Beyond Beer

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) may have ceded advertising exclusivity rights to Super Bowl LVII, but the world’s largest beer manufacturer will continue to have an outsized presence during breaks in the game.

Consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against spirits giant Sazerac claiming the company’s malt-based Fireball Cinnamon has misled them because it lacks the whisky base of its parent brand, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky.

Diageo is deepening its roster of top-tier brands in reaching an agreement to acquire super-premium dark rum label Don Papa Rum for an initial fee of $281.5 million, the company announced today.

The number of brewer’s notices issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) increased by 732 in 2022, the smallest increase since 2023, Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson noted.

Molson Coors continues to grow its non-alcoholic portfolio with its latest release Roxie, a zero-proof canned cocktail launching today exclusively online.

Remember when the subscription box came onto the scene? It was the early 2010s and, as new meal delivery kits and beauty product subscription boxes started to become the rage, Josh Jacobs, CEO and co-founder of Speakeasy Co, saw an opportunity for craft cocktails to play in the same arenas. But he also wanted a way to sell full-size bottles of craft spirits. Before long, the latter goal became the main target.

On the heels of moving its portfolio of brands to beer wholesalers in Washington state and Colorado last August, Sazerac Company announced last week a major change to its route-to-market in several states.

Ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs), non-alcoholic (NA) adult beverages and lager are expected to grow on Drizly in 2023, according to the alcohol e-commerce platform’s 2023 BevAlc Trend Report.

Compensation requirements, government checks and generational laziness have all been blamed for why many companies are struggling with staffing shortages and the “Great Resignation.” But above all, workplace culture is the biggest factor when it comes to hiring and retaining employees, Schilling Cider CEO Colin Schilling said during Brewbound Live last month in Santa Monica.

Fast-growing non-alcoholic beer maker Athletic Brewing Company will make its largest investment ever to support its “Give Dry a Try” campaign and boost the company during “Dry January.”

As we move through the winter holidays and into 2023, beverage alcohol analysts have been weighing in on spirit trends and categories poised to lead in the new year. They’re also tackling questions about where consumers are imbibing and shopping: will economic conditions damper on-premise business? As ready-to-drink cocktails grow, where will brands find successful channels? And how will e-commerce change?

A year after its founding, the Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA) has more than doubled its membership to more than 90 beverage companies across beer, wine and spirits.

Washington-based craft distiller Heritage Distilling announced this week its plans to merge with Better World Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to go public in a transaction that has a pro forma enterprise value of over $122 million. If completed, the merger will make Heritage one of the only publicly traded pure-play craft distilleries.

A judge has denied Anheuser-Busch InBev subsidiary Grupo Modelo’s bid for partial summary judgment in its trademark infringement lawsuit against Constellation Brands for the company’s use of the Corona trademark for hard seltzer.