The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has named Mary Ryan as its new administrator, effective August 16.

Beer distributors widely anticipate Monster Energy to enter the hard seltzer segment as early as next year, according to a survey conducted by Goldman Sachs Equity Research. Nearly 85% of wholesalers in the “Beverage Bytes” survey, representing feedback from more than 80 distributors and approximately 180,000 retail outlets that sell alcohol, believe that Monster will or potentially could launch a hard seltzer product.

The Breakthru Beverage Group has reached an agreement to sell its beer and cider portfolio in Illinois to Lakeshore Beverage. The deal is expected to close in October.

Another leading sparkling water brand is making the leap into hard seltzer: Sparkling Ice is set to launch a new alcoholic line called Spiked (4% ABV) this month.

Athens, Georgia-based Creature Comforts Brewing will become a bi-coastal craft beer brand next year with the construction of a taproom and brewery in downtown Los Angeles, the company announced yesterday. The long-awaited opening of Brooklyn-based Other Half Brewing’s taproom and production facility in Washington, D.C., now has an October 2020 opening date, according to a press release today.

The next Brewbound Frontlines brings together dealmakers from Arlington Capital Advisors, Cascadia Capital, Cowen and Company, and Farlie, Turner & Co. to discuss the influence of private equity money on the craft brewing industry and the current state of M&A activity in the brewing space.

The board of directors of national not-for-profit trade group the Brewers Association (BA) has approved its first ever code of conduct for member breweries after criticism from industry professionals and consumers that it was too often silent in the wake of racist incidents.

Bourbon County Stout — Goose Island’s annual barrel-aged special release — will celebrate a decade this fall as a post-Thanksgiving tradition for beer fans when the brewery will roll out the 2020 offerings on Friday, November 27.

After helping orchestrate one of the biggest transactions in the craft beer space in 2019 — Kirin-owned Lion Little World Beverages’ acquisition of New Belgium Brewing — Simon Thorpe is on to his next project.

Beer consumers are settling into the “next” normal — and that means increased sales in the convenience channel, according to Nielsen VP of beverage alcohol practice Danelle Kosmal.

The Reyes Beverage Group announced plans today to merge operations of its Chicagoland wholesalers — Windy City Distributing and Chicago Beverage Systems — into one company by mid-October.

With new cases of COVID-19 on the rise in Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker today announced the state’s reopening plan would pause at Phase 3 and new operating restrictions would be placed on restaurants.

With the nation’s can supply tightening, President Donald Trump yesterday announced the reimposition of a 10% tariff on Canadian aluminum, claiming that America’s neighbor to the north was flooding the market.

Molson Coors Beverage Company’s hibernation of the Saint Archer Gold brand is benefitting upstart active lifestyle lager maker Island Brands. In the Southeast, grocery chain Publix has begun filling the void left by Gold with the Charleston, South Carolina-based beer maker’s Island Active — an 88-calorie, 4.2% ABV light lager, which launched in March just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic.