Jessica Infante joined Brewbound in 2019 after nearly a decade in a variety of marketing roles in the craft beer industry. Prior to that, she was a daily newspaper reporter at the Jersey Shore. Jess holds a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communication from Emerson College. She is a certified Cicerone and lives in Salem, Massachusetts.
Craft dollar sales declines stabilized to start the summer selling season after a period of worsening trends. In the four-week period (L4W) ending June 14, craft dollar sales declined 4.6% year-over-year (YoY) at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) tracked by market research firm Circana. This marked no change in momentum from Circana’s previous monthly report (data ending May 17), which itself reflected a doubling of dollar sales declines compared to the prior period (-2.3% YoY L4W through April 19).
The FIFA World Cup 2026 on-premise boost has emerged from coast to coast, according to the latest report from data firm BeerBoard. Those gains are much steeper in states with the 11 stadiums hosting World Cup matches, often by several orders of magnitude.
Boston Beer Company and two former sales representatives have reached a settlement in a lawsuit over the company’s use of non-compete agreements, according to a court order filed Monday.
The search for the next CEO of Heineken N.V. has met its end beyond the beer industry. The Dutch brewing giant’s supervisory board has named Rafael (Rafa) Oliveira as the company’s CEO and executive board chair, according to a press release. If Oliveira’s nomination is approved at the company’s August 5 shareholder meeting, his four-year term will begin October 1.
Lost Coast Brewing founder Barbara Groom is looking for a buyer for her nearly 40-year-old craft brewery. Groom plans to retire after 37 years of running the Eureka, California-based craft brewery, she told ProBrewer.
As the FIFA World Cup enters its second week at host cities across North America, craft breweries’ experiences are mixed. The globe’s most-watched sporting event rolled into 11 U.S. cities last week, bringing millions of international travelers and providing craft breweries in host cities with an opportunity for a much-needed boost to kick off the summer.
Industry veteran Josh Fruchtman has departed Allagash Brewing to serve as director of sales and commercial growth for Atlas Brew Works and dedicated mid-strength contract brand Dad Strength Brewing.
Total beverage-alcohol off-premise sales declined both year-over-year (YoY) and week-over-week (WoW) in the first full week of June, according to market research firm Circana.
Icicle Brewing founders Pamela and Oliver Brulotte will retire after selling their stake in the Leavenworth, Washington-based craft brewery.The Brulottes didn’t need to look far for the brewery’s new owners. Hop farmers Shelley and Eric Desmarais – the latter of whom is Oliver Brulotte’s second cousin – will acquire the majority interest in Icicle.
Nearly three-quarters of the available booths at the reinvented Great American Beer Festival (GABF) have been claimed. As of Tuesday, June 9, 150 breweries and cideries have registered to pour at the Brewers Association’s (BA) signature consumer-centric event, scheduled for October 10 and 11 at Levitt Pavilion in Denver, Colorado, BA VP of marketing and communications Ann Obenchain told Brewbound.
Beer at home and away continued to lead year-over-year (YoY) price increases compared to the rest of beverage-alcohol in May, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Across the board, no bev-alc metric increased as much as the CPI for all items, which rose 4.2% in May. This marked the highest rate of overall inflation since May 2023, when it was 4%.
Mother’s Day and Memorial Day delivered a much-needed boost to restaurants and bars last month, according to an NIQ report, analyzing CGA-gathered on-premise data. Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10) and Memorial Day (Monday, May 25) were the most valuable Sunday and Monday, respectively, so far in 2026 for the on-premise channel, NIQ reported.
The cracks in the facade of beer’s improved performance in 2026 have begun to widen, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana. Year-to-date (YTD) through May 17, beer category dollar sales increased 0.3% at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) tracked by Circana.
Small and independent craft brewers’ output declined 4% in 2025 – more than 25% less than was previously reported by the Brewers Association (BA). The BA issued a correction of its 2025 Beer Industry Production Survey (BIPS), which was published last month, after receiving “revised production figures for a small number of regional craft brewers,” a BA spokesperson said in a statement shared Tuesday with Brewbound.
