Off-premise beverage alcohol dollar sales fell for the first time in more than a year, declining 1.9% for the week ending March 13 as the industry faces tough comparisons due to the shift in consumer purchasing a year ago, as shoppers stocked their fridges as on-premise shutdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to market research firm NielsenIQ.

St. Patrick’s Day draft beer volume was down 20.9% compared to the same day in 2019 at on-premise establishments tracked by BeerBoard. Declining by a fifth may not seem like positive news, but BeerBoard has clocked nationwide draft volume declines at 48-51% since bars and restaurants began reopening in limited capacity last summer.

Craft beer’s dollar sales growth continues to outpace the overall beer category at off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm IRI. Year-to-date through February 21, dollar sales of craft beer have increased 17.2% compared to the same period last year, while total beer dollar sales are up 13.5%, the firm reported.

Hard tea and wine-based spritzer producer Loverboy is attempting to split from its Massachusetts wholesaler, Chelsea-based Night Shift Distributing, according to documents filed with the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

New Orleans-based Dixie Beer shocked the South last summer when it announced it would change its name amid the social justice protests that followed George Floyd’s murder. Nine months after that announcement and four months after the company revealed it would become Faubourg Brewing Company, the first Faubourg branded beer will begin rolling out of the 114-year-old company’s brewery.

A consortium of investors has reached a deal to acquire 100% ownership of City Brewing, the largest beverage alcohol co-packer in the U.S., and also acquire the former Molson Coors production brewery in Irwindale, California, from Pabst Brewing Company.

Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group has sold Woodchuck Cider maker Vermont Cider Company (VCC) to Northeast Drinks Group, a privately owned holding company.

BrewDog has apologized to the four LGBTQ employees it terminated last week from its Indianapolis taproom, but said an external HR investigation found “no evidence of discrimination” in their firings, according to a statment from BrewDog USA CEO Jason Block.

Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers is attempting to sever its relationship with Atlantic Beverage Distributors, its Massachusetts wholesaler. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based craft brewery provided Atlantic with notice on January 14, two days after franchise law reform was enacted in the state.

Boulevard Brewing Company has terminated three additional employees following the conclusion of a month-long independent external investigation into the Kansas City, Missouri-headquartered craft brewery’s operations following allegations that its culture was poisoned by harassment.

After terminating four workers from its Indianapolis taproom earlier this week, BrewDog has also let go of the employee who approved the firings and hired an external human relations firm to investigate. All four of the workers who were terminated on Monday, March 8, are members of the LGBTQ community; two are women and two are non-binary.

Eight in 10 regular craft beer drinkers believe breweries should be allowed to ship beer directly to consumers in more states than the 13 where the practice is legal, according to a study published by the Brewers Association (BA) and Sovos ShipCompliant.

Stone Brewing has hired former wine, spirits and cannabis executive Erin Smith as its next vice president of marketing. Smith’s arrival comes several weeks after the Escondido, California-headquartered craft brewery announced a reorganization of its sales and marketing teams.

Diageo has acquired fast-growing hard seltzer maker Far West Spirits LLC, which produces the Lone River Ranch Water brand.