Last Call: ABI Buys Stake in Chinese Craft Brewer; Pabst to Open Milwaukee Innovation Brewery in April

Wine and marijuana are cutting into craft beer’s buzz, as growth in each of those segments took some use occasions away from a craft category that slowed to single-digit growth in 2016.

Anheuser-Busch InBev today reported full-year and fourth-quarter earnings, noting depletions declines of 2 percent in the U.S. in 2016 and continued struggles for its flagship Bud Light brand.

Dogfish Head Brewery has added two more states to its distribution footprint. The Delaware-based craft brewery, known for its popular 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPAs, will begin shipping beer to Alabama and the Twin Cities metro area of Minnesota later this month.

A pair of California consumers are alleging Craft Brew Alliance tricked them into paying more for Kona beer by marketing it as brewed in Hawaii. The 56-page complaint, filed Tuesday by the Wand Law Firm, details how Craft Brew Alliance allegedly used “false and deceptive advertising” to dupe consumers about the origin of Kona Brewing Co. beer sold in the U.S.

Legislative Update: Maryland Brewers Oppose Special Treatment for Guinness; Minnesota Moves to End Sunday Sales Ban; Virginia Legalizes Canned Beer Concession Sales

The third installment of Brewbound’s Learning Curve documentary series, which profiles winners of the bi-annual Startup Brewery Challenge, is now viewable online. Shot on location in Chicago and Portland, Oregon, this latest episode of Learning Curve follows the founders of Hopewell Brewing on their journey to Beervana and showcases some of the lessons they learned while meeting and brewing with members of the Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) team.

Distribution Roundup: Breakthru Brings Goodwood to South Carolina; Founders Adds Montana; Reuben’s Brews Extends Distribution in the Pacific Northwest

How do you maintain the vital culture of a craft brewery while it grows distribution and expands into new businesses? It’s a question many young breweries are forced to answer, as they struggle with balancing the spirit that builds a brand with the need for experienced leadership, the demand for increased sales, and more capacity. Night Shift Brewing is trying to figure it out right now: The Everett, Mass. brewery recently hired two C-level executives to join its team, and it’s once again looking to double production and sales. Meanwhile, the brewery is also trying to support a new wholesaling business — Night Shift Distributing — and managing a growing roster of employees.

Be Hoppy IPA is coming to Rhode Island. Worcester, Massachusetts-headquartered Wormtown Brewery announced today that it will be expanding its distribution footprint to Rhode Island as well as filling out its Massachusetts map.

Last Call: Amazon Go to Sell Beer and Wine; Zima Returns; San Diego Breweries Struggle

People Moves: Ska Brewing Hires New COO; 4th Generation Takes Over Louis Glunz Beer

Brewbound is excited to announce that Brew Talks, our traveling meetup series for beer industry professionals, will make its official return in 2017 alongside the 34th edition of Craft Brewers Conference, being held in Washington D.C. in April. The industry-only Brew Talks meetup, hosted in partnership with Dogfish Head Craft Brewery on Tuesday, April 11, will offer brewers, distributors and retailers a chance to participate in three hours of top-level business discussion and networking at Penn Social (801 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20004).

It’s official: Samuel Adams’ first seasonal release of the year, Hopscape, has flopped. During its fourth-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Boston Beer Company executives cited a 1 percent decline in depletions for the period and a 5 percent decline for the year. But that news was overshadowed by a 15 percent decline in depletions for the first six weeks of 2017, which executives blamed on the poor performance of Hopscape, a hoppy wheat ale.