August’s ready-to-drink releases include a Bay Area canned cocktail brand suiting up with the 49ers and a top sparkling wine brand making its RTD debut, plus several fall-themed cocktails and one controversial breakfast-flavored libation. Here’s what’s new on shelf.

Some top beer brands are experiencing a late-summer boost in spite of the category’s summer slump, according to the latest weekly off-premise scans from market research firm Circana.

Hard soda slinger Crooked Pop is adding a veteran beverage executive to its team as it moves from an initial regional launch toward broader distribution.

Labor Day celebrations may be more subdued this year, at least in the on-premise, according to the latest “CGA-powered” data report from market research firm NIQ.

The August Beer Purchasers’ Index – coupled with lower inventory at risk of going out of code – revealed an industry that has fallen into “cautionary” mode at summer’s end for a second year, according to NBWA VP of analytics and chief economist Lester Jones’ wholesaler survey.

RBC industry analyst Nik Modi reiterated his enthusiasm for college graduate-age bev-alc consumption increasing starting about a year from now. No, he’s not throwing a series of awesome keggers (that I know of, but Irwin might be). Rather, he cites that folks turning 21 or 22 next year are the first generation to fully come of age socially without growing up in any of the COVID precaution-era social stunting scenarios.

Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter August 27-28, including headlines from Rogue, Bero, Victory and more.

Sierra Nevada has identified craft beer’s biggest villain and thinks it has a plan to defeat it. In a James Bond-themed presentation during its wholesaler conference at its campus in Mills River, North Carolina, the country’s No. 2 craft brewer by volume armed its wholesalers with a “license to sell” and a specific mission to tackle what it’s calling the Vortex – the self-perpetuating cycle of beer volume declines at retail that lead to distribution declines, which create more volume losses.

Morales Beverage Group (MBG) has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire Republic National Distributing Company’s (RNDC) Indiana assets and operations, the companies announced today. The deal would add a sixth state to MBG’s distribution footprint.

Several members of The Finnish Long Drink’s sales force have announced the elimination of their roles in the wake of the ready-to-drink cocktail’s (RTD) acquisition by Mark Anthony Brands earlier this year.

Bev-alc trends in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels remained consistent through mid-August, with beer leading year-over-year (YoY) declines, according to the latest weekly report from the market research firm.

Applications are now open for the Brewbound Live 2026 Pitch Slam, taking place during Brewbound Live on December 9 + 10 in Marina del Rey, California. This year, the competition is opening to a broader mix of brands, including beer (alcoholic and non-alcoholic), hard cider, hard seltzer, hard kombucha, canned cocktails and other canned beer-, wine- and spirits-based beverages. The focus is not simply on what is new, but on how each brand can contribute to growth across beer and the broader beverage-alcohol industry.

Pernod Ricard closed a rough fiscal 2026 with organic net sales down nearly 4% globally and 14% in the U.S., but CEO Alexandre Ricard used the company’s full-year results call to highlight where the French spirits giant is seeking growth, including ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails.

Two of the beer category’s largest growth vendors reversed trends in the four-week period (L4W) ending August 9, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana. Worsening grocery channel losses pushed No. 1 Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) into decline in the L4W, accelerating a pattern that began in July.