Off-premise beer category sales topped $1 billion for the second consecutive week, which included the Memorial Day holiday, according to the latest one-week data slice shared by market research firm Nielsen.

Fran Caradonna’s first 15 months at Schlafly Beer maker the Saint Louis Brewery have been eventful, to say the least.

The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s monthly Beer Purchasers’ Index bounced back from a dismal 35 reading in April to an overall index of 66 in May. Long-time Vermont Cider Co. executive Terry Hopper is exiting the maker of Woodchuck Hard Cider, effective today. And more industry news bites.

Allagash Brewing is planning to roll out several years of innovations over the next three months, founder Rob Tod announced Wednesday. Allagash’s plan is to launch two new core year-round products, including a line of low-calorie, low-alcohol “sparkling session ales” made with fruit called Little Grove and a new stout called North Sky.

Athletic Brewing Company and Ceria Brewing Company, two up-and-coming non-alcoholic craft beer companies, are expanding their footprints into several new states.

Off-premise beer category dollar sales topped $1 billion heading into the Memorial Day holiday, according to the latest one-week data shared by market research firm Nielsen.

More than 80% of craft breweries said they have received funding through the Paycheck Protection Program, and those loans are making many of them more confident about the future, according to the Brewers Association’ (BA) latest survey of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting those businesses.

Braxton Brewing Company finished 2019 as one of the fastest-rising craft breweries in the nation. The Covington, Kentucky-based craft brewery grew its volumes by 96%, to 23,500 barrels, elevating the company to regional brewery status — those producing between 15,000 and 6 million barrels — according to production data released by the Brewers Association. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has dampened the company’s 2020 outlook.

As all 50 states have begun the reopening process, two more craft breweries are asking their customers how willing they are to return to brewery taprooms when on-premise sales return. Seattle’s Reuben’s Brews and New Orleans’ Urban South Brewery, which also operates a location in Houston, Texas, recently shared the results of their respective surveys.

More than half of the top 50 Brewers Association-defined craft brewing companies posted volume growth in 2019, according to data published in the May/June edition of the not-for-profit trade group’s New Brewer magazine.

Hard seltzers are continuing to attract new consumers, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study conducted by market research firm Nielsen. During the eight-week period during the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of consumers buying hard seltzer nearly doubled, as 44% of hard seltzer buyers were doing so for the first time, according to the study.

Just 11% of bar and restaurant operators have been able to generate sustainable profits by offering takeout and delivery, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen CGA, the market research firm’s on-premise channel data arm.

Iconic Portland, Maine craft brewery Allagash returns to Florida for a limited time; Carlsberg and Marston’s announce proposed JV; April domestic tax paid Shipments decline 4.9%; judge approves bid for bankrupt Craftworks; and more headlines from the week.

The largest beer festival in the U.S. will not take place in-person in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. For the first time in the festival’s nearly 40-year history, the Brewers Association (BA) has canceled the 2020 edition of Great American Beer Festival, which was slated to take place September 24-26, and will instead move the event “to an immersive online experience” from October 16-17.