The U.S.’s total beer supply declined -6.7% year-over-year (YoY) in September, as built-up summer inventories (domestic production plus imports) fell back in line with depletion trends, according to Beer Institute (BI) chief economist Andrew Heritage.

While beer consumers – particularly core craft fans – once cared more about brand and where a product was made, most bev-alc consumers are now prioritizing price, quality and availability, among other factors. This has caused not only a shift in how craft beer is produced and marketed (hello, contract brewing boom), but also trends in imported beer.

Beer distributors continue to have a “cautious outlook” on category trends through the final months of 2024, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and the October Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI).

Today’s Q3 earnings by Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) were less spooky than last Halloween’s results, with the company’s total U.S. trends now returning to patterns similar to those before the 2023 Bud Light boycott.

American Cider Association (ACA) CEO Michelle McGrath will depart from her role at the trade association at the end of the year, the ACA announced Wednesday.

The upcoming holiday season gives consumers an excuse to celebrate in bars and restaurants, and could give the on-premise a welcome boost as 2024 comes to a close, according to CGA, the on-premise arm of market research firm NIQ.

Spotted: Nate Archibald with a new job and a hard tea in his hand. Actor Chace Crawford has joined hard tea and kombucha maker Jiant as chief creative officer and part-owner. Crawford is best known for his TV roles on Gossip Girl (Nate Archibald) and The Boys (Kevin Moskowitz/The Deep).

Boston Beer Company’s Q3 financials were described by one analyst, Bernstein’s Nadine Sarwat, as “a messy set of results.” The company’s portfolio – including Samuel Adams, Dogfish Head, Truly Hard Seltzer, Angry Orchard, Sun Cruiser and Hard MTN Dew – reported a -1.9% year-over-year (YoY) decline in shipments (sales to wholesalers) and -3% decline in depletions (sales to retailers) in the quarter.

Boston Beer Company eked out a year-over-year (YoY) increase in revenue in Q3, despite another quarter of contracting shipments and depletions, and several impairment charges for its craft brands.

Craft ‘Ohana announced a pair of “strategic partnerships” for the future of the Modern Times Beer brand and hospitality business that will see the Hawaii-headquartered company step back from the daily operations to “focus and double down” on growing Maui Brewing.

Craft declines continue to soften in off-premise scans, according to market research firm Circana. Craft dollar sales in Circana-tracked off-premise channels (multi-outlet + convenience) declined -3.6% and volume -5.4% year-over-year (YoY) in the four-week period ending October 6.

Beer trends remained “relatively stable” in the convenience channel in Q3, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog in the latest BevBytes report. Goldman Sachs surveyed retailers representing 28,000 locations, or 19% of total c-stores. Respondents reported +3% year-over-year (YoY) sales growth for beer in Q3.

The “diversification” of craft brewery portfolios with beyond beer products “is a good thing,” according to American Homebrewers Association (AHA) executive director Julia Herz, who kicked off Boston Beer Company’s annual media brunch in Denver last week during the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).

More than 270 breweries and cideries won medals at the Brewers Association’s (BA) Great American Beer Festival (GABF) on Saturday in Denver. The BA awarded 326 medals to 273 competitors in the 38th year of the competition and 42nd year of the festival.