Daily Briefing Newsletter

I gotta say, putting almost every Super Bowl ad online before the game … kinda kills the fun of watching the game.

A-B may be shutting down its Newark, NJ brewery after several decades, but the A-B eagle will live on!

Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was Saturday, January 10, 2025. Hopefully everyone’s resolutions are going well so far …

Hopefully a lot of you had “A bottle o’ Beam” on your Christmas lists, as it sounds like there’s quite a bit of it to be had out there.

BREWBOUND isn’t the only one goin’ Hollywood (adjacent) – my very own neighborhood brewery ROCKAWAY BREWING CO. in Long Island City, NYC is giving Jeopardy! star Vinnie Cilurzo a run for the craft beer celebrity title! The brewery was featured in this week’s FBI episode on CBS.

Recycled toilet water, your time is up. The craft beer business has moved on to more artisanal sources for brewing water – recycled shower and laundry water!

Frankly, I’m surprised it took until November 2025 – but you can now rate spirits, wine, ANA beverages, RTDs, THC-infused seltzers, coffee, soda and “more” on Untappd. What’s that, Jess? No, I don’t think tomato sauce is on there yet … but we’ll keep you posted.

Jocks – beer doesn’t need you anymore. As I’ve documented here over the past few weeks, clearly you’ve broken up with us on many fronts except to occasionally spray our product on each other a couple of times a year in locker rooms. But don’t mind us, we’ll be over here with the cool nerds!

It’s nice to see BREWBOUND’s Hollywood subscriber base start to grow in 2025. Or at least it just seems like it with Charlie Sheen, John Mulaney and Tom Holland all becoming recent NA beer entrepreneurs … but Justin, let me know if you need George Clooney’s email address as he looks to be joining the fray.

I gotta say athletes are really letting down their image in 2025. First, it was baseball players leaving the complimentary beer fridges in the locker room mostly untouched – now the NBA fellas are starting … wine clubs!

It’s amazing the effect that a week with 3 major beer industry conventions in a row has on the typical industry news cycle 🥴 (this just in – everyone needs a nap), so let’s go check in on our wine friends!

I hope all of you reading this in Colorado today are enjoying that extra cup of coffee to help your brain remember where you left your shirt, and also find that little something extra in the tank that’s needed to get through the final day of pouring today at GABF in Denver. It should also help perfect that smile and nod when Jess says, “Hey buddy, how about you fill that glass all the way up like a real pour?” when she visits your booth.

Well, it’s about time Gen X gets the respect we deserve around here! According to consumer insights firm NUMERATOR – we’ve overtaken the Boomers in spending power!

It’s time for one of golf’s greatest traditions, as the sport of the people (who have a lot of money) tees off all weekend with the biennial Ryder Cup. The PGA is actually making all food & drink free of charge this weekend (don’t tell Justin – I told him hot dogs were on me for his birthday). Although the … $750 tickets for the weekend sadly do not cover booze.