Headlines

JuneShine Brands isn’t stressing about November’s federal ban on hemp-derived THC products, which could wipe out its fast-growing Willie’s Remedy+ brand.

Mother’s Day and Memorial Day delivered a much-needed boost to restaurants and bars last month, according to an NIQ report, analyzing CGA-gathered on-premise data. Mother’s Day (Sunday, May 10) and Memorial Day (Monday, May 25) were the most valuable Sunday and Monday, respectively, so far in 2026 for the on-premise channel, NIQ reported.

FIFA men’s World Cup season is almost upon us, but the folks at Stella Artois are getting a head start to encourage drinking on the job! It seems 86% of World Cup games will occur during normal working hours in the U.S., so Stella is launching a #WFB promo, or Work From Bar, where it’s setting aside up to $100k to reimburse folks for STELLAs imbibed while ostensibly #WFB during games at bars and restaurants.

Great Lakes Brewing Company (GLBC) is throwing its hat in the low-ABV ring. The Cleveland-based craft brewery has released Dort Light, a 90-calorie, 2.9%-ABV extension of its flagship Dortmunder Gold Lager.

Beer continues to tackle growing challenges in the convenience channel, but bright spots remain, Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) shared in the firm’s latest monthly analysis.

The cracks in the facade of beer’s improved performance in 2026 have begun to widen, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana. Year-to-date (YTD) through May 17, beer category dollar sales increased 0.3% at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) tracked by Circana.

The Reyes Beverage Group’s 50th year is its biggest yet. The nation’s largest beer distributor completed the biggest acquisition in company history last week for 11 RNDC markets, making it the No. 3 wine and spirits distributor in the U.S. And the company’s dealmaking ambitions aren’t close to done – in and out of beer.

Atwater Brewery will soon be back in familiar hands. The Detroit, Michigan-based craft brewery’s former owner Mark Rieth has signed a “definitive agreement” to reacquire Atwater from Tilray Brands.

Ready-to-drink canned cocktail brand Carbliss is open to potential acquirers, co-founder Adam Kroener made clear Wednesday at Beer Marketer’s Insights spring meeting. “Everything’s for sale,” Kroener said during a panel conversation that included SpikedAde co-founder and CEO Jason Cohen and Happy Dad co-founder and CEO Sam Shahidi.

Was craft brewers’ 2025 less bad than we thought? The Brewers Association issued a revision to its annual production report. We’ll cover that, plus, interviews with Victory Brewing co-founder Bill Covaleski and director of brewing operations Joe Slavick, as well as Odell Brewing CEO Eric “Smitty” Smith.

Bev-alc trends remained consistent leading up to Memorial Day, as single-digit, year-over-year (YoY) declines persisted in the latest weekly scans report from market research firm NIQ.

Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter June 1-3, including headlines from Blake’s Beverage, Lone Tree Brewing, Long Trail, Bero and more.

Draft continues to claw back the share of total beer it lost during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting on-premise closures and consumer shifts.

Craft beer continues to battle against the narrative that the segment is dying. A core adversary in that mission is that the legacy brands that helped create the segment are the ones driving declines, according to new data shared by consulting firm 3 Tier Beverages.