Top Features

NA beer is now on the list, with a new crop of celebrities joining Tom Holland, Charlie Sheen and John Mulaney – although I’m trying to figure out why no one brought a beer for Mike Meldman.

Forty-six-percent of consumers who plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) this year, will purchase beverage-alcohol for the occasion, according to consumer research firm Numerator.

Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter March 12-13, including headlines from Lone River Ranch Water, Brewdog, Molson Coors and more.

“Focus” has been one of the buzziest words for craft breweries over the last 2+ years: focus within portfolios; focus across distribution networks; focus in annual planning and innovation launches, etc.

Club West, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based craft brewery formerly known as Sycamore Brewing, is in the process of being sold and will reopen this weekend, according to multiple reports published Thursday.

Hurray’s Girl Beer will soon have many more Connors to reject. Fans of the tongue-in-cheek, flavored-beer brand know that Connors are inexplicably persona non grata, and – thanks to a $5 million fundraise – Girl Beer is set to expand that messaging and its beer into the Midwest and Southeast, according to a press release.

One consistent trend through the first two months of 2026 has been the strength of ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs).

Two months into her role as president of Portland, Maine-based Oxbow Brewing Company, Bri Warner is finding her groove and taking on more of the hands-on, day-to-day operations. The leadership transition allows founder Tim Adams to spend more time evangelizing for Oxbow and Rising Tide, which the company acquired in early 2025.

Cans may be maxing out their share of packaged craft products, Brewers Association (BA) staff economist Matt Gacioch wrote in a recent analysis of 2025 trends.

Garage Beer continues to build out its executive team. The independent beer brand, which is backed by Jason and Travis Kelce, has named BeatBox alum Patrick Brang its chief financial officer and longtime Molson Coors veteran Andrew McGuire its chief revenue officer.

It continues to get more expensive to go out than to stay home, according to food and beverage metrics in the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for February 2026.

Despite holiday boosts and positive weekly scans, beer trends softened in February compared to January, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana.

Several producers and a distributor filed an emergency lawsuit in Ohio last week in an effort to block Gov. Mike DeWine’s attempt to abruptly shut down the state’s intoxicating hemp beverage industry.

Chicago’s Half Acre Beer Company and Maplewood Brewery & Distillery have merged into what the brands’ leaders are calling “a long-term commitment to Chicago as a great beverage city.”