As 2025 comes to a close, we’re looking back on a year’s worth of the Brewbound Podcast and all the acquisitions, distribution shakeups and innovation plans we chatted about, as well as all the wonderful guests that joined us.
The podcast also took us on the road again this year, with Brewbound Podcast On Location recordings held at the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Indianapolis, the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) Annual Convention in Las Vegas, the New England Craft Brew Summit in Portland, Maine, and the California Craft Beer Summit in Irvine.
To help us reminisce, we’ve tallied up the most listened to episode of each month of 2025, with links in case you want to catch up …
January: The Year in Beer 2024
We kicked off 2025 by looking back at 2024 in our annual beer journos’ recap, this time featuring Beer Marketer’s Insights senior editor Christopher Shepard and Fingers newsletter author and VinePair contributing editor and columnist Dave Infante.
The duo joined the Brewbound editorial team to talk about some of the biggest stories of 2024 – including the sale of Anchor, beer’s “cool” problem and predictions for 2025, such as incoming Dietary Guidelines.
Little did we know, we’d still be waiting on the latter one year later …
January Honorable Mention: Barrel One Collective Execs Discuss Deal that Merged Harpoon and Smuttynose
We’re breaking our own rules right away and including two episodes from January, because they were VERY close in total listens.
Landing just behind The Year in Beer 2024 was a conversation with Harpoon co-founder and CEO Dan Kenary and then-FinestKind Brewing CEO Steve Kierstead. The duo discussed the then-newly-formed Barrel One Collective, which merged Harpoon parent company Mass. Bay Brewing with Smuttynose parent company FinestKind.
Since the conversation, Barrel One acquired Greater Good Imperial Brewing Company, increasing its total brands to 15. Additionally, Kenary has shifted to the role of president, with Nathaniel Davis taking the CEO spot.
February: Lawson’s Finest CEO on a Decade of Sip of Sunshine
2025 marked the fifth anniversary of Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ flagship Sip of Sunshine IPA. CEO Adeline Druart joined the podcast to talk about the milestone, as well as reflect on her first full year at the Vermont-based craft brewery.
This episode also featured the Brewbound team’s first discussion of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) push to change the term “domestic beer” to “American beer.” Industry adoption so far has been mixed …
March: World Brewing Alliance Justin Kissinger on Global Beer Hot Topics
World Brewing Alliance CEO Justin Kissinger joined the podcast to dish on the global beer market, including non-alcoholic (NA) beer trends internationally compared to the U.S.
Kissinger also touched on how global headlines could inform the next Dietary Guidelines.
April: Top 50 Breweries, a California Craft-on-Craft Merger and a Conversation with Ibotta
In this episode, the Brewbound team ran through the highlights from the Brewers Association’s (BA) 2024 craft report and top 50 craft breweries, as well as a squall of beer news, including the merger of Fort Point Beer Co. and HenHouse Brewing; the closure of Monster Brewing’s Utah production facility; the closure of a craft-centric Vermont distributor; and the retirement of then-Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley.
Brewbound editor Justin Kendall and managing editor Jess Infante also chatted with Chris Riedy, chief revenue officer at Ibotta, a cashback rewards app and consumer data insights firm.
Ahead of the interview, the team ran through earnings highlights from Boston Beer, Monster and A-B, including some standout quotes from Boston Beer founder Jim Koch.
May: Brewers Association CEO Bart Watson on the State of the Craft Beer
In late April/early May, the Brewbound Podcast set up shop on the BrewExpo America floor at the BA’s CBC in Indianapolis.
Bart Watson stopped by following his first CBC State of the Industry address as BA’s president and CEO. He touched on highlights from his speech, craft’s 2024 performance, changes to the Great American Beer Festival, predictions for industry and much more.
June: Inside Rhinegeist’s Merch Strategy – Emotional Hooks, Limited Drops and Loyal Fans
Rhinegeist stepped up its merch game in 2024 with the addition of merchandise director Jenny Morrissey. She joined the podcast one year later, along with Rhinegeist VP of marketing Tracey Ireland, to talk about how the Cincinnati craft brewery has used merch as a “marketing tool” and a way to form a stronger connection with local consumers.
