Headlines

3 Tier Beverages consultant Stephanie Roatis shares the beverage alcohol segments trending up (hint, Dry January did all right) and those on the downward swing.

Non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits had their time in the spotlight during Dry January, while high ABV ciders are taking off. In this second installment of the quarterly series, 3 Tier product team consultant Stephanie Roatis shared three insights on industry growth, as well as three underperforming areas across bev-alc scan data.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) owned Platform Beer Co. has ceased operations in Ohio, according to a Cleveland.com story citing “several sources.” However, the Platform brand will live on as three IPAs, according to a Platform spokesperson.

Golden Brands – the Reyes Beverage Group’s Northern California subsidiary – has acquired rights to the Constellation Brands and Sierra Nevada portfolios from Sacramento-based Markstein Beverage Co.

Boston-based Harpoon Brewery is expanding beyond bev-alc and into cannabis, announcing the launch of Rec. Weed, a THC-infused non-alcoholic beverage.

Molson Coors’ U.S. business ended 2022 on a weak note, as the company recorded declines in both shipments (-11.2%) and depletions (-6.8%) in the fourth quarter, according to the company’s Q4 and full-year 2022 earnings report.

Dry January is over but health and wellness trends aren’t slowing down and neither are sales of NA versions of alcoholic beverages. The work has just begun too for dedicated non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits retailers.

Hop supply in the U.S. has outpaced hop usage for more than six years, a disparity that is “unsustainable” and will ultimately be corrected with reduced crop in the future, Brewers Association (BA) chief economist Bart Watson warned during a Collab Hour webinar last week.

Legislative efforts to change how spirits-based ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages are categorized gathered momentum this week, as lawmakers in Texas introduced a new bill that would give greater market access to packaged spirits-based cocktails under 17% ABV, allowing them to be sold in grocery and convenience stores, while a Washington State Senate committee passed a bill to adjust how the products are taxed.

Rhinegeist Brewery will launch Beer for Humans, which the Cincinnati, Ohio-based company has dubbed an “easy hop ale,” next week. Bend, Oregon-headquartered Deschutes Brewery has launched Tropical Fresh IPA, the newest year-round offering in its family of Fresh-branded IPAs. Charlotte-based NoDa Brewing has rolled out Cheerwine Ale, a new year-round offering brewed in collaboration with Cheerwine, a North Carolina-based cherry soda.

Buffalo Trace, the producer of the popular Pappy Van Winkle bourbons, will double its whiskey production in the coming days.

In a heavy Boston Beer Company news week, I wouldn’t blame you if you missed out on some of this week’s headlines. Chief among them: I believe we have our first craft-on-craft deal of the year.

Both sales velocity and check value at bars and restaurants nationwide increased by nearly double-digits in early February, according to CGA, the on-premise arm of market research firm NielsenIQ. Leading up to the Super Bowl, which took place on February 12, on-premise velocity in the host city and state of Phoenix, Arizona, increased +35% compared to the previous week.

The Coca-Cola Company is continuing its “total beverage” mission this year by putting more focus on categories with long growth runways such as coffee, sports drinks, and alcohol, CEO James Quincey said during the company’s Q4 and full year earnings call this week.