Early registration for the June 11 Brewbound Session in Chicago ENDS FRIDAY. Combining the best in business information and networking, the Brewbound Session offers an unmatched strategic learning opportunity for craft brewers, wholesalers, investors and other industry professionals.

As Brewbound reported yesterday, Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) suffered through a difficult first quarter, which ended on March 31, 2015. Net sales and total beer shipments decreased 5 percent and 8 percent respectively. CBA CEO Andy Thomas summarized the quarter during an earnings call with investors and analysts on Thursday.

Chris Thorne, the Beer Institute’s vice president of communications, has announced his resignation from the organization effective May 29. Thorne plans to open his own “media and issue advocacy” group in Washington D.C. and continue working with the Beer Institute as an independent consultant. He will represent the lobbying group as its communications counselor until the organization fills his vacant position, BI president Jim McGreevy told Brewbound.

Craft Brew Alliance today announced its first quarter financial results, highlighting depletion volume growth of just 1 percent and a net sales decrease of 5 percent across its core family of brands, including Widmer Brothers, Redhook, Kona and Omission. Total beer shipments decreased 8 percent during the quarter. In a release, CBA attributed the sluggish first quarter results to “higher-than-average” sales during the first quarter of 2014 as it “adjusted” for out-of-stocks that hampered the company toward the end of 2013.

In the world of XY charts, there are companies with steady linear trajectories, the oft-coveted hockey stick growth curves and then there’s whatever geometric shape Revolution Brewing is creating. Since diving head first into full-scale production in 2012, the Chicago-based beer company has brewed up a revolution in the Windy City – growing sales to just over 50,000 barrels in 2014. 2015 forecasts place sales from its production brewery and its brewpub somewhere north of 70,000 barrels.

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has revealed plans to increase its production volume by 500 percent as part of an ambitious expansion project the San Francisco-based brewery has announced.

Brewbound is pleased to announce that the Startup Brewery Challenge, our bi-annual business pitch competition, will return for a fourth edition at the June 11 Brewbound Session in Chicago, IL. Presented by Craft Brew Alliance, the Startup Brewery Challenge gives U.S. craft breweries who have been on the market for less than two years a chance to show off their business plans, sample one core product offering and receive immediate feedback from a panel of expert judges.

San Francisco’s 21st Amendment Brewery today announced it has inked a deal with Stone Distributing, the growing wholesale arm of Stone Brewing, to bring its beers to southern California later this month.

By now, you’ve no doubt heard the rallying cry for craft brands to capture 20 percent of the overall beer market by 2020, an impressive — yet seemingly attainable — goal for what could still, in many ways, be considered a fledgling industry. One MillerCoors-aligned beer wholesaler in North Carolina hopes that on its way to 20 percent market share, craft products will account for at least 30 percent of the company’s overall revenue.

What does it mean to be small and local in today’s crowded craft beer market? The Brewers Association might define all of its members — those making less than 6 million barrels annually — as small, but not all companies are created equal.

Brewbound is pleased to announce that Brew Talks — a traveling meetup series for beer industry professionals — will make its next stop at Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City on May 18. Beer business professionals are invited to join the Kansas City meetup, being held inside of the Muehlebach Suite at the Boulevard Brewing’s production brewery (2501 Southwest Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108).

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence has signed into law a bill that triples the production cap on beer that breweries are allowed to sell within the state while preserving other retail and self-distribution privileges.

Massachusetts state regulators have accused Craft Beer Guild LLC, one of the state’s most prominent craft wholesalers, of unfair trade practices and illegal pay-to-play activities. The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) said Wednesday that Craft Beer Guild — a subsidiary of the Sheehan Family Companies, which owns multiple alcoholic beverage distributorships across more than a dozen states – violated state laws that prohibit wholesalers from offering inducements and unfair discounts.

Bell’s Brewery has announced plans to expand its presence on the east coast, detailing this afternoon imminent launches in both Delaware and Maryland. Bell’s, the nation’s 7th largest craft brewery, according to the Brewers Association, has signed on with N.K.S. Distributors for coverage in Delaware.