Big Beer

Boston Beer Company reported second-quarter depletions (sales-to-retailers) growth of 46% and shipments (sales-to-wholesalers) growth of 39.8% during the second quarter of 2020, according to financial results shared after the end of trading today.

The fallout of Constellation Brands’ forced sale of its distribution rights in California to the Reyes Beer Division is still being felt. Anheuser-Busch and Triangle Distributing owner Peter Heimark announced Thursday an agreement to exchange distribution rights in California, according to a joint press release shared by A-B.

Molson Coors is seeking a permanent injunction to stop A-B from broadcasting additional Bud Light ads pointing out the use of corn syrup in the brewing process of its competitor’s flagship light lagers, Coors Light and Miller Lite.

A Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) shareholder has filed a lawsuit against the Portland, Oregon-based craft beer maker, its board of directors and Anheuser-Busch InBev alleging that the world’s largest beer manufacturer exercised its influence over the smaller company to sell “on unfair terms.”

Kombrewcha CEO Garrett Bredenkamp is looking to the hard seltzer segment for inspiration as the hard kombucha brand backed by Anheuser-Busch’s ZX Ventures looks to compete in the fast-growing segment. As such, this fall, Kombrewcha will introduce two new flavors — Blood Orange and Mango Pineapple — to a 12 oz. 4-can variety pack, which also includes existing offerings Berry Hibiscus and Ginger Lemon.

Saint Archer Gold might have needed just a little more patience. But Molson Coors’ patience with the brand — the company’s answer to the top-selling super premium offering, Anheuser-Busch’s Michelob Ultra — has run out, the company announced Friday, citing pressures caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Modern Times has furloughed employees at five of its seven taprooms, the San Diego-headquartered brewery wrote in an email Thursday night. Three breweries in Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Brewers Collective, the craft division of the world’s largest beer manufacturer, have temporarily closed their taprooms after employees tested positive for COVID-19. Sierra Nevada plans to keep its taprooms, gift shops and brewery tours closed for the foreseeable future.

Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to pay a record $5 million offer in compromise (OIC) for alleged trade practice violations related to sports and entertainment sponsorships, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced today.

New Haven, Connecticut-based Dichello Distributors is suing Anheuser-Busch, claiming A-B “engaged in an ongoing conspiracy” with Sal DiBetta, a former employee who later worked as CEO of the wholesaler between 2013 and 2016, as well as “other unnamed parties,” to “undermine” Dichello and force president John Hall’s family to sell the business to A-B, according to a complaint filed on June 17 in the Connecticut Superior Court.

Constellation Brands, which begins its financial year in March, had a rollercoaster of a first quarter for FY 2021, with net sales declining 6%, to $1.9 billion, but beer depletions (sales to retailers) increasing 5.6%.

Constellation Brands’ venture capital arm will invest $100 million in beverage alcohol startups with Black founders over the next decade, the company announced today.

The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s monthly Beer Purchasers’ Index bounced back from a dismal 35 reading in April to an overall index of 66 in May. Long-time Vermont Cider Co. executive Terry Hopper is exiting the maker of Woodchuck Hard Cider, effective today. And more industry news bites.

Two of the largest hard seltzer makers are launching new offerings outside of the segment’s standard 5% ABV, 100-calorie playbook.

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Anheuser-Busch InBev is examining discretionary spending, halting new product launches and promotions and upping its investment in e-commerce, CEO Carlos Brito said during A-B’s first quarter earnings call today.