After an eventful National Beer Wholesalers Association annual convention in Las Vegas, the Brewbound team debriefs on all of the middle tier issues discussed over the last week.

CBD is back on the menu in California. After years of effort by activists including multiple legislative attempts, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 45 into law yesterday, creating a regulatory framework to immediately allow for the legal sale of CBD-infused products.

Executives of the global cannabis firm Tilray were optimistic about the company’s growth regardless of federal legalization in the U.S., during Tilray’s first quarter 2022 earnings call Thursday.

After two years of elevated focus on social and racial justice issues, ownership within the craft beer industry remains nearly monolithically white, according to a new demographic benchmarking report from the Brewers Association (BA). Brewery owners are 93.5% white, and 92.2% of breweries have entirely white ownership, according to the survey of 500 randomly selected breweries.

The Brewbound Pitch Slam returns in-person to the Brewbound Live stage on November 30 + December 1 in Santa Monica, California. The competition provides a stage for startups within the beer, cider, hard seltzer, hard tea, hard coffee, and alcoholic kombucha segments to share their story, pitch their product, and connect with the community.

Truss CBD USA, a joint venture by Molson Coors Beverage Company and cannabis products maker HEXO USA, announced today plans to expand its Veryvell brand of CBD beverages across the country following its launch in the Colorado market last year.

Constellation Brands executives addressed hard seltzer’s slowing sales during the company’s second quarter 2022 earnings call today, and assured investors and analysts that the success of its core beer brands would still drive growth. Here are some of the highlights of the discussion: Company Not Reliant on Hard Seltzer Constellation president and CEO Bill Newlands… Read more »

Reyes Beer Division CEO Tom Day challenged the notion that competition in California’s beer market has suffered due to his company’s expansion efforts in the Golden State, according to a letter from the leader of the United States’ largest beer wholesaler to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Constellation Brands’ beer business increased both shipments (+11.7%) and depletions (+7.3%) during the second quarter of its 2022 fiscal year, the company reported Wednesday.

PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta emphasized that the soft drink maker has “been investing a lot in R&D” and believes its “pipeline is strong” during Tuesday’s third quarter call with investors and analysts.

New National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) chairman Peter Heimark laid out his vision for what beer (and beverage) wholesalers will be facing over the next year during his remarks at the NBWA’s annual conference Tuesday.

Massachusetts-based Willie’s Superbrew has hired former-New Belgium CMO Greg Owsley as its first chief brand officer (CBO).

Beer volumes will be flat in 2022 and for the next several years, due to a drastic slowdown in the previously meteoric growth of hard seltzer, distributors told financial services firm Jefferies in a recent survey.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) is exploring selling some of its German beer brands, valued at $1.2 billion, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing “people familiar with the matter.”