Brewbound Pitch Slam 14: Semifinal Round

Ray Latif [00:24] Welcome to Brewbound Live Winter 2022. My name is Ray Latif. I'm the editor and producer of Bevnet's Taste Radio podcast, the number one podcast for the food and beverage industry. We've got a lot in store over the next couple of days and we're kicking things off with the 14th edition of Brewbound Live's Pitch Slam. Presented by Ollie. The Brewbound Pitch Slam is a one-of a-kind business pitch competition. That gives entrepreneurs behind the beer industry's next breakout brands an opportunity to sample their innovative products and showcase their business plans to an expert panel of judges. The entrepreneur with the best overall pitch and product will be awarded a $10,000 industry awareness package from Brewbound. They'll also receive free entry to the 2023 Brewbound Live conference and 12 months of UNTAP for Business or ALLI standard. The pitch lane begins with a semifinal round in which entrepreneurs from 12 brands will have 2 minutes to deliver their best elevator pitch. Our judges will provide approximately 2 to 3 minutes of feedback following each pitch. The judges have already sampled the products, some just this morning. All of the brands have presented, excuse me, after all the brands have presented, the judges will pick 5 brands to move on to the final round, which takes place on Wednesday. The 6th finalists will be chosen by audience vote at the end of today's semi-final round. We're going to show a list of all the participating brands and a number next to their name. Live stream viewers will have an opportunity to vote by texting that number corresponding to their favorite brand to a phone number that we'll provide. You can also call the phone number to vote. We're going to show that at the end, that phone number at the end of the semifinal round. You'll have until 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to vote, and we'll announce our six finalists here on the main stage at 12:00 p.m. Pacific time. All right, it's time to meet our esteemed panel of judges, beginning with Ryan Lake, who is a principal at Arlington Capital Advisors. We also have Jessica Muskie, who is the VP of craft and innovation for Reyes Beer Division, Jamie Weidman, who is the VP of Innovation North America former Wilson Coors, and Rich Bloomfield, who's one of the co-founders of Funky Town Brewing and the winner of Brew Brown's Pitch Slam 13 last year. Congratulations again on that. Alright, I believe it's time to get to our first contestant. Trying to find them here in the audience. That person is, and I'm gonna, I may butcher their name. I apologize, Haider Hatchem, who is the co-owner of Shojo Beer Company. Come on up. All right, good, sir. It's your microphone, please keep an eye on your timer. What is up, brew bound? It's your boy Haidar Hashem, and I am one half of the Shojo Beero team. It is myself and my beautiful wife Marilyn out there in the crowd. We are born and raised in the 305 Miami, Florida, and we are a Japanese aesthetic type brewery with our Lebanese and Nicaraguan roots deeply instilled into it. So, we have thus far done 6 contract brews and we have been distributed all throughout Florida, throughout California, throughout New York, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and DC and we also were in Portland, Maine for the Beers Without Beards festival. So, What we plan to do is to bring all that awareness that we've reached out throughout the United States and through the nation and to bring it all back in to create a hyperlocal space. What we plan to do is, and what we've done is for every release that we've put out, we have donated a portion of the proceeds back to nonprofits that we strongly believe in. We did this because without the love and support that we've received from everybody that's helped us get to where we are today, I mean, we wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be in front of you guys talking today. So, The next step is just building out our brick and mortar. We've dialed back on the contract brews, and that's why sadly we did not have any beer to bring to here, but we've sold out of everything that we've made thus far, so I think we're, you know, kind of headed in the right direction and We just want to, you know, create awareness and, you know, deeply instill our roots back home in Miami and just let the world know who we are. So guys, thank you so much. Have a good one. All right. Shojo Beer Company, multicultural, mission driven. Jamie, what are your initial thoughts on the brand? Um, I think it's interesting, kind of like the roots and the story. It would be, it's hard to comment without seeing what the product looks like and a little bit more information about the product, but I think just the initial energy behind the mission is interesting. Jess, um, obviously being in Miami, we've got a facility down there, so it's, it's interesting. I'll ask my folks if they've they've seen it and, and kind of see what the vibe is down there, but I mean, you've got a ton of energy, which is great. Yeah, definitely need that this morning. Ryan, in terms of sort of the presentation and what you heard, is this something that investors are kind of looking for? Are they looking for that sort of dynamic, different approach to beer in that it is mission driven and multicultural like I mentioned? Yeah, I think they are. I mean, I love the energy, I love the passion. You could tell it before you even start talking. Um, I would want to know more if I was an investor about distribution strategy, how you plan to go to market, brick and mortar strategies. There's a lot of pieces there that need some more detail to understand. Uh, Rich, we heard about a focus on hyperlocal, um, something I think you guys know a little bit about as well. I mean, what do you think about that approach from an early stage brand like Shojo? I mean, it's best to get your footing like locally at home first before you try to branch out with them having like the diverse leadership. I think that's like a good way to uh get the community to really buy into what they're doing. We didn't get to see the cans, but from a graphics standpoint, I mean, Jamie, what do you think about what So Jojo is presenting to the beer community? Listen, it's super hard to stand out, right? Like we were having this conversation this morning just about all the new innovations that are coming across different spaces in the category, so just the, um, the color story, the energy, the complexity and some of the graphics that we see are definitely ones that stand out, um, so I'd definitely be curious to see how that plays into the overall product and packaging. Great, great feedback. All right, let's move on to our next guest, our next participant for this pitch slam. That person is Adam Zloto, who is the founder and CEO of Chestnut Sports Club. Come on up. Oh yeah, you can grab either mic and please just keep an eye on your timer. All right, all right. All right, well, as many of you have probably noticed that recreational sport has absolutely exploded over the last few years. Golf, tennis, I mean, you couldn't even avoid pickleball if you tried. So for more and more people, the courts and the courses have become the new bar, myself included. But when I would go to grab beers, I found myself having to make a choice between a super light beer with limited flavor or on the other side, a super flavorful beer that would eventually weigh me down, and I was looking for something right in between, something light and tasty, and after coming up empty handed on a search, I decided to make my own. I'm Adam Zlato, and I'm here to introduce Chestnut Sports Club, the playable beer, a light, refreshing, and damn tasty beer brewed with organic ingredients. It's really the beer you've been looking for. It's low carb, low calorie, but high fives. We're aiming to launch two styles this spring a light citrus lager brewed with organic, uh, with organic lemon zest, a drop of coconut water, and a little California honey to round out the flavor. And a light white ale deliciously brewed with organic orange peel. So that's why we call it the playable beer. It's our take on drinkable or sessionable. The definitions right there, very refreshing, suitable for drinking more than one, and used in