The total beer industry ended 2024 in the red, but New England remains a positive beacon, as the region continues to buck trends, Bump Williams Consulting president Dave Williams highlighted earlier this month during a presentation at the New England Craft Brew Summit in Portland, Maine.
Longtime lead lobbyist Katie Marisic has exited the Brewers Association (BA), where she was senior director of federal affairs. Marisic represented craft brewers’ voices and the BA in Washington, D.C. for a decade.
Well, with the president jacking the tariffs on Canadian aluminum – what better way to kick off the St. Patrick’s Day weekend newsletter than with a pint of GUINNESS in a nice #DraftClean 20 oz. glass! Besides, it’s probably best to get that pint in now before any 200% EU alcohol taxes start making that pint $14.
PepsiCo announced this morning it has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Poppi for $1.95 billion, officially bringing the CSD giant into the next gen functional soda set.
Adult beverage consumers can now party like Willie Nelson. The country music star and his wellness enterprise partner Long Play, Inc. have partnered with California-based bev-alc maker JuneShine Brands to launch Willie’s Remedy+, a non-alcoholic (NA), intoxicating hemp-based “social tonic.”
Dealing with droughts is part of life in California, but an extension to the state’s self-imposed ban on hemp-derived THC drinks looks set to further stress an already reeling industry. Prior to their scheduled expiration this month, California’s Department of Public Health extended a six-month ban on “intoxicating hemp products” imposed in September for another three months. Now set to expire on June 24, the emergency measure can be readopted only one more time, according to California law.
Officially in its second year, Hot Plate Brewing in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, has some star power behind one of its next releases. Effervescent lemongrass saison shares its name with comedian Patton Oswalt’s standup special, performed at a nearby theater later this month.
One of the latest signs that craft beer has entered a new era: Patrons of storied brewpub chains Gordon Biersch and Rock Bottom can now order domestic lagers produced by the world’s largest breweries.
One-third of U.S. consumers plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, according to the 2025 Annual Holiday Preview report from consumer research firm Numerator.
Guinness is synonymous with U.S. St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. National ambassador Ryan Wagner joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss preparation for the holiday, how the Splitting the G viral phenomenon has played a role in the brand’s upward trajectory and introduces it to new consumers.
Diageo will cease bringing new brands into its Distill Ventures accelerator program for startup drink entrepreneurs, a Diageo spokesperson confirmed Wednesday.
It cost more to go out for a drink last month than it did a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) February 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. The CPI for total beverage-alcohol away from home increased +3.4% last month compared to February 2024.
A majority of U.S. consumers support expanding direct-to-consumer shipping of beer, according to the fifth annual Direct-to-Consumer Beer Shipping Report, a Harris Poll survey commissioned by Sovos ShipCompliant and the Brewers Association.