Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams

Craft continues to battle declines, with dollar sales for the segment down -1% in the last 52 weeks (ending September 19) and volume down -5.3% in Circana-tracked channels. But the ebbs and flows of craft are what make it a “success,” Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch said last week during the company’s annual media brunch at the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).

Chicago-based Funkytown Brewery is already seeing the benefits from winning the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream Brewing & Business Experienceship this summer.

Distributors noticed stronger beer trends this summer versus last summer, “despite headline concerns over the slowing category and ongoing Bud Light pressures,” Goldman Sachs analysts reported in the company’s latest Bev Bytes Beer Distributor Survey.

Beyond beer has been a key growth driver for bev-alc companies, and it’s the beer category’s battle to win, according to Boston Beer Company founder Jim Koch.

Brewbound recently caught up with Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione on the brewery’s 2023 performance and fall beer programming.

As Brewing the American Dream celebrates 15 years supporting small food and beverage businesses across the U.S., Samuel Adams today announces that its priority philanthropy program has surpassed $100 million of funding. This milestone commemorates the program’s dedication to uplifting devoted craftspeople everywhere in partnership with nonprofit lenders like Accion Opportunity Fund.

Boston Beer Company chief sales officer John Geist will retire at the end of the year after 26 years with the company and seven years leading sales.

Boston Beer’s shipments declined again in Q2 – down -4.5%, to 2.3 million barrels. However, the company is still confident in its projections and its “strategic priorities remained unchanged,” founder Jim Koch said Thursday during the company’s call with investors.

Boston Beer Company reported its second quarter earnings today, with net revenue declining -2.1%, to $603.3 million, compared to the same period in 2022.

Total bev-alc sales in off-premise channels (multi-outlet plus convenience) declined -4% week-over-week (WoW) in the week ending July 9, which included the July 4 holiday, according to Circana analyst Scott Scanlon.

Convenience store retailers had a “slightly more pessimistic outlook” for beer trends in Goldman Sachs’ Q2 Beverage Bytes survey, citing “broader economic pressures/fears of recession, impacts from cooler weather” and the continued “negative impacts from the recent Bud Light controversy.”

Boston Beer is “cranking up the dial on ABV” with its newest offering: Twisted Tea Extreme.

The convergence of beverage-alcohol and non-alcoholic brands may be a new trend, growing exponentially in the past few years, but it’s been decades in the making, according to leaders in the space during a BevNet Live panel last week.

As the Bud Light brand continues to lose sales and share amid conservative-led backlash over a one-off social media influencer partnership with a transgender woman, the company is now pledging financial support for its wholesaler partners, according to a 6K filing with the SEC.