Founders Brewing will expand its distribution footprint in the Midwest this month, tapping two new states and broadening its presence in a third.

Less than one year after selling a partial ownership to private equity firm The Riverside Company, Uinta Brewing today announced that it has hired former Duvel Moortgat USA and Boulevard Brewing sales chief Steve Mills as its new chief financial officer. Mills takes over for Uinta founder Will Hamill, who had been acting as CEO and will now focus on brand development and brewery innovation in his new role as a company board member.

Anheuser-Busch InBev subsidiary Grupo Modelo said it will invest approximately $328 million – or roughly 5 billion pesos – to construct a new brewery and can production plant in Yucatán, Mexico.

The Illinois Craft Brewers Guild and the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois have negotiated language to include in a bill – HB 3237– that would loosen restrictions on how brewers in the state operate.

Across IRI multi-outlet and convenience channel (MULC) sales data — which comprises grocery, drug, club, dollar, mass-merchandiser (including Walmart) and military stores — total beer dollar sales are up 4.2 percent through May 17. Both the craft and cider categories are experiencing the most dramatic improvements, however, as cider’s dollar sales rose by 39.5 percent. Dollar sales for import beer brands are also up 10.4 percent.

Calling all new brewery owners! This is your LAST CHANCE to apply for the Startup Brewery Challenge, Brewbound’s business pitch competition taking place during the full-day Brewbound Session business conference on June 11 in Chicago. Presented by Craft Brew Alliance, the Startup Brewery Challenge gives U.S. craft breweries who have been on the market for… Read more »

The Beer Institute, a Washington D.C.-based lobbying group that represents the interests of domestic and international brewers, today announced a pair of key new hires. The group has hired former MillerCoors research analyst Michael Uhrich as its new chief economist. Also joining the BI as the group’s new director of federal affairs is Joe Heaton, who has spent more than a decade on Capitol Hill and most recently served as Rep. Jon Runyan’s (NJ) deputy chief of staff.

Brewbound Session Summer ‘15, taking place on June 11 at Moonlight Studios in Chicago, is less than two weeks away! If you haven’t already registered to attend this full-day business conference, now is the time to reserve your seat and join more than 200 beer industry professionals for a jam-packed day of inspiring craft-focused business discussions.

Coinciding with a recent brewery expansion, Deschutes Brewery plans to break ground on 57,593 sq. ft. of new warehouse space across from its production facility in Bend, Ore., the company announced in a statement.

Brewbound has invited Oskar Blues founder Dale Katechis and marketing director Chad Melis to share how the company has maintained its identity throughout periods of high-growth and rapid expansion during the upcoming Brewbound Session on June 11 in Chicago.

In December, the company detailed its ambition to launch Farmworks — complete with a 15-barrel brewhouse and tasting room — on a 53-acre farm in Lucketts, Va. Located just 17 miles from Flying Dog headquarters in Frederick, Md., the new brewery was planned to be a separately branded craft subsidiary owned and operated by Flying Dog. Farmworks was slated to open this summer.

Rahr Corporation, a producer and distributor of malt and industry-related brewing supplies, has detailed plans to construct four new facilities in its hometown of Shakopee, Minn. as part of a massive $68 million expansion.

Last month, a pair of craft-friendly bills in North Carolina that would have dramatically raised the self-distribution cap and legalized contract brewing in the state failed to make it out of committee. However, Creative Loafing Charlotte reports some of the less contentious language from one of those bills has reemerged as part of a broader alcohol regulation initiative that has been making headway.

The final numbers are in. After announcing the top 50 craft breweries in March, the Brewers Association today released its 2014 sales figures, painting a much more definitive picture of last year’s winners and losers.