Beyond Beer

The “diversification” of craft brewery portfolios with beyond beer products “is a good thing,” according to American Homebrewers Association (AHA) executive director Julia Herz, who kicked off Boston Beer Company’s annual media brunch in Denver last week during the Great American Beer Festival (GABF).

More than 270 breweries and cideries won medals at the Brewers Association’s (BA) Great American Beer Festival (GABF) on Saturday in Denver. The BA awarded 326 medals to 273 competitors in the 38th year of the competition and 42nd year of the festival.

It’s been almost two years since Bluebird Hardwater launched, and as one of the first canned beverages combining spirits with flat mineral water, it’s now in good company.

As Sober October kicks into gear, adult non-alcoholic (ANA) beverages are expected to have another strong month. But that popularity has shifted the competitive retail landscape as bigger players enter the space and price-conscious consumers hold back on expensive purchases.

The next phase of Creature Comforts co-founder Chris Herron’s career is building an intoxicating hemp business in the South via a partnership with Climbing Kites, an Iowa-headquartered THC-infused sparkling water producer.

For both the beer industry and the larger political and social environment, “there are new rules to the game,” National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) president and CEO Craig Purser said in his opening remarks of the trade group’s Annual Convention in San Diego.

Hemp-derived THC beverages and edibles are now officially off limits in California after the state’s Office of Administrative Law approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed emergency ban on Monday.

Diageo has purchased leading non-alc spirit Ritual Zero Proof, the company announced today.

Ace Cider founder Jeffrey House has been outbid in his attempt to reclaim the brand after its parent company Vintage Wine Estates (VWE) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, according to North Bay Business Journal.

Tilray Brands will launch several hemp-derived Delta-9 THC beverages in “key markets across the U.S.” starting in October, the company announced today. The Canadian cannabis firm has formed a new business unit, Tilray Alternative Beverages, for its Delta-9 beverage portfolio, which includes mocktails, seltzers and sparkling drinks made with hemp extracts.

Ready-to-drink (RTD) mimosa and sangria producer Ohza has been acquired by FX Matt, the companies announced today. The acquisition brings a wine-based offering to FX Matt’s growing stable of RTD and beyond beer brands, which includes McKenzie’s Hard Cider, ‘Merican Mule spirits-based RTDs and Right Coast Spirits vodka- and tequila-based RTDs.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is tapping into the equity of one of its biggest brands for its next adult non-alcoholic beer play: Michelob Ultra Zero.

Jack Daniel’s Country Cocktails Hard Tea is now available nationwide, following a six-month test period in select markets.

In 2023, U.S. craft spirits faced the first dip in sales, volume and share in recent history, according to data from the 2024 Craft Spirits Data Project, shared by the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA) and Park Street.