In this latest installment of 3 Up, 3 Down, 3 Tier product team consultant Stephanie Roatis shares a trio of insights on industry growth and three underperforming areas ahead of the summer selling season, with NIQ data through April 20, 2024.

Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was Saturday, May 18, 2024. Well, it seems the East Coast/West Coast rap battles of the ‘90s & 2000s have turned into … uh, gin battles here in the mid-2020s.

Married duo Camillia and Dave Bailey fell in love with tepache, a beverage made from fermented pineapple, while traveling in Mexico City in 2018. Fast forward to 2022, and the pair launched Crooked Owl Hard Tepache, a 5% ABV version of the beloved beverage that is “naturally probiotic,” shelf stable, gluten free and 100 calories per can.

Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners is the latest group to invest in ready-to-drink brand The Finnish Long Drink, the company announced today.

Light lager brand Montucky Cold Snacks is “a big anchor” within Gallo’s total beverage alcohol strategy moving forward, as the wine and spirits giant enters the beer category, Gallo EVP and general manager Britt West told Brewbound.

3 Tier Beverages’ Donn Bichsel Jr. and Mary Mills share why data with the top 15 brewers removed can reveal true market opportunities. Then, New Belgium Brewing’s Kelly McKnight explains the Voodoo Ranger maker’s new product strategy.

In this issue: Gallo Makes ‘Strategic Investment’ in Montucky; Waterbird Acquired by Gallo in April; Jim Koch: Boston Beer’s Credibility Problem; Timnath Beerwerks to Acquire Snowbank; Jefferies: Boston Beer a ‘Buy’; and Loverboy Available Nationwide with Walmart.

Florida-headquartered Sunkey Beverage Holdings has reached an agreement to acquire Texas-based Silver Eagle Beverages, an independent Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) wholesaler.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beer at home increased +3% year-over-year (YoY) in April, marking the sixth-consecutive month the measure has remained at or below +3%, before seasonal adjustment, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Gallo is getting into the beer business via a strategic investment in Montucky Cold Snacks. The wine and spirits conglomerate that found success in recent years with spirit-based seltzer brand High Noon Sun Sips announced a partnership with the founders of the light lager brand.

Boston Beer Company emerged with a “buy” rating following the results of financial services firm Jefferies’ 11th bi-annual beer distributor survey. Jefferies equity analyst Kaumil Gajrawala cited Twisted Tea’s dominance of the flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment, and the “stabilization” of Truly Hard Seltzer trends leading to less volatility, among the reasons for the improved rating.

Boston Beer Company founder and board chairman Jim Koch was brutally honest about some of the company’s past failings in a fireside chat with Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog today during the investment firm’s Global Staples Forum.

Hella Cocktail Co., known for its bitters and mixers, is making a foray into bev-alc with a ready-to-drink (RTD) line debuting this week, Hella Margaritas.

Vintage Wine Estates (VWE) has concluded another round of layoffs, the fourth time the company has done so in the past 14 months.