Nearly 40 percent of legal drinking age consumers in the United States prefer beer to wine and spirits, according to a recent Harris Poll that surveyed more than 2,100 adults.

Another craft brewery has sold itself back to its employees. Vermont’s Switchback Brewing Company, known throughout New England for its popular Switchback Ale, today announced the establishment of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), transferring 100 percent of the company’s stock into a trust backed by GreatBanc Trust Company.

Cincinnati’s Rhinegeist Brewery continued its impressive growth in 2016, increasing production more than 80 percent, to 56,500 barrels. In a recent year-in-review, shared with Brewbound, co-founder Bryant Goulding said his company released 96 different offerings last year, including 24 pale ales and 17 IPAs.

In this week’s distribution roundup: Founders lands in Oregon and Idaho, Sweetwater taps the Arkansas Craft Alliance and Daytona Beach Brewing Company hits Central Florida.

Bell’s Brewery announced Friday that co-owner Laura Bell would take over as the company’s CEO. Laura Bell, who most recently served as the brewery’s vice president, will oversee the brewery’s operations and planning for Bell’s Brewery and its sister operation, Upper Hand Brewery, according to a press release.

The Brewbound Session is headed back to the Big Apple. Brewbound’s next full-day business conference will take place on Thursday, June 15 at Metropolitan West, located at 639 W. 46th St in New York City.

Legislative Roundup: Georgia, Mississippi Brewers are One Step Closer to Direct Sales

Last Call: Michelob Ultra Release Super Bowl Spot; BA Appoints Neil Witte as Quality Ambassador; AleSmith to Expand Tasting Room; MillerCoors Spending $50 Million to Expand Leinenkugel’s Operations; Empire Brewing and 1911 Established Ciders Merge Sales Teams.

Boston Beer Company, the country’s second-largest craft brewery according to trade group the Brewers Association, today announced that CEO Martin Roper would retire in 2018. Roper, who has led the company since 2001, said in a press release that he informed the company’s board of directors of his plans to step down “a year in advance” to give the Boston Beer ample time to name a successor and to “assure a very smooth transition.”

Revered craft brewery Lawson’s Finest Liquids this week announced plans to expand its presence in the Northeast, with the addition of new markets in Massachusetts, Connecticut and its home state of Vermont. The company has signed with Atlantic Beverage Distributors (formerly Atlantic Importing) for new distribution throughout Massachusetts.

Spuds MacKenzie has risen from the grave to convince you that a night out with friends is more fun than staying home alone.

Is the beer business headed for a “Trump moment?” That’s the question Craft Brew Alliance CEO Andy Thomas posed this week to a room of beer industry professionals attending the annual Beer Business Daily Summit in San Diego.

Press Clips: A-B Releases First Super Bowl Ads; Georgia and Mississippi Move Toward Direct Sales Reform; Boulevard Partners with Kansas City Royals; Corona, Tecate Challenge Trump

The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) is back in front of Congress. The latest two bills (H.R.747 and S.236) were simultaneously re-introduced into both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on Monday morning. If the Act passes, it would cut taxes on all brewers, importers, cider producers, distillers, and winemakers. The comprehensive tax reform effort is once again backed by the Beer Institute and the Brewers Association, and contains the same craft-friendly language as previous versions put forth during the 114th Congress.