Denizens Brewing co-founder and chief brand officer Julie Verratti will join the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as associate administrator of field operations, beginning March 1. Verratti will step away from her role with the brewery to take on the political appointment.

Truly Hard Seltzer boosted Boston Beer Company’s 2020 revenue to $1.74 billion, but production of the popular bubbly beverage remains a drag on the company’s gross margins, the company reported during its full-year and fourth quarter earnings report Wednesday.

Draft beer volumes last weekend dropped by 19.4% compared to BeerBoard’s January 28-31 survey as the state was battered by winter storms that crippled its power grid, leaving almost 4 million people without electricity.

Hard seltzer dollar sales at convenience stores are increasing at nearly double the rates of the rest of the off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm NielsenIQ. Over the last four weeks(ending February 6), off-premise dollar sales of hard seltzers increased 105% at convenience stores compared to the same period last year, while sales increased 55.9% in food (+55.9%) and 59.9% in drug stores.

Several pieces of legislation working their ways through Congress would bring much needed relief to the hospitality industry — including breweries, brewpubs and taprooms — as they continue to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grupo Modelo, the Mexican business division of Anheuser-Busch InBev, has filed a lawsuit against Constellation Brands, alleging that the company is “misusing and misappropriating” the Corona trademark with Corona Hard Seltzer.

Morganton, North Carolina-based Catawba Brewing Company acquired Skytown Beer Company, a brewpub in Wilmington, North Carolina, in a deal that closed February 10. Fifteen months after retrenching to focus on its brewpub, Boulder Beer’s portfolio will return to distribution in 28 states through a partnership with Stem Ciders and contract brewer Sleeping Giant in Denver.

Stone Brewing Company chief commercial officer Dan Lamb will exit the company next month. The San Diego craft brewery is reorganizing its sales and marketing departments and the chief commercial officer will no longer exist in the new structure.

Pointing to on-premise closures and capacity restraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Molson Coors Beverage Company posted net sales declines for both the full year and the fourth quarter of 2020.

Several beverage alcohol trade groups are speaking out against a bill that would grant the U.S. Postal Service the ability to ship beer, wine and spirits.

A new version of the Restaurants Act, which would provide $120 billion in grants to bars and restaurants, was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on February 4. The bill now includes “brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms, and licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products,” the Brewers Association said.

On-premise beer sales during Super Bowl LV were as depressed as Kansas City Chiefs fans after their team’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Beer volumes declined 46% compared to Super Bowl LIV, according to BeerBoard, which tracks draft sales at bars and restaurants across the country. “This is on pace with the average decline… Read more »

American consumers spent $89 billion on beer, wine and spirits at off-premise retailers last year, marking a $13.5 billion increase over 2019 beverage alcohol sales, according to market research firm Nielsen IQ.

The Brewers Association (BA) is urging the Can Manufacturing Institute (CMI) to ensure that small and independent craft brewers have access to aluminum cans amid the years-long inventory crunch beverage producers are now facing. In a letter to the CMI, BA president and CEO Bob Pease painted a dire picture for the nation’s nearly 8,400 craft brewers. “These businesses will simply not survive that long without cans,” he wrote.