It appears Brewbound Insiders had a small case of schadenfreude in 2025 …
We’ve compiled our most read stories of the past year, and one company dominated the headlines (with not the sunniest lineup of news): Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B).
From brewery and production facility closures, to distribution deals and contracting brewing agreements, A-B sparked four of the top 10 most read stories on Brewbound.com in 2025.
Other prominent themes that defined the year – and the top 10 list – included middle-tier consolidation and craft brewery closings. But one forward-looking story, featuring one of the most prominent craft brewers in the game, cut through the grimness to make the list.
Check out the top 10 stories below (in ascending order by pageviews):
10. Breaking: RNDC to Exit California Amidst Major Supplier Losses
The 10th most read story of 2025 started a ripple effect in middle-tier moves throughout the last six months.
Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), the second-largest bev-alc distributor in the country, announced it would be shuttering its operations in California, the country’s largest spirits market.
The move wasn’t entirely a surprise to industry members, as RNDC had lost several major suppliers in the state in the prior months, including Brown-Forman, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Gallo’s High Noon and A-B’s Cutwater.
The announcement came in June, with the official withdrawal happening three months later.
9. Sierra Nevada Leadership Reveals Innovation North Star
Sierra Nevada brought the good vibes to this year’s top 10 list, with leadership detailing the early success of the craft brewery’s major innovation play: Pils.
The craft lager – initially launched only on draft – added 8.4 oz. mini cans to its repertoire in 2025, with a 22-state rollout. A national launch is slated for next month.
“Frankly, it’s different, and sometimes different can be really good,” Sierra Nevada chief commercial officer Ellie Preslar told Brewbound. “In a category maybe where it’ll stand out and cause people to pause and reassess and reconsider a different way for them to enjoy versus that standard 12 oz. or 16 oz. offering that we’ve tied ourselves into for a long time.”
Pils was also named the Brewbound 2025 Awards’ Best New Product.
8. Boston Beer to Close Truly LA and Angel City Taprooms When Leases End; Seeks Angel City Buyer
Boston Beer Company founder and CEO Jim Koch shared the news in August that the company would shut down its Truly LA and Angel City taprooms, and would be seeking a buyer for the Angel City brand.
Brewbound obtained an internal memo and confirmed the news with Boston Beer. In the memo, Koch said that declining performance and increased operational costs led to “no clear path to growth or profitability for Truly LA,” which would wind down operations through the end of the year.
Angle City will continue to operate until the end of its lease in April 2026. Boston Beer is reportedly putting “significant effort behind selling Angel City so the brand can continue to live on outside of Boston Beer.”
The news came less than a week after Boston Beer announced Michael Spillane would step down as CEO, effective August 15, with Koch taking the reins 24 years after last holding the title.
7. 21st Amendment to Wind Down Operations and Close Taprooms; Founders Seek Buyer for Brand
In September, 21st Amendment announced it would cease operations after 25 years in San Francisco.
The news came a week after the brewery announced 21st Amendment’s founders would step away from daily operations and transition to board roles, while a new CEO took over the company. That plan “just wasn’t tenable” and the company had to pivot quickly, co-founder Nico Freccia shared with Brewbound.
Freccia shared that the company was exploring a sale to keep the brand alive. Since then, 21st Amendment has been cryptic in social media posts about its future. Its last two posts were on November 10 – with the caption “Brew Free or Die – and we’re not dead yet” – and on December 5.
In the comments section of the latter post, one person wrote “But you guys are closed” to which 21st Amendment responded with simply a 🤔 emoji.
6. Stone Distributing and Classic Beverage Acquired By Hand Family Companies’ Sunset Distributing
Amidst the California bev-alc distribution chaos this year, one new name appeared: Sunset Distributing.
The company was formed in March with the merger of Stone Distributing Company and Classic Beverage in Southern California, which were both acquired by Sunset’s parent company, Hand Family Companies (HFC).
