The open rate of on-premise establishments tracked by BeerBoard hit 97% over the weekend (April 21-24), the highest recorded rate since the firm began tracking in May 2020.

With sales of spirits-based ready-to-drink canned cocktails continuing to boom, battles for turf in the cold box can be tracked to statehouses across the country. And spirit makers are looking for some low-cost ammo: While beer has historically enjoyed favorable excise tax rates, spirit makers are attempting to change those laws, they say, to level the playing field for products of similar ABVs and package sizes.

Athletic Brewing has partnered with L.A. Libations-owned mixer maker Arriba Chelada to produce a ready-to-drink non-alcoholic michelada, Nada Chelada, rolling out to stores in the Southwest this month.

Nuno Teles, who led a transformation of Diageo’s U.S. beer business, has been appointed Diageo’s managing director of Great Britain, the company announced Thursday.

Boston Beer Company is maintaining its guidance of 4% to 10% volume growth in 2022, despite first quarter losses, the company’s leadership team shared during an earnings call with investors Friday.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is in “active discussions” to sell its non-controlling interest in its joint venture in Russia, Efes, to its partner, Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes, the company announced today. Meanwhile, A-B InBev has appointed Ricardo Tadeu to the newly created role of chief growth officer as part of a restructure of the company’s commercial leadership team.

Retail sales of Molson Coors Beverage Company’s Topo Chico Hard Seltzer increased +67% year-over-year (YOY) in Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021, according to the most recent “Beverage Bytes” retailer survey by Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog.

A new non-profit organization is attempting to promote draft beer as the industry’s “most-ownable, differentiated weapon” in the on-premise channel, as well as the most sustainable choice in bars and restaurants.

Boston Beer Company’s big first quarter in 2021 as it built hard seltzer inventories is coming to roost a year later. The company reported declines in depletions and shipments of -7% and -25.1%, respectively in the first quarter of 2022.

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a nationwide injunction to Charlotte’s Sycamore Brewing Company in its trademark infringement case against Stone Brewing Company. The preliminary injunction will go into effect upon Sycamore posting a $50,000 cash bond.

The next chapter for Jim McGreevy, the outgoing president and CEO of the Beer Institute (BI), will be at the Coca-Cola Company’s North America Political Action Committees (PACS), as VP of public policy, federal government relations and political engagement (PPGR).

The Stone-Molson Coors trademark infringement legal saga continues to play out in a series of post-trial motions. This week, each side has filed motions, with Stone seeking additional damages on top of its $56 million jury award, and Molson Coors attempting to block Stone’s request for a preliminary injunction earlier this month.

How can opening your space to aspiring brewing companies bring more people into craft beer? Brewbound’s next Brew Talks meetup will explore how residency programs can not only benefit the guest brewers and the hosts, but the entire industry, on Monday, May 2, at the Carew Atrium at Target Field during the Craft Brewers Conference in Minneapolis.

Dodge City Brewing, including its Dodge City, Kansas-based taproom, five-barrel brewhouse, and intellectual property, has been listed for sale, following the intended retirement of co-founder and brewmaster Larry Cook.