The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on craft breweries are beginning to be revealed as the Brewers Association (BA) today reported that craft beer volumes have declined around 10% through the first half of 2020.

The Brewers Association (BA) today addressed criticism of its handling of racist actions by breweries within its membership. In an email to members titled “Bylaw and Governance Update,” president and CEO Bob Pease wrote that the BA has heard the criticism and its silence does not mean the calls to action have gone unheard.

More legal drinking age consumers than ever before are drinking craft beer, market research firm Nielsen found in its sixth annual Craft Beer Insights Poll (CIP), conducted on behalf of not-for-profit trade group the Brewers Association (BA).

After 20 years leading McDermott, Will & Emery’s alcohol regulatory and distribution group, Marc Sorini is joining the Brewers Association as general counsel.

The Brewers Association has announced a second round of layoffs, cutting 17% of its workforce, the national trade group confirmed to Brewbound. The layoff amounted to nine additional employees of the BA, including one of its most recognizable faces and advocates for small and independent U.S. craft brewers: Julia Herz.

More than 80% of craft breweries said they have received funding through the Paycheck Protection Program, and those loans are making many of them more confident about the future, according to the Brewers Association’ (BA) latest survey of how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting those businesses.

More than half of the top 50 Brewers Association-defined craft brewing companies posted volume growth in 2019, according to data published in the May/June edition of the not-for-profit trade group’s New Brewer magazine.

The largest beer festival in the U.S. will not take place in-person in 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. For the first time in the festival’s nearly 40-year history, the Brewers Association (BA) has canceled the 2020 edition of Great American Beer Festival, which was slated to take place September 24-26, and will instead move the event “to an immersive online experience” from October 16-17.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered nearly every facet of life and commerce, but one particular area stands to be gutted more than almost any other: large scale events. In the beer industry alone, event casualties are numerous, as the Brewers Association has now canceled three of its marquee events.

The Brewers Association (BA) laid off 23% of its staff last week “in order to maintain the long-term viability” of the national trade group, which represents the interests of small and independent U.S. craft brewers.

More aid money is on the way for small businesses. President Donald Trump today signed into law a fourth stimulus package that includes $310 billion in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which ran out of money and stopped accepting applications on April 16.

The Brewers Association (BA) today announced it has formed a partnership with nonprofit fundraising organization Bottleshare to establish the “Believe in Beer Fund” to support breweries and state brewers guilds across the country that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

German officials today cancelled the country’s famed Oktoberfest celebration due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic. The California Craft Brewers Association — a nonprofit trade group that represents the interests of the state’s craft brewers — announced today the cancellation of its “Craft Beer Summit,” which was scheduled for September 9-12 in Long Beach.

By most metrics, small and independent craft brewing companies posted solid volume growth in 2019. However, the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many craft brewers into “survival mode,” is overshadowing 2019’s growth.