This Week's Beer News: Things are gettin' saucy in Ohio, the unintended consequences of RTDs, and more

Just Tapped

This week, news of another craft-on-craft merger/acquistion. Also, a tale of unintended consequences. Along with that, some really sad, tragic beer news from Vermont. Read on.

Things are Getting Saucy in Ohio

In a deal that closed on December 1st, Cleveland-based Saucy Brew Works acquired Cartridge Brewing of Maineville, OH for an undisclosed sum. Now part of what it refers to as its family of brands, Saucy Brew Works says that the team at Cartridge Brewing will continue “to make incredible beer,” including Cartridge’s award-winning crowd favorites. “Customers can expect to see several exciting new beers along with Cartridge classics,” said the announcement from Saucy.

Cartridge Brewing operates a 15-barrel brewhouse, taproom, and kitchen in the historic Peters Cartridge Factory building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built as an ammunition factory more than 150 years ago and supplied ammunition for both world wars. In more recent history, the building underwent massive renovations and is now a mixed-use property, with residential and business spaces. Apartments above and a brewery below.

Cartridge Brewing opened in 2017 and produced an estimated 1,500 barrels of beer in 2021. Saucy Brew Works opened at about the same time and produced about 7,000 barrels of beer last year. Today, Saucy operates five locations, four in Ohio and one in Michigan. Cartridge Brewing's location in Maineville now joins that family. In part, Saucy’s growth has been fueled by crowdfunding campaigns. One of those campaigns valued the company at $112.73 million.

According to a report from Brewbound, the three original founders of Cartridge Brewing will not be part of the company moving forward.

The Unintended Consequences of RTD Tax Breaks

Among the many pressures squeezing the craft brewing industry these days, RTDs (ready-to-drink cocktails) continue to attract the attention, and the dollars, of consumers. Lately, large RTD manufacturers are actively lobbying, state-by-state, pushing legislators to lower taxes on their products. Their pitch is that reducing taxes for the producers will lead to lower prices for consumers. A report released this week by Public Sector Consultants shows that such promises are hollow.

Last year, two states enacted legislation that significantly reduced the tax rate. In Nebraska, the per-liter tax rate paid by RTD producers was reduced by approximately 75 percent. In Michigan, it was reduced by approximately 37.5 percent. According to the report from Public Sector Consultants, since those tax reductions took effect, consumer prices have risen by 65 percent in Nebraska and 44 percent in Michigan. For consumers in those states, RTD price increases outpaced price increases for other alcoholic beverages.

It is no secret that across the nation RTD producers have been increasingly active in lobbying state legislators to lower taxes. In Washington state, for instance, a representative of the Washington Brewers Guild told me that he expects the RTD producers to lobby for lower taxes during the upcoming legislative session, as they did during the last session. Will reduced tax revenue from RTDs lead to higher taxes for beer producers? That's the worry. (Interested in finding and supporting your state’s brewers guild? Click here.)

Farewell, Godspeed

Last Friday in Brattleboro, Vermont a fire broke out in McNeill's Brewery. The fire took the life of the brewery's founder and brewer, Ray McNeill, who lived in an apartment above the brewery and pub. He was the fire's sole victim.

McNeill's Brewery was a community fixture since its opening in 1990. Described as a beloved gathering space, where jokes were told and songs were sung, it was closed during covid and still awaited reopening, delayed by ongoing upgrades and repairs to the 130-year-old building. Some reports suggest the building was even older than that. Hours following Friday night's fire, authorities deemed the building structurally unsound, and dangerously so. It was torn down on Saturday afternoon.

Reports say that as crews demolished what was left of the building on Saturday, a crowd gathered nearby and sang songs, mourning the loss of both the community's brewery and their friend, Ray McNeill. Read more about this story here. 

Firkin Finance

Here's the BPI for November.

The NBWA Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) is an informal monthly statistical release giving distributors a timely and reliable indicator of industry beer purchasing activity. A reading greater than 50 indicates the segment is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates the segment is contracting. It doesn't address how one segment is growing in comparison to another, just how each segment performed compared to the same month last year. Provided by the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Around the Web

• Brewers Association introduces new Board of Directors members.

• A new brewery near Chicago will be built as a tribute to the memory of Juice Wrld, an American rapper, singer, and songwriter.

• Ice Ice Baby! Vanilla Ice, the recognizable 90s rapper, is opening a brewery in Florida.

• Krogers, Albertson's execs face scrutiny and opposition in front of the U.S. Senate over the proposed merger.

Geek Speak

LUKR Taps - Also referred to as side-pull taps or side-pull faucets. They're common in the Czech Republic and are starting to get more common in the USA. These taps are manufactured in the Czech Republic by a company called LUKR. There are two things that make this kind of tap different than a standard tap. First, LUKR taps feature a specially designed mesh screen that creates a creamier, foamier head. Second, instead of using a basic gate valve (on/off), these taps use a ball valve that allows for much more precise flow rates. A well-trained beertender can use the LUKR tap to pour beers with varying amounts of foam. A fast pour has practically no head and a slow pour has lots of head. Pilsner Urquell put together a video about the three recommended types of pours achieved with this kind of tap.

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This week's Taster Tray was composed by Kendall Jones. Have news you'd like to share with us? Hit up [email protected].