Cheers to 30 Years
How two iconic beer brands have stood the test of time – and prepared themselves for a bright future.
Dog years have nothing on brewery years. In craft beer, where companies are considered firmly established at the 10-year mark, reaching a three-decade milestone puts them in rarefied air. This is particularly true for a pair of breweries celebrating 30th anniversaries this year: Dogfish Head and Blue Moon. They were both founded in 1995, in the midst of the mid-’90s craft beer boom. That explosion of what were then called microbreweries swiftly fizzled, shuttering many among these breweries’ cohorts. Yet these two persisted and continue to win new fans in today’s even more competitive landscape.
While different, there are common threads to explain the longevity of these two breweries. They’ve successfully balanced innovation with staying true to their core identities. They’ve invested in people, both their employees and communities. They’ve diversified their operations, making sometimes difficult decisions to right-size their businesses to meet the current moment. And most of all, they continue to create beers – and other beverages – that are meaningful to drinkers. What is starkly different today than it was in 1995, though, is the number of other breweries trying to make their own mark. Thirty years ago, just 858 breweries operated in the U.S. (though that was still the highest number of breweries that had been operating since the early 20th century). Today, that number is close to 9,700. It’s a remarkable proliferation, and a testament to the trail blazed by the industry’s early leaders.
Dogfish Head Craft Brewery
Milton, Delaware
Founder Sam Calagione had a vision for Dogfish Head to introduce culinary ingredients to the brewing world – a principle that still holds true. Today, despite changes external and internal to the company, the majority of tanks at the brewery’s production facility are still filled with beers containing culinary ingredients like sea salt, granola, and peaches.
Anniversary Plans: The brewery turns 30 in June and is celebrating all year long with a series of events, monthly clothing and merchandise releases, and beer collaborations like one to be brewed with San-Diego based North Park that will drop in June, complete with a party featuring a tattoo booth at the Delaware brewery. (Calagione will pay for the ink for any Dogfish Head employee who wants a brewery tattoo.)
Key Changes: Calagione and his wife Mariah have co-led the brewery for its entire history, but much else has changed. The company officially launched a spirits line in 2015 after tinkering with small-scale distilling at its brewpub since 2002. The brewery grew its sales to near-national distribution before a 2019 merger with Boston Beer Company.
Why They Succeeded: “We’ve always thought of Dogfish Head as a lifestyle brand, not just a beer brand,” Calagione says. What it stands for – flavorful beverages, coastal living, and a love for nature – has helped it maintain relevance despite consumer changes and category headwinds. Calagione also credits Mariah’s brand-building acumen, Boston Beer and Dogfish Head’s combined 2,800 employees, as well as the brewery’s distributor partners for its longevity.
Looking Ahead: Calagione believes that despite top-line headwinds, craft beverages are still highly desirable to consumers. “Younger drinkers, while they’re not drinking the volume, their curiosity is there,” he says. The challenge, and opportunity, for the industry is to meet those consumers with a range of beverages – maybe not just beer – that showcase broad creativity and excitement.
Blue Moon Brewing Co.
Denver, CO
Anniversary Plans: Blue Moon has launched a major national program called the “Orange Standard,” celebrating its unique serving ritual. Early parts of this program are already in market, and it is further supported by a TV spot that launched in mid-March during the NCAA March Madness basketball tournament.
Key Changes: Keith Villa created Blue Moon when he was a brewer at the Sandlot Brewery at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team. It’s been a part of the Molson Coors portfolio since its birth, and has since spurred numerous sibling beers including Blue Moon Light and Blue Moon Non-Alcoholic. Some seasonals such as Harvest Pumpkin and Summer
Honey Wheat, have been retired to make way for new flavors.
Why They Succeeded: Chris Steele, Senior Director of Marketing for Blue Moon, says the brand’s success lies in its ability to balance consistency with innovation. “Together with our distributor partners, we have established a strong, recognizable brand with Blue Moon Belgian White, while always looking for new ways to engage consumers with other new, high-quality offerings,” Steele says. Today, Blue Moon brews more than 1 million barrels per year.
Looking Ahead: The number of U.S. breweries has grown 9x since Blue Moon launched in 1995, yet the beer remains a stalwart of bars and beer stores nationwide. Steele says the brand will continue to be flexible and adaptive to consumer trends, while also staying true to what drinkers expect from Blue Moon. In particular, the brand is tracking and responding to drinkers’ demand for non-alcoholic but highly flavorful beers
About Kramer Beverage
Kramer Beverage is South Jersey’s largest beer wholesaler and is owned and operated by the Kramer family – through four generations – since 1924. They are based out of Hammonton and serve an eight-county footprint in South Jersey with top brands from Molson Coors, Constellation, Yuengling, Boston Beer, Heineken USA, Pabst, Diageo, FIFCO, and others. Kramer Beverage also distributes wine, spirits, and a variety of craft beers from suppliers such as New Belgium and Sierra Nevada to local favorites, including Cape May Brewing, Flying Fish, MudHen, Double Nickel, Evil Genius, and Glasstown. For more information, please visit www.kramerbev.com.