a sentence like, Damn, Larry, those chestnuts are super playable. We recently completed our first marketing run and had an awesome response. So we're looking to take a thoughtful omni-channel expression this spring and fall, or in this spring in California. And lastly, with access to open spaces being an important thing for our communities, we'll be donating a portion of our proceeds back to local city parks. And for the folks in the crowd, if you want to take some chestnuts for a spring, a, a spin, we'll be down at the sample bar. So thanks so much, everybody. Damn, Larry, these chestnuts are super playable. I like that. I like that. Um, Jess, you had an opportunity to try chestnut this morning. What do you think? I, I really liked it. I mean, I think this is a, a, a really interesting space. I don't know if everyone agrees with me at my company, but Um, you see like the super high alcohol doing really well and then it's like NAs are doing well, but I, you know, sometimes I don't want, you know, 100 calories for no alcohol. So like where do you, where do you draw that line and, you know, I was just saying like a 2.5, 3% beer is, is kind of what I'm looking for. So I think it's You know, it's a, it's it's fitting a niche, yeah, yeah, I mean, you know, Ryan, this was brought up last night, you know this sort of fits into an interesting space between non-alcoholic and full alcohol beer. I mean, is there demand for that space? Yeah, I mean if you look at Michelob Ultra, it's a huge brand. It gets better every year. I think this this can go after that consumer at a more flavorful approach to it, you know, more craft premium branding. I think it's interesting. Rich, you know Adam mentioned that this is the beer that people are looking for. Do you agree with him? Yeah, you just got to find your community. Uh, we do a lot of outreach ourselves and we know like from the consumers' mouths they do want something in between, like the very light macro brands and like the really heavy IPAs that are out there. So if they're able to find their consumer, I think he has a home run. Yeah, you know, in terms of the vibe, Jamie, you know, um, this feels like it belongs to a certain community. Um, can it go beyond that? Do you see it having potential to be a mainstream type of brand? You know, I was just thinking about that looking at the packaging. I definitely place it in the country club, you know, kind of arena, um, I think with some tweaks it definitely could live beyond that, um, beyond the on premise and to retail, um, there's a lot happening on the pack right now that you gonna have to work through it feels more like, um, it came from the wine business, so there's definitely some storytelling happening on the package which I can appreciate which is great for. Um, on-premise kinds of accounts, but, um, going into retail, I think we definitely have to work a little bit to make it pop more. OK, great feedback. Let's move on. Up next we have Jamie Fay who's the founder and CEO of Rationale Brewing. Come on up, Jamie. Great to see you. Grab any microphone. Please keep an eye on your timer. Hey, my name is Jamie Fay. I'm the founder of Rationale Brewing. It's good to be back for year two, have another opportunity on stage. Last year, my 2 minutes went way too fast. Um, so Rationale has been around for 18 months. We're one of the fastest-growing non-alcoholic craft beers on the market on the West Coast today. And Rationale actually started with a conversation with my two sons up on the right. Uh, my oldest was heading off to the University of Alabama. I was sharing with him my life history and my family, uh, disruption with alcohol and was trying to plead with him to make Some rational decisions around how much he drank, who he drank with, and after I said rational about 3 times, my other son said, Dad, being a bit of a smart ass, why don't you just launch a beer company called Rationale. So that was 18 months ago. You fast forward within 3 months, I was able to find my brewing partner up in Sonoma County. They had incredible technology. They used vacuum distillation. And that is what makes our beer so incredible. We first launched in 16 ounce cans a year ago and six months ago transitioned into 6 pack 12 ounce cans which we have today. We have these 4 flavors and we have been quickly picking up distribution across Colorado, Nevada, California, and Oregon. We've been closely working with retail partners, making sure that as we pick up our new distribution that we're investing into our velocity and really listen to the consumer needs. We're heavily investing in the sampling. And focusing on building out our D2C platform. Our consumer is the consumer that is the mainstream beer consumer that's now starting to moderate, that's learning a little bit about alcohol consumption in moderation. It's a consumer that typically probably hasn't been in the non-alcoholic beer space before, so we're really focusing on being that beer that is permissible, approachable, and different. So we really want to build that maverick disruptive approach to the brand through our social media, which is just beginning now, and we want to make this brand. The brand that the mainstream beer consumer can pick up and navigate having an evening out and having a couple of beers and maybe a rationale in between, or they may be just choosing a Tuesday night to have rationales with their tacos. Uh, our goal is that we will be, uh, number 2 within the any beer space within 18 months, and we want to be the #1 premium non-alcoholic beer. Thank you. Right, Ryan, let's start with you. Um, You met Rationale last year. I heard a presentation last year. What do you think about the progress that Jamie and his team have made? Yeah, I like the, I think more clarity of focus, and I think hearing more of the backstory of why you created it, I think is really helpful to connect with the consumer and people that have kids of their own or will have kids of drinking age soon. Those connection points are really valuable. The stigma around non-alcoholic beer is that it just doesn't taste great, or at least it has not traditionally tasted great. Rich, what do you think of the flavor rationale? I thought it was good, man. Like when you're when you're talking about like non-alcoholic beers, like to grab onto the existing consumer segment, it needs to taste like beer first, and that's the first thing he knocked out the park. So yeah, Jamie, a pretty ambitious strategy that Jamie laid out there. You know, what do you think about that plan? Listen, this is a hot space. I think you've really got to find Um, what sets you apart from the other brands that are in this space, right? Like, um, you've got to tell the story. There's 0 0s, there's 05s, um, don't make the consumer work too hard to understand what this is and why it should matter for them. Um, and then just make sure you have a point of difference, right? Like I think there's brands that have done this really well and have grown. I think you have big ambitions. Um, I think it's gonna be really about what's the thing that sets you apart from the others that are currently in the, um, in the market, and you're doing that already through some of the flavors that you have through the emotive story. I think that just needs to come to life a little bit more via the proposition. Jess, Jamie laid out, and we can see it on the screen there. They're West Coast key accounts, a bunch on retail, a bunch on premise. What do you think about the progress for the brand and how much do you take into account that progress when you're considering a brand like this? Well, depending upon the state, obviously if you're looking at Virginia or Florida or California, you know that's going to get a lot of attention from our team and that's going to probably get you into one of our places. You know, it's, it's amazing what you've been able to do, and it's a hot category. I think people are willing to take a risk on it, a little chance on it, but you know, just try to get that product to the floor in these places and then you'll work your way into the shelf. Yeah, all right, great stuff. Let's move on. Up next we have Rick Mazzetti, who's the chairman of Rincon Reservation Road Brewery, AKA 3 R Brewery. Come on up. Your microphone, please keep an eye on your timer.

