Critiques of PepsiCo’s Blue Cloud Distribution (BCD) arm were plentiful during the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) annual convention earlier this month in Chicago. NBWA leaders criticized the way Hard MTN Dew – which Boston Beer has licensed to produce and is distributed through Blue Cloud – has been merchandised and cross-promoted in some accounts,… Read more »

Boston Beer Company is expanding its ready-to-drink canned cocktail portfolio with the addition of Loma Vista Tequila Soda, the company’s first tequila-based RTD.

Scout Distribution and Columbia Distributing’s joint venture, Scout Idaho, announced its launch portfolio today. The company will begin taking orders in southern Idaho on October 31, with deliveries following on November 1.

This week was all about the numbers as the third quarter data is now in the books. Brewbound managing editor Jess Infante and reporter Zoe Licata hosted a Data Club deep dive into the summer selling season and what’s ahead with 3 Tier Beverages consultant Mary Mills and NielsenIQ VP of alcohol industry thought leadership… Read more »

Boston Beer Company reported a -6% decline in depletions, while shipments increased +1.4% in its third-quarter 2022 earnings report today. Boston Beer recorded a $27.1 million non-cash impairment of intangible assets related to the Dogfish Head brand

The average price per case of craft beer is up +4.6% year-to-date and “continues creeping into the $40+ per case range,” according to Bump Williams Consulting, citing NielsenIQ data through October 1. The average price paid per unit is up +2% compared to a year ago, the firm added.

Off-premise craft beer sales through the first three quarters of 2022 are in the red (-5.1%), although trends have “slowly [creeped] toward break-even” through the summer months (July, August, September), according to the latest craft breakdown from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC), citing NielsenIQ data through October 1.

The last couple of weeks are a bit of a blur, and how couldn’t they be when you’re running the post-Labor Day acronym gauntlet: NACS, GABF, NBWA, BI, AFWB. OK, I missed one of those but that’s why Jess Infante is this team’s road warrior and deserves all the airline status. A weekly reminder of the top storylines of the week seems in order.

U.S. grocery chain giants Kroger and Albertsons are involved in merger discussions, which would create the largest supermarket chain in the U.S., Reuters reported.

Government affairs leaders from the largest U.S. beer manufacturers are gearing up for battles with the liquor industry over tax equalization in several states in 2023.

The first goal of incoming Beer Institute (BI) chairman Anheuser-Busch CEO and North American zone president Brendan Whitworth is to continue delineating the differences between beer and hard liquor. In his address to the annual meeting of the trade group representing the country’s largest brewers, Whitworth highlighted three goals for his term leading the BI… Read more »

Nadine Sarwat, equity research analyst and director of European and American alcoholic beverages at Bernstein Autonomous LLP, shared why she doesn’t believe PepsiCo’s Blue Cloud Distribution poses a threat to traditional beer wholesalers. Plus, Sierra Nevada’s Ellie Preslar talks e-premise and Troy Aikman touts Eight.

Five months after the departure of Jim McGreevy, the Beer Institute (BI) has named its next president and CEO. The trade group today announced the appointment of Brian Crawford, the executive vice president of government affairs for the American Hotel and Lodging Association (AHLA), as its next leader.

If resilience was the theme of 2021 for the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and its members, adaptability was the theme for 2022, CEO and president Craig Purser and chairman of the board Peter Heimark said today, kicking off the NBWA’s 85th Annual Convention in Chicago. In 2022, beer distributors battled inflation, fuel costs, supply… Read more »