Two quarter-century-old beer companies are merging in an effort to remain competitive amid increasing pressure from small and large players alike. Mammoth Lakes, California-based Mammoth Brewing Company has reached an asset purchase agreement with Reno, Nevada-based Great Basin Brewing Company.

After operating for nearly a year without a CEO, the Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective has appointed long-time beer executive Tony Short to its top leadership post. The Fireman Capital-backed brewery consortium — whose brands include Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Perrin Brewing, Three Weavers, and Utah Brewers Cooperative (Wasatch and Squatters) — had been without a chief executive since last May, when David Pillsbury exited the company after about six months on the job. At the time, Canarchy promoted chief operating officer Matt Fraser to the role of president.

Weyerbacher Brewing Company today announced the sale of a majority stake in the company to 1518 Holdings LLC, a Philadelphia-based private investment group. Speaking to Brewbound, newly named president Josh Lampe, who previously served as chief operating officer and has supplanted brewery founder Dan Weirback as the company’s leader, said 1518 Holdings had acquired a 55 percent stake in the 24-year-old business.

In this week’s Last Call: Boston Beer CEO’s 2018 compensation hits $20 Million; New Belgium opens remodeled pub at Denver airport; 7-Eleven tests upscale store; Amazon seeks alcohol policy manager; New York State Liquor Authority fines Shmaltz; and more industry news.

San Diego’s Modern Times has turned to crowdfunding in an effort to raise more than $1 million, which it says will be allocated for the continued operation of its business, “minor efficiency projects” and equipment purchases, and continued expansion. In the process of posting the equity crowd raise via the Wefunder platform, the company has provided future investors and others throughout the beer industry with a peek under the hood of one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the U.S.

Washington’s craft brewing industry contributed $1.4 billion to the state’s economy in 2017, according to an economic impact report released Tuesday by the Washington Beer Commission. The study, conducted by Seattle-based research firm Community Attributes Inc, found that the state’s 382 breweries produced 582,400 barrels, generated $581.4 million in revenue and employed 6,300 workers in 2017.

Improving diversity and inclusion within the craft brewing industry was a recurring theme throughout last week’s Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Denver. During a Brew Talks panel discussion, Brewers Association diversity ambassador Dr. J. Nikol Jackson-Beckham argued that reaching out to customers beyond “white dudes with beards” is no more risky than mortgaging financial futures to start breweries.

In this week’s Last Call: Patagonia sues Anheuser-Busch for trademark infringement; Stanford researchers find consumers more negatively view beer made by women; Maryland lawmakers pass franchise law reform and modernization bill; and more industry news.

Slower growth and increased competition are the “new normal,” Brewers Association (BA) leaders hammered home on the second day of the trade group’s annual Craft Brewers Conference (CBC). “This is not a blip,” BA chief economist Bart Watson said during Wednesday’s State of the Industry presentation. “This is the new normal.”

Leaders with the Brewers Association (BA) opened Tuesday’s opening session of the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver by soliciting donations for its new political action committee (PAC). Their goal? To make permanent the excise tax cuts in the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), which are slated to expire at the end of the year.

The Brewers Association’s (BA) biggest event of the year, the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) & BrewExpo America, officially kicks off Tuesday in Denver. With more than 70 educational seminars and tons of networking opportunities (and parties), CBC can be daunting. To help attendees plan their schedules effectively, Brewbound has picked eight seminars that shouldn’t be skipped.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Deschutes tells Roanoke city officials it is unlikely to build a production facility by a 2021 deadline; Trillium spends $13 million to acquire Canton real estate; Deschutes hires ex-Dogfish Head VP of marketing; BrewDog shares Q1 highlights; and more industry news.

Beer no longer holds a majority of the share of total alcohol servings in the U.S. Beer Institute chief economist Michael Uhrich reported today during a State of the Industry presentation that beer’s share of total alcohol servings fell to 49 percent, down about 1 percent, as hard liquor (35.6 percent) and wine (15.4) both gained share.

Constellation Brands reported its fiscal year and fourth quarter 2019 earnings results today, which were highlighted by a 7 percent increase in net sales, to more than $8.1 billion.