, it's worth asking what would you do here," Heck explained. "I've just never wanted to be the old guy who comes in with a newspaper and puts his feet up on the desk because he's 80 years old and just wants to be at the office. I like working. And I like having something meaningful to do." That moment spawned the beginning of a succession plan for the CEO role, which transferred to Monday Night co-founder Joel Iverson last month. On the latest Brewbound Podcast, Heck and Iverson shared that their eventual succession plan was a reflection of Monday Night leaders' overarching cultural philosophy of working to make their jobs irrelevant and identifying the coworkers next in line to take the reins. "That's true for everyone – from our general managers at each of our six locations to our production team – 'Hey, if someone gets hit by a bus tomorrow, who is it that's ready to step into your role?'" Heck said. "And the answer is not always clear, but if there's not a clear answer, your job is to start working on that. "The reality is that we've never had a concrete, explicit plan for what transition looked like," he continued. "But the core was how do we make sure we're culturally and missionly aligned across our leadership team so that in the event that Joel, Jonathan and I all went down in a plane crash that there would still be torchbearers for what we want to be as a company and a brewery if we're long gone." Getting there took Monday Night 12 years, Heck and Iverson shared. In the episode, they discussed how they eventually arrived at a transition plan, the importance of the culture they're built at the brewery and their vision for the future. Before the interview, Justin, Jess and Zoe discuss the latest bev-alc news, including the re-emergence of hard sodas, the Great American Beer Festival's move outdoors and surprisingly positive scans to open the year.

How can a craft brewer expect to win away games if they're not winning at home? That's the sports analogy pFriem Family Brewers co-founder and CEO Rudy Kellner used to describe the Hood River, Oregon-based brewery's strategy when it comes to expanding its distribution footprint. This week's Brewbound Podcast highlights a stage conversation from Brewbound Live featuring Kellner and New Trail Brewing (Williamsport, PA) COO and partner Mike LaRosa. Both breweries have secured impressive volume growth within footprints that don't stretch far beyond their neighboring states. Before the featured conversation, Justin – freshly returned from parental leave – and Jess discuss recent headlines, including the return of Dos Equis' Most Interesting Man in the World, and whether or not nostalgia can bring in new beer drinkers.