Justin Kendall provides daily coverage of the beer industry on Brewbound.com, conducts live-streamed interviews during Brewbound’s events and co-produces the Brewbound podcast. Kendall is a nearly 20-year career journalist who led alt-weekly newspapers in Kansas City, Missouri, and Des Moines, Iowa.
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.”
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.
The Trump administration has imposed a “universal” tariff on every country for goods imported into the U.S., with a 10% baseline for those that the U.S. holds a trade surplus – meaning the U.S. exports more than it imports – and 15% for those the U.S. runs a deficit. The latter amounts to around 40 countries, with 26 countries facing tariffs higher than 15% rate.
Tilray Brands’ 2025 fiscal year ended with mixed results, as the Canadian cannabis and U.S. craft beer platform generated $821.3 million in net revenue ($833.7 million in constant currency) across its various business units for full-year 2025 (FY25, ending May 31, 2025), marking a 4% increase year-over-year (YoY).
After reaching nationwide distribution in 2023, Bell’s Brewery has refocused on its core Great Lakes markets. New Belgium CEO Shaun Belongie explained that the Michigan craft brand struggled in far away markets, leading the company to double down at home.
New Belgium is still feeling the effects of Hurricane Helene almost one year after the deadly storm devastated western North Carolina. Even as the company’s Asheville production facility has come back online, New Belgium is dealing with tough decisions made in the aftermath.
New Belgium Brewing Company turned down the innovation firehose to a drip – for the most part – to start 2025. Yes, the company did add “Mini Rippers,” 7.5 oz. 8-pack cans of Voodoo Ranger Juice Force and Tropic Force (both 9.5% ABV). And it rolled out LightStrike, a 5% ABV non-carbonated hard refresher line, aimed at Millennials and Generation Z consumers.