We may still have a week to go until Memorial Day weekend … but you know we’re getting close when you begin to smell the #bigbeer BBQ promotions rolling out!

Consumers want more beverages delivered to their doorsteps – alcoholic and otherwise – according to a recent survey by food and beverage e-commerce delivery platform DoorDash.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) is shaking up its distribution network for its spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail brands. The moves are concentrated in California, where A-B told Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) it would move the Cutwater Spirits RTD family to Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS).

New breakout brands, Q1’s soft trends and the beer industry’s non-alcoholic (NA) plays were hot topics during Beer Marketer’s Insights’ Spring Conference, held earlier this week in Chicago.

Are Californians over tequila? A new report indicates that Californians’ thirst for spirits has declined, fueled by a drop in agave spirit volumes. But that’s not the entire story.

Craft Brewers Conference conversations continue on the Brewbound Podcast with a pair of interviews featuring Right Proper Brewing co-owner and Brewers Association board chairwoman Leah Cheston and Hi-Wire Brewing co-owner Adam Charnack.

It started with a simple bag of grain. Later, that grain was processed into chips. But the fun really ramped up when West African food company Yolélé turned fonio, a niche “miracle grain” that the brand has made its hero ingredient, into a limited-edition beer.

With wind in its sails from accelerating grocery sales, Sapporo has set its sights on multi-channel expansion. The 149-year-old brand has been invigorated in recent years as Sapporo-Stone, the combined entity born from the former’s acquisition of the latter in 2022, takes shape.

Five of the top 25 beer vendors in Circana-tracked off-premise channels eked out both dollar sales and volume growth in the L4W (data ending April 20), according to the latest monthly report from the market research firm.

Bev-alc’s price increases slowed slightly in March, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Campari America is building on its spritzing success to pursue another trend: adult non-alc (ANA). The Italian spirits group announced today it is bringing Crodino, a zero-proof ready-to-serve spritz, to the U.S. as its first Stateside foray into the growing category.

If horse races and taco specials can’t bring consumers to the on-premise, maybe celebrating their mothers will.

Anyone who chose Sovereignty to win this year’s Kentucky Derby walked away pretty happy earlier this month, but the bev-alc industry was not so lucky, according to BeerBoard, an on-premise data firm.

If you’re reading this newsletter on the day it comes out (please tell me I’m not the only reader 🤞), there’s still time to get mom a thoughtful present for tomorrow! Otherwise, uh, you’ll have to roll the dice on finding one of these MILLER LITE “gold” cans, which were only made in 24 oz. cans for c-stores, and as part of the oh-so-popular 16 oz. can 12-pack format, so hopefully mom loves her tallboys.