Speaker 2 [16:37] Thank you. Thank you guys so much for letting us come out and be a part of this. First and foremost, we'd like to thank you from our tribe, Rincon Indian Reservation, a band of Laseno Indians. So we started this process to actually try and grab a hold of the diver diversification project for us being a tribe and being the most underserved as a minority, we jumped into the, to the, to the beer space and Actually it was kind of tough getting it on, and but through perseverance and actually being resilient, which is one of the things that Indians are known for, we don't give up. We're not the smartest, but we don't give up. But anyway, so going through that, we were actually able to create our brand and do proper things with proper ingredients, being that we utilize our own water from our aquifer. We're actually right now looking into a property to grow our own hops for certain beers to try and Become 100% green and that's actually working out pretty good so far. The product in which we've presented today, there's several. We have about 13 core beers and we're actually still in the self-distributing mode so far. We've gotten into San Diego Zoo. We've gotten into the Wild Animal Park, Disneyland. Um, some of the bigger chains, but right now our biggest thing is we need to actually reach out and be, you know, have someone help us distribute. But for us when we started this thing, it was because of the fact that we wanted to have some type of a cultural bridge for people on the outside to come in to know us as a tribe to sit down with us and have a beer. The good thing is, we've gotten so much feedback at our breweries and we also have a tasting room off of the reservation. We're the only 100% owned and operated on a tribal entity. So that was another big stone for us. So that's our big pitch right now. So thank you guys so much. God bless.

Ray Latif [18:42] All right, well done. Um, Rich, you know, I think last year a lot of people really loved your beer. They also really loved your story. You know, what do you think about the story of Rincon? I mean, it's a great story. I guess I would want to see more like through like their marketing channels how they explain just like, like Native American styled beer and just like 100% green and like the efforts behind it, but um with them landing like such large accounts, there's obviously a good story there. I just want to kind of dive deeper into it to learn more about the uh. Luo Indians or the reservation and just the history behind those people, um, you know, getting from that, that bridge that Rick was talking about getting people to learn about the tribe, learn about Rincon through their beer. The beer's got to be great, right? Jamie, what do you think of the product? What do you think of the liquid? I thought it was really good. Um, I thought it was really interesting. Some of the ingredients are, are certainly ones that, um. Have a story of their own, like, right, and so, you know, similarly, I just would want to understand more of how the whole story connects. Um, I think there's just some opportunity to have more depth there, but I thought the beers that we tasted this morning were really good. And just, you know, following up on that, you know, front of pack, that's how a lot of people learn about a beer or a brand. What did you see on the front of pack that you'd like? Are there any things that you might adjust, change? I like the brand blocking. It was, I would call out the ingredients a little more, maybe the styles a little bit more. They're at the bottom. They're a little difficult to read, um, but overall, I, you know, it's very cohesive, and I think it tells a good brand story. Yeah, and again, you know that brand story is a big part of scaling. I mean, what do you think that the scaling potential for Rincon, Ryan? Yeah, I think it's about getting your marketing out there. I think it's a really, it's hard to do something unique in craft beer right now. I think you're doing it and I think it's a matter of getting that story out and finding that consumer connection and scaling it from there. Yeah, what'd you think of the beer? I thought it was really good. I like the blueberry Cezanne, which you don't see blueberry beers, much less Cezanne's very often. I'm not sure how much you can scale a Cezanne, but I love the style. Yeah, all right, great feedback. Let's move on. We have Alan Korenstein, who is the co-founder and CEO of Camino Brewing Company up next. Come on up. Your microphone and Hi everybody, thank you. On behalf of Camino Brewing Company, we're excited to be here today. So I'm gonna ask you a question. Have you ever just stopped in the middle of your daily life and done something so profound that it literally rearranged the pattern of your existence and things were never quite the same again? Well, in 2006, I did just that along with my close friend Nathan Polis, who is Camino's co-founder and brewmaster, and we went on a pilgrimage called the Camino de Santiago across the north of Spain and then we did it again in 2009. On the Camino, through rain or shine, winter, spring, summer, or fall, people have been walking or cycling this pilgrimage for hundreds of years, and at the end of each day, People are getting together, they're sharing a meal, they're connecting with each other, and they're throwing back a lot of beer. And the one thing, the one thing that really stood out for us was that beer brings strangers and people together. And we took that back with us and it became our mantra and it paved the way for our vision to open the communal Brewing Company in 2018 and then an events business in 2022. Our culture is something we really pride ourselves on. We're creating an inclusive brewing culture. We have a women-led brewery and we support a lot of organizations that advance leadership for women in our industry. We've won two major awards the 2018 Sacramento Coffee Beer Festival with one of our beers that we brought here today for tasting, and a 2022 gold medal for the best retro label at the Craft Beer Marketer Awards. We pride ourselves on our community. We have this amazing taproom and beer garden where we do all kinds of community events. We're available in 23 Safeway's locally and we just sold about 1000 cases to Apple for a bunch of holiday parties that they're doing. We would uh love for you guys, if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area to stop by sometime. We're doing weddings and corporate events, and I just wanna thank you so much for having us here today. Thank you. Well done. Camino Brewing Company, beer brings people together. It brought a lot of people together here as well. Um, Jamie, you know, uh, when I think about, uh, what we see in the, uh, presentation, what we saw in the presentation and then we tried on the back room, you know, it's interesting. I think Camino, uh, brings something a little different to the industry. What are your thoughts though? Yeah, I think again going back to this conversation around um location and um locale is really important to the industry, right? Like having something that people can point to that's tangible I think is really important when you start to think about the amount of new entrants into our space, um, and so I think that's really interesting and telling that story, um, is really important I think. What I'm craving for this one is just a little bit more of the. OK, what else, right? Like, you know, beyond just the roots of where the beer is from, what are the other things that make this beer unique, um, you know, there's a lot of amazing products that come out of, uh, the Bay Area right in Northern California, um, and I think you have some of the ingredients, but how do we really enrich in that to tell the story that helps to separate this from other products that are in the market. Jess, uh, Alan laid out, um, a retail strategy or at least uh a retail footprint that they've developed, uh, taproom that they're building out, you know, what do you think about that way of sort of getting out there and getting started? I think that's smart. I mean, you, you, you gotta get people to come to your facility. They got to, they'll hear the story about the Spanish pilgrimage and that, you know, you don't know, you get that from the can necessarily, so that you, you know, they gotta hear that story. They have a place to, to go and actually build those brand ambassadors for them so when they go back out, uh, you know, home and they can tell their friends about it. I think it's something interesting. I, I also like the Apple thing that you're doing. I mean, it's, it's hustling. You're getting your product out there and. You know that's a good chunk of people who live in that market who are going to drink that beer on a regular basis. Ryan, I recall you were enjoying the beers last night. What are your thoughts on the liquid? Liquid was good. The coffee one was great. The aroma was fantastic on that one. Yeah, I mean in terms of the sort of positioning as a con leche, I mean, don't often see that. Was that something that stood out for you? It did, yeah, although the cafe for me is a little lost in the label, but the leche is very clear, so maybe a little more work on brighten that up a little bit. Rich, you get the last word on Camino. You know, what do you think of what you heard from Alan today? I mean, it's a great backstory. Uh, it's like the tranquil pilgrimage, bringing people together. Uh, we love travel as well, um, but I don't, I don't necessarily see that on the label, so this may be a way to tell that amazing story through the label as well, I think would be helpful in, in the Bay Area. I mean, that's kind of the culture and vibe already. So, I mean, I think they got a good product and a good story. I would just want to see it a little bit more on the label. All right, good stuff. All right. Our next semi-finalist, and I apologize for not pronouncing your name correctly, is Yair Taigil, uh, the founder of Sunboy. Did I get that even close? OK, cool. All right. Uh, just keep an eye on your timer, please.

