Check out news items that were initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter April 27-29, including headlines from RNDC, the Odom Corporation and Constellation Brands.

Brooklyn-based non-alcoholic beverage maker St. Agrestis, best known for its Phony Negroni line of bottled RTD mocktails, has been acquired by The Wine Group (TWG) for an undisclosed sum.

Bev-alc’s off-premise trends have remained relatively consistent post-Easter, according to the latest weekly report from market research firm NIQ.

Molson Coors is tapping into the equity of its flagship Coors Light brand for its next non-alcoholic (NA) beer venture: Coors 0.0.

The will-they, won’t-they between Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard has ended with an emphatic they won’t. The spirits giants announced today they “were unable to reach mutually agreeable terms,” ending discussions regarding a potential combination of their businesses.

Spirits giant Sazerac announced today a “strategic partnership” with 818 Tequila, the brand founded by model and reality TV star Kendall Jenner.

This month’s distribution moves see Carbliss push into two major new markets, Mark Anthony’s Canadian ready-to-drink (RTD) tequila cocktail expand in the U.S., and ShakeUp transitions to a beer house.

As expected, beverage-alcohol dollar sales recorded a notable drop (-7.3%) during the week ending April 19 compared to the same week last year, according to market research firm Circana’s latest weekly report.

Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) plans to shed the majority of its remaining business, with another transaction divesting from 17 states.

Another piece of Republic National Distributing Company’s business appears to be on the move. Columbia Distributing has entered into a non-binding letter of intent to acquire “certain wine and spirits distribution rights” in Oregon and Washington state, as well as “an asset arrangement in Alaska.”

With today’s overcrowded shelves and endless bev-alc options, more and more suppliers are fighting for less and less retail space. Global Partners’ Mark Buonomo, New Trail Brewing’s Paul Gephart and Lawson’s Finest Liquids’ Matt Roth and Seth Talmon share tips for sticking out and getting one of those coveted placements.

West Coast rappers and business moguls Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg are expanding their ready-to-drink (RTD) line into hard tea and lemonade. 

Let’s start with some good news this week! All of the bev-alc inflation over the past few years combined with other larger American consumer pocketbook pressures ⛽️ is bringing back a time-honored tradition: pre-gaming! (Wait, did that ever really go anywhere?)

Athletic Brewing Company CMO Andrew Katz has left the dedicated non-alcoholic (NA) beer maker after nearly five years.