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Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) U.S. volume declines accelerated in Q3, but the beer giant’s business continued to outperform category trends, the company reported today.

Bars, restaurants and social gathering spaces are beer’s “moneyball” opportunity, National Beer Wholesalers Association VP of analytics and chief economist Lester Jones shares during the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Jones is the first of two interviews this week. Adam and Amanda Kroener, the founders of spirits-based cocktail brand Carbliss, also join this week’s podcast.

Hemp beverage manufacturers are rallying grassroots support to help defeat a potentially industry-killing ban on intoxicating hemp products currently working through the U.S. Congress.

The Brewers Association (BA) is accepting ballots from voting members through November 19 in its annual board of directors election. Five three-year terms are open to represent the board’s three member classes.

One constant in beverage-alcohol’s rollercoaster 2025 has been growth in the spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktail segment. Spirits and cider sales stayed broadly stable in the two-week period ending October 18, while trends for flavored malt beverages (FMB) and seltzer worsened, according to analysis of NIQ data from Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

As major retailers Target, Circle K, Total Wine & More and others add intoxicating hemp beverages to their shelves, attorneys general from 37 states and two U.S. territories are asking Congress to ban the sale of unregulated, intoxicating THC products and “shut down this industry before it metastasizes further.”

Heineken is building on its non-alcoholic (NA) 0.0 franchise in 2026. The company will add two fruit-forward Heineken 0.0 line extensions, as well as Heineken 0.0 Ultimate in more than a dozen markets.

This month’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) once again showed the bev-alc industry that pricing power remains in the on-premise, with price increases away from home far outweighing at-home raises and overall inflation. So which brands are poised to take advantage?

New Jersey wine and spirits distributor Fedway Associates has struck a deal to acquire independent Anheuser-Busch distributor Ritchie & Page, which will mark the company’s entry into the beer distribution business.

Recess Drinks has closed a $30 million series B round led by CAVU and other repeat investors, according to CEO and founder Ben Witte.

Brooklyn Brewery has tapped U.S. Beverage (USB) to lead its sales efforts in a new national partnership, the companies announced Monday. The partnership launches on November 1, according to a press release. No changes are expected for Brooklyn’s existing distributor network, and no equity is changing hands.

Beverage-alcohol’s off-premise declines eased a bit in the one-week period ending October 19, buoyed by the beer category’s growth brands, according to the latest weekly report from market research firm Circana.

The owners of Cricket Hill (Fairfield, New Jersey) have listed the brewery for sale as they prepare to retire. At 24 years old, Cricket Hill is one of the Garden State’s oldest craft breweries. Ballast Point (San Diego, California) plans to lay off 37 employees effective December 15, according to a pair of Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices in California filed on October 8.

The founders of BeatBox are hoping 2026 will bring them their second hit brand aimed at a new generation of consumers. BeatBox parent company Future Proof will launch Chillitas in February, a new-to-world, flavored malt beverage outside of the company’s flagship party punch brand.