Sierra Nevada’s 2026 strategy revolves around a “core four” philosophy involving its top brands, while supplementing its flagships with strategic additions, leaders of the Chico, California-headquartered craft brewery shared last week during a virtual distributor presentation.

Craft’s off-premise performance over the last four weeks has been a tale of two channels.

Check out news items from August 25-26, initially reported in Insider editions of the Brewbound Newsletter.

If last week’s Gallup survey suggesting Americans are drinking less has you ready to hit the panic button, maybe back away. Although there are declines in consumers’ expressed drinking behaviors, market research firm NIQ notes several opportunity areas for suppliers, retailers and on-premise operators.

In a tectonic shift in the distribution landscape, Anheuser-Busch InBev announced plans to sell its wholly owned distributor (WOD) in New York City to Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.

The percentage of Americans who say they drink alcoholic beverages has fallen to its lowest point – 54% – in the history of Gallup’s annual survey tracking drinking patterns of adults. The firm said the decline comes amid “a growing belief among Americans that moderate alcohol consumption is bad for one’s health, now the majority view for the first time.”

The Idaho joint venture between Scout Distribution and Columbia Distributing is being sold to Hayden Beverage Company, the companies shared today.

Sierra Nevada has hired Angela Bloomer as its new VP of national accounts. Plus, Garage Beer promotes from within and hires an NFL veteran. Sapporo-Stone makes brand lead moves. And 3 Tier Beverages makes four more hires.

Ball Corporation is making beer a smaller part of its mix after over-indexing in the category, CEO Daniel Fisher shared during the company’s Q2 earnings report earlier this week.

What do distributors want in 2025? A survey of 173 distributors from across the U.S. found that middle-tier leaders are seeking simplification and focus in programs, among other key traits. Those answers were among the takeaways from consulting firm Tamarron’s 27th annual Brewer Partnership Compass survey.

Pabst Brewing is making changes to its c-suite, including the appointment of Greig DeBow as CEO, effective August 11. DeBow succeeds Paul Chibe, who had been in the CEO role since December 2021.

The on-premise continued to see “some really positive performance” as both value velocity (+6%) and ticket count (+9%) increased year-over-year for the week ending July 26, 2025.

Boston Beer president CEO Michael Spillane is ending his leadership role with the company after just over a year, according to an 8-K filing submitted today (Friday, August 1) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Another piece of Scout Distribution has been sold off. Hensley Beverage Company has agreed to acquire the remaining 75% stake in Scout’s Arizona business that it did not already own, after purchasing a minority stake earlier this year.