Speaker 3 [26:26] Hello Brewbound, I'm Yair, founder of Sunboy. Sunboy defines a new category of better for you beverages as the world's first ready to drink spiked coconut water. We combine hydrating coconut water, real fruit juices, and a gluten-free brewed alcohol that classifies us as a beer. It's all natural with 0 g of sugar added. Sunboy has only been out for about 1 year, but it's almost a decade in the making. Back in the early 2010s, my co-founder and I created the custom branded coconut by building a machine that burns logos onto the outside husk of the coconut. We got started by serving them from bikes at illegal dance parties on the Brooklyn Bridge, but then brands like Diageo hired us to serve fresh cocktails in coconuts with their logos on them at giant parties and music festivals nationwide. We were selling marketing space on coconuts, handheld billboards when those events stopped for the pandemic. We took everything we knew about coconut sourcing and coconut cocktails, and we canned it. Samboy hits on all of the biggest trends ready to drink, better for you, lower sugar, and lower alcohol. We're not allowed to make any explicit health claims, but we really don't have to. Consumers understand that coconut water is hydrating. It's healthy. It's what they reach for in the morning when they're feeling hungover. We were it actually solves this literal pain point that consumers are feeling, and we don't even have to say so. So since we launched in New York about a year ago, we're now in hundreds of independent and chain doors throughout the city. We hand sold into Whole Foods outside the set and quickly became one of the top 40 best selling alcohol beverages in key stores. We also just became the first ever alcohol brand to win Best New Beverage at the Expo East Nextie Awards, not Best New Beer or Best New Canned Cocktail, but Best New Beverage overall in a field of 600 natural products. It shows what a crossover hit Sunboy is. It's not just popular with alcohol drinkers, but also with the wellness crowd. And you probably saw that Captain Morgan and Vitta Coco are jumping on the bandwagon with their own spirit-based coconut water. We say bring it on. We're going to greet these new fans in supermarket aisles with a higher quality, better tasting drink. Thank you.

Ray Latif [28:32] Nicely done. All right, um, Jess, is this something that more important people, I mean, we've seen some spiked coconut waters out there as you referred to. Is this something that more and more consumers are looking for? Yeah, I mean, the younger consumers are a little bit different. I'm still trying to figure them out, but, but they're looking for that function, and they're, you know, I think, you know, the, the hydration, gluten-free, lower sugar, I think that's something that they're all, they're all looking on, and then it's very flavorful. That's the other big thing. I mean, there's a lot of flavor in that product. Um, how big of an opportunity do you think this is? How, how much of a runway do you think Sun Boy and other kinds of beverages like this have, Ryan? I mean, it's really hard to say. I mean, coconut water, non-alk is a big category. It's not growing as fast as it was, but, um, if you look at that as a benchmark, there's a lot of awareness already, which is nice for the brand to have that built in, um, but how big you can scale spiked coconut water, I have no idea. Um, Rich, you know, it seemed like a lot of people liked the flavor of this product. What are your thoughts? I thought it was good coming from, like, you know, I'm a straight craft beer head. I can be stubborn in my ways, but I thought the product was really good. It wasn't too sweet. The malt that he used to kind of bring it into the beer category, like it was just like the unifying ingredients. Like it came out of a really good product, and I think like it'll catch people off guard like when they try it for the first time and Not sure how fast it could grow, but like I think there's a lot of opportunity there with this new RTD. During the last presentation, you mentioned label design. What do you think of label design for Sunboy? Sunboy, uh, they're nice and bright. Um, part of his go to market strategy is serving out of coconuts. It, it all works together. Um, Jamie, uh, you you talked about the crossover, uh, between beverage, uh, categories, um, sort of happening right now with Sunboy. Um, do you think that there's a, there's a real business opportunity there? I do. Um, I think there's going to be a lot of awareness that's going to be needed in this space. Um, so my first advice is to stay the course. Um, and do you think that coconut water, um, and just sort of the hydrating properties is really interesting. Um, and so finding those natural ingredients that deliver on those functional benefits without having to explicitly call it out, I think is a really interesting space and I think going back to just your point about younger consumers and wanting um sort of those better for you products and ingredients, I think this product delivers on it and the packaging's fun, the flavors are fun, um, and so I do think there's a lot of opportunity here. Fantastic. All right, good stuff. Our next semi-finalist is Austin Corrigan, who's the founder of High Seas Mead. Come on up, Austin. It's great to see you. Just keep an eye on your timer, please. Thank you.