The conversation covers trend spotting, sourcing inspiration, brand partnerships, tapping into a collector community, when to cut bait on slow-moving inventory and much more.
July: Learning Lounge: How Coffee Fortified Death of the Fox’s AM/PM Business
We introduced a new podcast segment in 2025: Learning Lounge. In the first edition, we released several episodes highlighting tactics breweries are using to drive profit in taprooms across the country.
The first episode featured Death of the Fox Brewing co-founder Chuck Garrity, who chatted about how the New Jersey-based company formed its total beverage mindset to keep its space busy day and night. Garrity talked about new revenue streams, including the addition of coffee service.
August: A Look at Uncle Nearest’s Fight to Retain Control of Operations
One of the biggest bev-alc legal stories of 2025 came from Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, which entered into a receivership after Farm Credit Mid-America filed a complaint against the company alleging debts of more than $100 million.
Ahead of the official receivership appointment, BevNET spirits editor Ferron Salniker joined the Brewbound Podcast to share updates on court proceedings, and CEO Fawn Weaver’s public reactions to the case, which led to a gag order.
In this episode, the Brewbound team also talked about Boston Beer Company’s announcement that it was shutting down its Truly LA and Angel City LA taprooms, and seeking a buyer for the Angel City brand.
September: Columbia Distributing Leaders On Building a Next Gen Pipeline of Beer Leaders
A common complaint across CPG companies is employee retention and lack of strong job applicants. Columbia Distributing has found a way to encourage people entering the workforce to explore beer and beverage distribution as a career option, through the company’s Beer Careers Program.
Columbia president and CEO Christ Steffanci, VP of sales, Portland Chris Watzig and former intern Rebecca Logan joined the podcast to share the ins and outs of the 10-week paid internship program, including how candidates are selected, why the company believes it’s important to invest in career development programs and what employers can learn from the emerging Gen Z workforce.
October: How Surfside Will Ride The Wave This Fall
One of the hottest products of the past few years has been Surfside, a line of vodka-based teas and lemonades from Philadelphia-based Stateside Vodka.
Stateside co-founders Clem Pappas (CEO) and Matt Quigley (president) chatted with the Brewbound team about the brand’s meteoric rise, and how it’s used athletic partnerships to strengthen its connection with the Philly community, while also expanding its reach nationally.
Ahead of the interview, Brewbound managing editor Jess Infante and senior reporter Zoe Licata chat about the abrupt shutdown of brewpub chain Iron Hill.
November: Lagunitas CEO Bernardo Spielmann on Green Shoots and Party Legends
Among our many guests at the Brewbound Podcast on Location booth at the NBWA’s Annual Convention this year was Lagunitas CEO Bernardo Spielmann.
While in Las Vegas, Spielmann dished on Lagunitas’ strategy for listening to consumers and the expansion of the California brewery’s draft-only launch Lagunitas Hazy IPA to package, as well as the beer category’s need to bring back socializing and capture occasions.
Ahead of the interview, the Brewbound Team talked about the sudden closure of Rogue Ales & Spirits, and A-B’s rumored (now confirmed) acquisition of party punch maker BeatBox.
This November, Justin Kendall headed to Irvine, California, for the California Craft Beer Summit, and wrangled a handful of Cali-based beer folks for several podcast conversations, including The Lost Abbey co-founder Tomme Arthur.
Arthur’s current tagline: “We’re surviving, not thriving.”
2026 marks the Lost Abbey’s 20th anniversary, and with that milestone, Arthur hopes to turn surviving into thriving. In the above episode, he details the company’s steps towards greater efficiency, efforts to “grow down,” and the challenges California craft breweries are facing with rent increases and landlord disputes.
Miss any other Brewbound Podcast episodes from the past year? Check them all out here.