Headlines

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.

Coca‑Cola Company chair and CEO James Quincey added additional color to the news that the soda giant had obtained a federal basic alcohol permit and launched an alcoholic beverage subsidiary, Red Tree Beverages, in the second quarter. Quincey described Red Tree “more of a technicality than some new big step.”

Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. president and CEO Chris Swonger joins to break down the opportunities canned cocktails are creating for beverage-alcohol companies. Swonger also pushes back against the beer industry’s stance against expanded market access and lower excise taxes for these products.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) announced a corporate restructuring today that will see the world’s largest beer manufacturer cut just under 2% of its U.S. workforce, an A-B spokesperson confirmed with Brewbound.

While bev-alc has been plagued with demands for “new, new, new” at an accelerated pace in recent years, distributors are concerned that “recent innovation is not disciplined,” according to the latest Tamarron Consulting survey.

Breakthru Beverage Group founder W. Rockwell “Rocky” Wirtz has died at age 70 following a brief illness, the company announced Tuesday evening.

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.

The July 4 holiday had an even stronger impact on on-premise sales this year, driving double-digit velocity growth throughout the week, according to CGA, a NIQ on-premise market research firm.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has vacated a preliminary injunction issued in district court that blocked Constellation’s termination of Olympic Eagle “on the ground that plaintiff has not shown a likelihood of success on the merits, and we remand.”

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.”

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti last week filed a lawsuit against six online liquor retailers accused of illegally selling liquor from out-of-state, an aggressive move that suggests retailers and brands may be facing greater scrutiny about how they ship products.

Brewers with seasonal or variety pack placements in Walmart stores may be in for a bumpy ride. The Beer Industry Electronic Commerce Coalition threw up a warning flare last week that the largest brick-and-mortar retailer in the U.S. would be mandating that all seasonal brands and variety packs use unique UPC codes, starting in early 2024.

Growing up, Spencer Hoddeson said he mostly heard the term “gay” in a negative context. Now, he wants to destigmatize the word and create representation in spaces that traditionally don’t have LGBTQ-owned products, one Gay Water at a time.

Craft trends in off-premise channels “remain underwhelming,” but there are “signs of improvement” in Q2, according to Bump Williams Consulting’s (BWC) quarterly craft report.