Japanese brewing giant Asahi has enlisted Molson Coors vet Paul Verdu to serve as managing director of Asahi Beer USA and Octopi Brewing in the U.S, the company announced today.

Ball Corporation’s full-year earnings call proved eventful, with the world’s largest can manufacturer announcing plans to build a new dual-line can manufacturing facility in Oregon, as well as acquire a Florida manufacturer in a $160 million deal.

Resealable packages, smaller sizes and non-carbonated beverages are among the hot bev-alc trends Total Wine & More’s senior leadership team are watching in 2025.

President Donald Trump announced plans to levy 25% tariffs on goods imported from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% additional tariffs on China over the weekend. However, duties on goods imported from Mexico received a one-month reprieve on Monday following a border security deal.

The beer category is in the black to start 2025, with off-premise dollar sales growing +3% and volume +0.7% year-to-date (YTD) through January 18 in NIQ-tracked channels (total U.S. xAOC plus liquor plus convenience).

Firestone Walker’s new high ABV Mind Haze Rage line of “lemonade-infused turbo radlers” are now arriving on retail shelves.

Brewbound asked retailers, distributors and data analysts which trends they’re watching and why at the start of 2025. From non-alcoholic (NA) adult beverages and imports to draft and on-premise shifts, here are the trends our respondents will be tracking this year.

Riding +7% depletions growth in 2024, Rhinegeist Brewery is looking at high ABV line extensions of its two biggest brand families to bolster that growth in 2025.

IPA remained the top craft style by far in 2024, with a 49.41% share of segment dollar sales in off-premise retailers, gaining 2.49 share points, according to Circana.

Rhinegeist Brewery has added former New Belgium Brewing CEO Steve Fechheimer as an advisor to its board of directors.

On-premise sales velocity declined -6% for the two-week period ending December 28 and was flat through the New Year’s holiday for the week ending January 4, according to the latest report from CGA, NIQ’s on-premise division.

Dick and Jake Leinenkugel have gone public with their efforts to buy back their family’s namesake brewery in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, from Molson Coors, which plans to cease operations at the facility on Friday, January 17, and lay off 56 workers.

Off-premise dollar sales of craft beer declined -3.3%, to more than $4.6 billion, in 2024, according to multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience store data shared by market research firm Circana.

Off-premise total beer category sales topped $45.65 billion in 2024, a -0.6% decline year-over-year (YoY), according to 52-week data through December 29 shared by market research firm Circana. Total beer dollar sales declined more than $268.7 million compared to 2023.