A few months after that deal, HFC announced the addition of Scout Distribution’s Los Angeles business to Sunset’s lineup, bringing Sunset’s total volume to around 1.1 million cases.
HFC president and CEO J.R. Hand was named CEO of Sunset. He joined fellow middle-tier leader Jesse Ferber (Columbia Distributing) and Bump Williams Consulting president Dave Williams on stage at Brewbound Live this month to talk about changes happening in the distribution world, and how industry members across the three tiers can better work together. Watch the full panel discussion here.
5. Anheuser-Busch to Sell NYC Distribution Business to Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits
In other distro news, A-B announced in August the sale of its New York City wholly owned distributor (WOD) to Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (SGWS).
With the deal, SGWS later launched Southern Glazer’s Beverage Company of New York, covering Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. The acquisition gives SGWS a foothold in one of the nation’s largest beer states, with New York ranking fourth in annual beer shipments, according to volume figures from the Beer Institute.
Since 2020, A-B has offloaded several WODs in the past few years, including several moves across the country, affecting its businesses in Massachusetts, Ohio, California and Colorado.
4. Rogue Ales & Spirits Files For Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, Owes More Than $16.7 Million
Rogue Ales & Spirits sent shockwaves through the craft beer industry in November when it abruptly shuttered its business. Eleven days later, the 37-year-old, Oregon-based craft brewery filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, citing more than $16.7 million in debts.
The latter story, which was our fourth most read story of 2024, dove into the bankruptcy filing, how Rogue piled on so much debt and which creditors were due a payday.
Included in the list were two secured creditors – Northrim Bank of Anchorage, Alaska (claiming more $1.355 million) and Columbia Bank of Spokane, Washington (claiming $54,665). Secured claims are typically given priority in repayments after a bankruptcy filing.
Twenty-nine pages of the 137-page bankruptcy filing were dedicated to unsecured creditors, which are allegedly owed nearly $14.78 million. Read the story above to check out some of the substantial claims.
In March, A-B announced it would cease operations at its Portsmouth, New Hampshire facility, and invest $1 million in its craft brand Wicked Weed’s Asheville, North Carolina operations.
Wicked Weed products had been produced at the Portsmouth location, following the 2020 addition of several craft brands to A-B’s lineup through the acquisition of Craft Brew Alliance (CBA). A-B has since divested of eight craft brands, and made several other production moves for its remaining craft business.
The Portsmouth move came three months after A-B closed Cisco Brewers’ Portsmouth pub, maintaining onsite production at the time. The moves were quite a shift from two years prior, when A-B invested $6 million in the space to install a new canning line.
2. Pabst Enters Contract Brewing Agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev
One of the first stories of 2025 came from A-B and Pabst. The latter company announced it had tapped the brewing giant to help contract brew its beer, helping provide “greater supply chain flexibility and improved efficiencies.”
The news came one month after Pabst ended its nearly two-decade long production arrangement with Molson Coors.
When Pabst announced the impending end of its Molson Coors deal in 2019, the company shared that it had signed a deal with City Brewing through 2040. However, in early 2024, news began to spread of financial troubles at City, with the company reportedly borrowing $165 million through multiple loans to help with restructuring efforts.
With the January 2025 announcement, Pabst said City will “continue to produce significant volumes” for Pabst. Eight months later, City Brewing transferred ownership to a group of financial partners – a move that leadership said would help the company reduce debts, lower annual cash interest costs and secure new capital.
1. Anheuser-Busch to Sell 1 Brewery, Close 2
The most read story of 2025 hit the wire this month. A-B announced the impending sale of its Newark, New Jersey brewery to property developer The Goodman Group, and the upcoming closure of its facilities in Merrimack, New Hampshire and Fairfield, California.
The moves – taking place early next year – are part of A-B’s continued efforts to upgrade its manufacturing network in the U.S.
Production volume from the three facilities will move to other locations in A-B’s network, while the 475 affected full-time employees will be offered roles at other locations, or they can choose to receive severance packages.