Untappd — the beer ranking and checking in smartphone app — was built on the notion of being social. However, being social in the U.S. has been taken away by the novel coronavirus disease, which has forced consumers to stay inside their homes and shut down brewery taprooms, tasting rooms, bars and restaurants across the country.

Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced several measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including a $1 million donation to the U.S. Bartender Emergency Assistance Program and a 50% reimbursement for untapped, out-of-code beer through July 1.

By most metrics, small and independent craft brewing companies posted solid volume growth in 2019. However, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many craft brewers into “survival mode,” is overshadowing 2019’s growth.

Two months after Constellation Brands made a minority investment in Press Premium Alcohol Seltzer, the company’s chief commercial officer for its beer division, Bruce Jacobson, announced he is leaving the beer, wine and spirits company after 17 years to join the Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based hard seltzer maker.

Volume growth for the nation’s small and independent craft breweries held steady at nearly 4% in 2019, as the overall beer industry’s volume declined 2%, according to trade group the Brewers Association’s annual craft beer growth report.

Total beer category dollar sales in off-premise retailers reaccelerated slightly for the week ending April 4, increasing 19% compared to the same one-week period in 2019, according to market research firm Nielsen.

With summer drinking occasions at risk of being lost due to the coronavirus disease COVID-19 shutting down gatherings at beaches and pools, consumer insights firm Social Standards looked at the potential effects of that loss on beverage alcohol products.

Stone Brewing Company laid off employees of its restaurants, taprooms and distributions sales force, which amounted about 306 workers. Some state lawmakers have proposed bills that would extend business interruption insurance clauses to cover losses sustained from closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2020 edition of the Ales for ALS charitable program was off to a strong start before the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered brewery taprooms and tasting rooms across the U.S. The program’s founders discussed their family’s personal history with ALS, the start of the charity and the impact of COVID-19 on their efforts during a video interview with Brewbound.

Bump Williams Consulting VP of business development and portfolio strategy Brian “BK” Krueger gives a quick look at the week as off-premise sales began to slow and what’s to come in the weeks ahead in a video interview with Brewbound.

The Brewers Association’s Craft Brewers Conference will go on in 2020 — at a social distance. The trade group that represents small and independent craft brewers today announced plans to hold the event virtually over the next five weeks, from April 13 through May 15, with many days featuring two live streamed seminars.

The Brewers Association (BA) today released the results of its second member survey on the effect of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 on the craft brewing industry, and the results paint a bleak picture for many small and independent craft brewers.

After consecutive weeks of consumers stocking up on alcoholic beverages at off-premise retailers in mid-March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the first signs of a slowdown began to show during the week ending March 28, according to market research firm Nielsen.

Brewers Association-defined craft beer companies could lose nearly 18 million cases equivalents if the shutdown of nearly all U.S. on-premise outlets forced by COVID-19 lasts through April, Nielsen CGA client solutions director Matthew Crompton shared during Friday’s Brewers Association Power Hour webinar.