Speaker 4 [31:17] Good morning, everybody. I am Austin Corrigan. I am the founder of High Seas Mead in Santa Barbara, California. Over at High Seas Mead, we, we craft a line of session style craft sparkling meads that are certified organic, gluten-free, and made with only clean, made with clean, crisp, crushable ingredients. High seas came to life in 2019 in the wake of a severe car wreck I was involved in. Dozens of surgeries, tons of downtime. I needed to find something that I could do to keep my mind kind of just keep myself stable. So I did the obvious thing and started fermenting in my garage. Makes sense, right? Um, I got to the point where beers made my body ache, kombuchas all started to taste the same, and I had this bright idea of starting to ferment honey, and with that, high seas was born. We now currently have 55 core flavors on the market, our cosmic Bandido, blackberry pineapple, Cheap Thrills, raspberry coconut, mystic vibration, watermelon lemon, Mina colada pineapple, coconut, and son of a beach, our take on Hawaiian pog, pineapple passion orange, guava. We are currently sold in over 100, self-distributed in over 120 accounts throughout California, with notable ones in LA such as Arawon Markets, and we are currently onboarding with Whole Foods, Albertson's, Vaughn's, and Devillions at a hyperlocal level. Our 4 packs retail for $21. We recommend our single cans retail between $499 and $799 and then our wholesale case prices are $85. In the near future, we look, we very much look forward to working with the distributor to grow our footprint in the market and are opening our taproom in the next few months here. Thank you very much.

Ray Latif [33:10] Great stuff. Mead. I'm trying to remember how many mead brands we've seen in this competition. Ryan, you probably know just as well as I do, but what do you think of Pisces and what they're bringing to the category? I like the liquid a lot. I think mead's a really interesting category. I think the challenge with mead is education is making the consumer aware of what it is, why it's interesting, why they should try it. That's always the hurdle. Mead for me, but I love the the liquid. Yeah, Rich, you know, you describe yourself as a craft beer guy through and through, but you know you start with craft beer and then maybe you grow into mead. Do you think that's possible with highs? Yeah, so it's funny through our outreach at Funky Town, there's a homebrewer that always brings some meat around, so I feel well versed for this. Very curious though, like carbonated meat, I think that's cool. I, I wanted him to call out meat a little bit more on the label so people know that they're jumping into something new, but like it's a good product. Uh, the flavors are good. Um, yeah, they just need more education on meat. I always think of like Beowulf, but uh. But it can, it can be real good as just another RTD out there, yeah, yeah, it's a good point of reference. Um, Jamie, uh, we heard from Austin about uh price point. Obviously we see pack size, um, you know, what do you think about both when you're considering this brand? You know, I'm a, I'm new, um, into mead and I tasted it for the first time this morning. Um, it's the first one I've had, to be honest, and it was actually really delicious. Um, so I think the price value to the consumer is there, um. I do think the awareness though and like the education is, is gonna be a, a big part of this category um not necessarily just with this brand but just overall with, you know, getting consumers more knowledgeable about the space and how to think about it, the process and, and why the price is what it is based on the process kind of think things like wine and, and those types of things, right? Um, so that would just be my feedback there. But overall I think it's really cool. I think it was delicious. Um, I think just make sure that it's really clear what it is and what consumers can expect when they taste it. The more you can communicate that on the package, I think the better it'll be. And Jess, maybe Mead needs like a breakout brand. Do you think Hi Seas could be that breakout brand? It could be, and I really appreciate the hustle of going to the, I mean, you mentioned Erawan and Vaughn's and Whole Foods. You're taking these, you know, big stores and you're saying, Hey, I'm going to knock it out of the park in this neighborhood, this neighborhood, in this neighborhood, and just, you know, keep getting in there, try to get samplings done, and just that's going to build your story. So when you go in next year in the in the fall to make your pitch for the spring sets, hopefully you've got some really great numbers. Alright, good stuff. Alright, on to our next semifinalist. That's Keith Sperling, who's the founder of Motors Brewing. Come on up, Keith. Good to see you. Grab your microphone and please keep an eye on your timer. All right,

Speaker 5 [36:14] I'm Keith Sperling, owner and founder of the Motors Brewing Company in Cincinnati, Ohio. In early 2018, while researching the beer market from a bar stool. I witnessed confusion and frustration amongst a beer flavored beer consumer looking for a fresh pint of local craft. Most untapped offerings seem to have similarities of a restaurant dessert menu, which was not a bad thing at all, but I felt that a bridge may need to be built to bring the macro and micro consumers together. Which then seemed to be completely divided. What was missing, I cannot find a close to period correct pint on tap of the pre-prohibition style ale prominently brewed during the late 18 1800s in Cincinnati. Working with local brewers and using modern day ingredients, the Motors American was born. In late 2018, I released my first keg and hand canned six packs for retail. This recipe contains a hardworking two row grain and is balanced with a German-American hop twist. I wanted this hop combo to represent the early German American settlers that came together and literally built our city on beer. Our American is now sold and self-distributed across Ohio and seems to reignite stories. Of our city once being considered the beer capital of the world, I have built, brewed, and innovated multiple other styles to stay fluid. In this ever changing landscape. and cannot wait to release him. I have somehow beat the odds and scored shelf space in Kroger and have also achieved other unexpected milestones. Thank you for this great opportunity to be here and thank you, judges.

Ray Latif [38:14] Hard to get out. Well done. Uh, uh, Rich, let's start with you. Um, we heard a lot in that presentation about the backstory behind motors. I mean, uh, in terms of the label design, are you getting as much of that backstory as you want? Yeah, I mean, being from Chicago and just the Midwest, it's very blue collar, so I kind of feel like the auto, auto imagery and just like the factory work, working class kind of fits in for our region specifically, um, maybe it can be difficult. Out in the Bay Area or out on the West Coast, but like for me, like it does resonate to a class of people there. Um, I guess I would just think about with that whole working class, uh, marketing angle, I just wonder if the price point could be at the right place for people as well and not be too expensive. Jamie, uh, Keith talked about sort of bridging the gap between micro and macro, uh, and it, um, landing as a beer like motors. Um, do you see that? I mean, are you seeing the sense that this could be that sort of middle gap between micro and macro? Yeah, I think it's, I think it's interesting, um. I, I'd say the answer to that is yes. I think it could definitely fill that gap. I think it's gonna be really around the approach, right? Like, um, I think scaling this to a wider audience is gonna be part of the, um, the dance that you're gonna have to do here, um, and really getting more people into, um, a proposition like this I think it'll be a little bit of the the the. The nuance that you'll have to cover, but I mean I, I do think that this one's got opportunity, um, I'm with you also from Chicago like I was gonna guess that this was um Detroit or something, you know, definitely auto focused so I think there are a lot of people who um have that sort of natural heart and soul interest in this space. I think it's just about them making it relevant, um, beyond just that, right? You get them in with sort of that emotion, but then how do you. Capture them with actually the product, so that'll be the key. Jess, you tried the product this morning. I know you're looking at that space right now. What are your thoughts on the liquid? I thought it was a good representation of the, of the style. I'm interested too. He mentioned he's doing different styles, so it would be. You know, Cincinnati has such a, a, you know, history of brewing tradition, like to, to pick a cup, like one or two of those other styles that were popular back in the day and, and see what he can do with that because one style is going to be tough, but you start to build out two or three, I think, I think he's got something. Ryan, you get the last words, scaling potential, that's the name of the game, um, or at least a big part of the game. Um, what do you think of Motor's chances to become one of those big mainstream brands? I think it depends what he wants it to be. I mean, do you want it to be a dominant or semi-dominant brand in Cincinnati and Ohio, broader? If you go beyond that, I think it's a lot riskier. But I think if you've got a strategy to really own a certain market with a style of beer no one else is doing and you're doing it well, you can walk that tightrope. All right, great stuff. All right, let's get to our next semifinalist for the Brewbound pitch slam. That's Aaron Gervais, who is the CEO of Otherwise Brewing. Come on up. How are you? You can grab either microphone.

