Top Features

The Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) sell-off continues.

Beer shipment volume continued to rise in March, and there are signs that the category is reaching a point of “broad based stabilization,” according to Beer Institute (BI) chief economist Andrew Heritage.

Mass retail giant Target is expanding sales of intoxicating hemp beverages, adding the products to stores in Florida, Texas and Illinois. 

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) outperformed the U.S. beer industry in the first quarter of 2026, the company reported Tuesday. In the U.S., A-B’s Q1 depletions (sales to retailers) increased 0.3% year-over-year (YoY), which the company credited to “beer and beyond beer share gains and an improved industry.” Shipments (sales to wholesalers) declined 3.2%.

Beverage-alcohol sales have entered a reset phase now that Easter no longer haunts the data, according to the latest weekly report from market research firm Circana. Total bev-alc dollar sales declined 0.5% year-over-year (YoY), to $1.386 billion, during the week ending April 26, according to Circana. Volume declined 1%.

Ready-to-drink hard lemonade has surged to $1.5 billion in sales, but new styles are squeezing out the segment’s mainstays. 

The brewing floor of the house that Boom Sauce built is about to go quiet, as Evergreen Collective – the parent company of Lord Hobo and Lone Pine – prepares to shift production to Isle Brewers Guild (IBG) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Major bev-alc chains are expanding shelf space for hemp-derived THC beverages and non-alcoholic (NA) alternatives, while also catering to demand for high-ABV ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails and culturally-inspired flavors.

Two months on the market, celebrity-founded non-alcoholic beer Crazy Mountain has received $15 million in seed funding round led by investment firm CAVU Consumer Partners.

Good news! George Clooney finally caught a break in life this week … as his CRAZY MOUNTAIN NA beer scored $15M in seed funding led by CAVU CONSUMER PARTNERS – George would love to contribute with some of that sweet NETFLIX money, but ya know, raising twins is expensive.

Margaritas and beer top the shopping lists of the majority (52%) of Cinco de Mayo celebrators, according to a survey conducted by consumer insights firm Numerator.

Check out news items that were initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter April 30-May 1, including headlines from New Belgium, MadTree Brewing and Dogfish Head.

Boston Beer Company has “gotten over the hump as a supplier” and become an “important” part of its wholesalers’ and retailers’ businesses, founder, chairman and CEO Jim Koch told analysts during the company’s Q1 2026 earnings report Thursday evening.

Following 21 months of contraction, the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) has finally returned to expansion driven by “an increase in expected distributor demand.”