News

Bev-alc trends held steady through late April, according to the latest weekly update from market research firm NIQ.

Draft beer increased its share of on-premise beer sales by volume to 53.1% in 2025, gaining 0.9 share points year-over-year, according to the latest Draft Beer Report from NIQ and Draftline Technologies. Those gains matched 2024’s, per NIQ’s On-Premise Measurement service, which tracks sales at licensed on-premise accounts across the U.S.

RNDC continues to unwind, so BevNET spirits editor Ferron Salniker joined the Brewbound Podcast to break down the latest. In addition to her analysis, the episode features conversations with Eco Beverages co-founder Anna Nadasdy and Russian River Brewing co-owner Natalie Cilurzo.

American Cider Association (ACA) CEO Monica Cohen has departed the trade group as it transitions to a “staff-led operating model,” the ACA announced Wednesday.

Ball Corporation’s North American and European aluminum can supply will be hard to come by for the foreseeable future – into the end of the decade, CEO Ron Lewis shared during the manufacturer’s Q1 earnings call earlier this week.

Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter May 4-6, including headlines from Craft Hope Brewing, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Boston Beer Company and more.

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.