Speaker 6 [41:39] All right. Hello, everyone. So if I were to ask you, do you know anyone avoiding gluten? I bet I can guess the answer because it's nearly 1 in 3 Americans at this point. That's a problem for beer because beer contains gluten, and it's very difficult to make a gluten-free beer that tastes good. That's part of the reason the on beer category is growing so much. There are a lot of people out there who would like to have a beer, but they're avoiding it because of the gluten content. Here at Otherwise we've come up with a solution. We did our own research. We have a proprietary process and we can make gluten-free beer that tastes, smells, looks and feels just like regular beer with no limitations on style. What's really important for us is that this is a flavor first product. This has to be a beer that you just put in front of your friend and say, have this great beer, and then it has the added bonus on top of that of being gluten-free. And towards that end, only about half of our customers are gluten-free. The rest are just beer fans who like what we're doing. So we launched almost 2 years ago in our home market of the Bay Area to test this out, um, and we've seen some great traction so far. We've got double-digit sales growth every quarter since we launched. We've got over 230 accounts including Beevmo and Total Wine, and we've even won some awards. Last week. We got 5 medals in the Tasting Alliance World Beer Competition, including a double gold for chocolate stout. So people like what we're doing and as they get to know the brand, they're coming back for more. We launched very lean, just me and my co-founder bootstrapped it, test out the market, see if we get some traction here, and we're sort of strapped now in terms of what we can do as a small two-person team. So we're trying to raise funds at the moment. We want to really expand our sales and marketing effort, really become the top of mind brand for gluten-free beer, because we think the timing is really ripe for gluten-free to make it out into the mainstream in a big way to become a major category in the beer space, and we want to be the brand to do that. So thank you very much.

Ray Latif [43:35] Nicely done. All right, Jamie, let's, uh, start with you. Uh, Aaron talked about, um, people wondering about or the stigma about gluten-free beer tasting like the quote unquote real thing. Um, what do you think of the flavors that you tried today? I thought they were good. Um, I think, you know, uh, it's hard to do in this space, right, to deliver on both, um, the benefit as well as the flavor. Um, I think punching up that flavor a little bit more, um, I think it's an opportunity. Um, just as you know, we see this trend in flavored beer, like I think people do want that sort of bolder, um, more visceral flavor, so that would just be a recommendation that I have, but end of one. Jess, uh, it seems like a lot of people are adopting a gluten-free lifestyle. Um, do you think that there is potential in aligning the gluten-free lifestyle trend to beer? Uh, yeah, definitely, and I would agree there's a little stigma with, with, uh, gluten-free beers in the past. I mean, you were just, they're like sorghum bombs or, or they were just trying to figure out something else to brew with, and, and, you know, the, the beer I tasted tasted really good. So kudos to you. Ryan, Aaron uh mentioned that the timing is right for a product for a brand like this, um, you know, timing is really important, it's everything in so many ways. What do you think about launching uh Otherwise Brewing at this time? Yeah, I mean timing is critical. I think there's a lot of options for gluten-free consumers out there. I love the product, especially the lemon one was fantastic. Timing is critical, especially when you're trying to raise money or launch a new product. So it's sometimes it's, it's strategy and sometimes it's luck or a combination of the two, but I love what you're doing. I do think the challenge and the opportunity are the same unfortunately for you is that there is this stigma about the flavor, and yours tasted great, but you have to get through the consumer's hesitation around it. Yeah, staying with that rich, you know, again, um, label marketing, it's all really important to get people to know what your product is about and what you're doing, um, you know, what are your thoughts on otherwise in terms of label package design and marketing? I mean, it's, it's good package design. It pops, it kind of grabs your attention. I don't know if it makes more sense to call out gluten-free because, you know, the, the space has been soiled by people before him, but like the beer tastes good. And like from our own outreach we know that there's a lot of people with gluten allergies out there that are looking for like a cold beer that tastes like beer, so I think they're getting the messaging out there. It's just that thin line of You know, turning on regular craft beer folks that don't have any gluten allergies to this beer as well, because I think it'll be a good beer for them. It's just gluten-free can scare people away. All right, good stuff. Let's move on to our next semi-finalist for the Brewbound pitch lamb. That's, uh, Brenda Turner, who is the co-founder and CEO of Sake High. Hello. And please America has a drinking problem. What you're drinking, it's low quality, unhealthy, and unoriginal. Big brand seltzers, beers, wines, they're really just all the same, and they don't give you the buzz that you deserve. Introducing Sake High, America's number 1 canned sake. With 2 drinks in every can, Sake High packs a strong punch while still keeping you feeling great. Our sake's gluten-free, sulfate-free, tannin-free, with zero sugar added. It's a better drink tonight and the next morning. All of our sake is small batch and brewed in Kyoto, Japan, using the highest quality ingredients local to Kyoto. Sakeha is redefining the alcohol category. We aren't another seltzer, beer, canned cocktail, but we're still packed in a can and ready to take on the go. Sake High's versatile and it says it right on our can. Sip it like a beer, drink it like a shot, or mix it like a cocktail. For every type of drinker, there's a reason to drink sake high. Our mission at Sake High is to create new and unforgettable memories through a unique and high quality drink. Just like the bird on our can, when you drink sake high, you fly high out of your comfort zone, meeting the person next to you at the bar and sharing the drink with new friends and old. Sake High's goal is to elevate life's best moments and to bring you and the people around you higher. I launched Sake High just 10 months ago after serendipitously meeting our brewmaster in Kyoto, Japan. Visiting some family. I told them about the lack of sake knowledge and brand recognition in the US. Together we created the perfect sake for US consumers, and we packaged it in a way that is easily understood and enjoyed. Sake Hai's female founded and now sold in more than 80 independent retailers across California, 50 more in Michigan, and available for nationwide delivery. Our next step is to expand to more regional and national chains. So next time you're looking at that seltzer or the beer, choose something new and choose Sake High. Thank you. Well done. All right, it's not a beer, it's not a wine, it's not a seltzer, it's sake high, just. Uh, Brennan mentioned that, you know, the next time you're looking for a beer or a seltzer, maybe look for a sake high, but are consumers going to be looking for a product like this? Personally, I, I would not, but my husband would. So you get, you know, if we're out, you're going to get one of the two of us kind of picking it up. So that's what you've got to hope for. But I've been seeing, you know, again, people want something different, and I really love the packaging. I think it stands out and it explains what it is. So if you're a sake fan and you want to go. You know, try something new. I think it's, it's going to jump out at you. Yeah, it feels like it's a bit more approachable, uh, in so many ways than a typical sake that we see in bottles, you know, Ryan, but um, do you, do you think this is a sort of way to get people into the sake category? Yeah, potentially I think it's going to be a key of marketing and product availability, and I think getting people to drink sake when they're not at a sushi bar, I think is the challenge. People don't associate sake with occasions in my mind other than that. So how do you expand beyond that and get them to grab this when they're at a grocery store or they're doing an impulse trip to some other liquor store for other occasions beyond sushi. Rich, um, you know, best for you alcohol, simple and clean ingredients. It feels like people are looking to have a better experience with their alcoholic beverages. Um, do you get that when you're looking at sake high from a packaging standpoint? I mean, obviously if you saw that in the presentation, but, um, are you understanding that? Not necessarily just from the packaging, but like when you turn around the can and it kind of explains it a little bit more, have it as a shot, have it with a cocktail, I kind of get where they're going with it, so like. Yes and no. The back of the packaging helped like for someone like me that doesn't drink sake outside of, like, you know, a sushi restaurant, like kind of understand where this fits in my drinking rotation. So yeah, well, I mean that's the thing. You want people to be drinking this on a regular basis. Jamie, do you think this could be, you know, a Purchase for consumers. Do you think you know sake can become that next sort of alcoholic beverage that is trending? You know, it's tricky. Sake is one of those categories where like it seems like it's a no brainer and people would drink more of it, but it's also still one of those categories that In all this time still hasn't really reached scale um outside of, you know, again like occasions that are sushi or fish based or things like that. I mean it's not to say that you don't have retail-based sake brands, but I do think it's a destination and not something that people are drinking all the time so I think having one that's approachable could be really interesting. Um, it's also just a very polarizing flavor, right? So like it's preference. If you are into sake and that's your thing, I think you have more, um, Opportunity with those consumers, but I think there's also maybe something to helping bridge the gap from people that are currently drinking wine or seltzer and figuring out a way to get them into sake versus thinking that they'll just come into sake on their own if that makes sense. The only other thing I'll say is it was a little confusing to me, um, just the, the name of the brand. I thought there was maybe a little something something extra added in there, so just be mindful of, of, of that for people that, um, may not be as familiar with the brand that was in the small, small, small letters of something something extra. No, just kidding, just kidding. All right, on to our next semi-finalist for this, uh, edition of the Brewbound Pitchlam, that's Chris, Chris Rochester, who's the founder of Primary Colors Brewing. Come on up, Chris. Yeah. And please just keep an eye. How's it going? I'm Chris, the founder of Primary Colors Brewing. We are a new beer concept that encourages you to play with your beer. So everyone has a unique set of tastes, and I think that should be celebrated. That's why we created Primary Colors. Primary Colors is an innovative new way to explore your beer and to get playful with it. So we set out to explore a more approachable, playful take with a mixed 6 pack of 3 different beer styles that are brewed intentionally to be blended together. So what do I mean by blending? I literally mean mixing together different beers so you can create your own personalized styles. Let's say you love a hazy IPA, but it's hot out, so you want something a little bit different. It's a perfect opportunity to blend in a little bit of argoza. It'll add, it'll pull out a little bit more of that citrus character from the hazy. It'll brighten things up with a little acidity, and it'll lower the ABV for the perfect summer beer. So with 3 beer styles, you've got endless combinations and different ways to play around with your beer. I first came up with this concept 2 years ago and like any pandemic entrepreneur, it was an idea and an Instagram page. I then took my 10 years of home brewing experience to make a ton of beers out of my kitchen and share that with over 100 people across Chicago, all complete strangers that just wanted to try out blending. The feedback was incredible, so I partnered with a brewery in Chicago to bring it to life, and we released our first mixed six pack with 3 different styles a Belgian pale ale, a hazy IPA, and a Goza all killer beers on their own, but brewed intentionally to be blended together. On-premise, uh, we've got the opportunity to create custom personalized beers for brands, and we've had a ton of great beer blending dinners to create a really unique, engaging, different differentiated experience. Primary Colors is here to help you express yourself through beer and we'd love you to help us spread the word. Thanks. Nicely done. I don't know if you saw Chris's sneakers, they're actually right on brand. I like those a lot. There you go, um. This is a really interesting concept, Ryan. Um, I think this is the first time we've, uh, or I've seen a beer brand where they're asking you to blend your beers. So what do you think of the concept? I think the concept's interesting. I think how do you communicate to the customer on the label on the packaging to tell them what they should do with it, um, I think is going to be challenging, and I think finding occasions beyond, you know, beer blending dinners to get people to do this, um, and regular occasions to generate enough velocity at retail is going to be also, um, a bit of a challenge. Rich, what do you think of this, uh, sort of tagline of play with your beer, making beer sort of a more fun experience? Yeah, I mean, it's a really cool concept, um, to kind of adjust the beer to your own individual palette right there on the spot, uh, kind of makes you feel like you're brewing at home maybe, but, um, yeah, I think the concern is just how many people are you gonna get to do this outside of those dinners, but like it's a really cool concept that he should go forward with because like. Nobody else is doing that. Um, he's going to be the leader in this category. Yeah, I think it's a good idea. Just want to see how it plays out in the market. Yeah, we all do. Jamie, did you get to blend any of the beers together? Did you try to? I didn't get to blend any, but it's super interesting, so, and I agree with you. Like no one else is doing it. I think you've just got to like make it easier for the consumer to get, right? And like maybe even give them. Starting recipes to do because I think the other thing you wanna make sure is that people don't blend it and then they make something that like they don't like but it's because they made it, you know, and then that's a turn off so I think if there's things that you can do to like even like spoon feed a little bit just so that um they can kind of start to get experimental with it but in a way that's guided. Jess, it feels like this might sell more beer because you have to buy a few cans to make it all work. Um, you know, what do you think of that proposition? Well, you're still buying just one six-pack, but, um, but, uh, what, what I think is interesting, obviously, I, I get a lot of product shipped to my house and, and to work, and when we have people over, uh, you know, I'll sit there and be like, All right, let's taste this and taste this, and it's a ton of fun for me and my friends to sit there and, and taste a bunch of stuff. And I think, you know, You can have people over and you mix your own stuff. I think it's really playful. I think it's, you know, and that's when you need to make sure like, OK, this is the blending portion of it, but you need to make sure those beers are great, um, because I don't know if I'm gonna wanna blend all the time. I'm probably just gonna want like a, a solid IPA or a Belgian or a goes, but Um, I think it's super playful and you can have a lot of fun with your friends with it. Yeah, we didn't talk about front of pack, so I'll give you the last word on that, Jess. You know, does this stand out? Do you think this is something that would stand out on shelf? Oh, I definitely think it would, and I like the call out of the brand. I think it's, it's really clean and I like the colors. All right, great stuff. My gosh, are we down to our last semi-finalist for this, uh, round? We are. Um, fantastic stuff, uh, to this point. I'm excited to meet our next and final contestant, that is Gretchen Ebenson, who is the founder of Shoal Draft Cider. Come on up. Hello. Please just keep an eye on your timer. It is my goal that within the next 5 years, Shoal draft cider will be sold and distributed across the East Coast, introducing millions of people to dry hard ciders while celebrating the fun coastal lifestyle along the way. Good morning. My name is Gretchen Esmondson. I am the founder of Shelldraft Cider in Annapolis, Maryland. Started in July 2021. I'm a woman-owned business and currently self-funded cidery with a lean and aggressive business plan focusing on wholesale distribution of my 100 calorie, zero sugar, 5% alcohol, gluten-free, and highly crushable hard ciders. With fun names like Booze Cruise and a mid-tier price point, Shoal Draft introduces dry cider to a larger market, bridging that gap between national sweet ciders and the boutique craft cideries in each region. Shouldraft cider stands boldly at the intersection of light beer, canned wine, RTD and hard seltzers, not by trying to be the next version of any one of those, but by simply being true to ourselves as hard cider for fun people. Thank you. Hold on. Great stuff. All right, um, Shoal draft cider. Rich, let's start with you. Um, do you drink much cider, and if so, I mean, what are your thoughts on the, on the liquid? Well, I thought it was good. It was really dry. It was crisp. Um, I think that's, I guess what I like out of ciders, not to be like fruit bombs. So I, I thought it was approachable, um, hearing more about the story. So it's kind of like an East Coast coastal brand that kind of fits the theme when I'm looking at the cans now that I've heard that, um. You know, I don't know how much competition is in the cider game, but like I thought it was a good product for sure. Yeah, Jamie, um, again, you know, Gretchen talked about bridging that gap between the large cider brands and some of the micro ones that we're seeing all over the country. Do you see Shoal as really fitting into that space well? I think it has the opportunity to, um, I thought similar to you like that it tasted really good. Like I think, um, it does fill that niche for people that are into cider and I think the liquids were really good. I think the one watch out that I would have is just, um, making sure that the consumer expectation of what it is is really clear. Like I think the the flavor names are fun and catchy, but like you've also got to make sure that people know what to expect when they taste it. So that would just be one thing that I consider. Jess, I think you know there are some consumers out there who have expected cider to be this sweet sugar bomb kind of thing and might be just not interested in the cider at all. Do you think Scholl has that opportunity to sort of reintroduce cider to that consumer? Oh, I, I definitely do and put it over ice. There's a lot of different ways you can kind of cut it and do it a little bit differently, but Um, obviously from being in that area, uh, I liked the, uh, the coastal theme, and, and if she wants to be up and down the East Coast, there's, there's plenty of beach communities that she can, she can target. Ryan, you get the last word of the semi-final round. What are your thoughts on Shoal? Uh, product was great. Love the, love the liquid, um, the dark and stormy especially was fun. Um, I mean the challenge with cider is, you know, how, how big can you make it? And there's a lot of really good regional brands. We all know nationally it's struggled in the last few years, um, but I think the liquid was great and Um, I think if she maintains focus on the right strategic markets and accounts she can be successful. Outstanding. 120 seconds. That's all each of the presenters had to get up here and do their thing, to talk about their passion, their products, their brand, and I thought they all did a great job. Well done to all of the semifinalists. Before we break, before we show the scorecard, or I'm sorry, the, well the numbers that you can vote to, well, there it is right there. But before we get to that part of the round, I do want to ask the judges, you know, for the 6 brands that are going to move on to the final round, they already have their presentations done. Maybe they need to tweak it a little bit for tomorrow though. What are some things that you really want to see in tomorrow's round when they do have a little bit more time to talk about their business strategies, Ryan? Yeah, I think for me it's a combination of the brand story, why it exists, um, and you know, why the consumer should connect to it, and then what the strategy is going forward. Jess, uh, mine would be the strategy on marketing and how they're going to get people to sample more of their product. OK, Jamie, similar to Ryan, like why this brand, right? Like there's a lot of brands that are coming to the market, like really hone in on like why this one stands apart and like what's the need that you're really feeling a feed of feeding for the consumer. And rich just the owners themselves, their go to market strategy, the packaging, and how they reach the community, how all those things are integrated. Fantastic and a fantastic judging panel that we had. We'll see them again tomorrow, but right now, a round of applause. Thank you. OK, the judges are going to convene now and pick 5 of our semi-finalists to move on to the final round tomorrow. As mentioned, the 6 finalists will be chosen by audience votes. So, uh, for folks here and also on the live stream, you can vote by texting the number corresponding. To your favorite brand, to the phone number that we're providing here. I mentioned earlier that you can call the number. You cannot call the number, you can only text the number. So we're going to show that right now. You have until 10 a.m. Pacific time to vote. That's 1 p.m. Eastern time. You will not be able to vote beyond that. We'll announce the finalists at 12 p.m. right here on the main stage. In the meantime, the attendees here are going to break, have some coffee and pastries. We're back here on the main stage at 10 a.m. For viewers at home, do not touch your keyboard or mouse or other device that controls your computer because we are going to have some great live stream content, including an interview with Athletic Brewing CEO and co-founder Bill Schufeldt. It is a great one. So stay tuned, but until then, Attendees, we'll see you back here at 10:00 a.m. Thank you.