Cider

In October, cider grew its share of beer dollars in Circana-tracked off-premise channels +0.25% month-over-month (MoM) – an improvement over the segment’s typical fall seasonal declines. The trend change is primarily due to the efforts of National Cider Month, according to leadership at Schilling Cider.

Blake’s Hard Cider and Austin Eastciders are merging under the Blake’s Beverage Company umbrella, bringing together the top-selling cider brands in Texas and Michigan and creating the second-largest cider company in the U.S, the company announced today.

Boston Beer Company has filed a complaint against Downeast Cider and a former employee who now serves as the Boston-based cider maker’s SVP of marketing.

Co-founder and CEO Colin Schilling, CCO Eric Phillips and EVP of marketing Rachel Thomas join the Brewbound team to discuss the cidery’s participation in National Cider Month, as well as its debut at the Great American Beer Festival and a retail activation with Whole Foods.

The Brewers Association’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF) kicks off for its 41st edition tonight in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center. For the first time, fest goers will be able to sample cider and hard seltzer along with a dizzying array of craft beer from brewers across the country.

Portland, Oregon-based Rev. Nat’s Hard Cider will cease operations on September 24 after 12 years in business, according to the Oregonian. The closure comes just six months after Rev. Nat’s opened a new taproom in Southeast Portland.

The California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) has sponsored two bills this legislative session: one that would allow members to produce cider and perry with existing licenses, and another that would restore transparency in beer production data reporting.

Non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits had their time in the spotlight during Dry January, while high ABV ciders are taking off. In this second installment of the quarterly series, 3 Tier product team consultant Stephanie Roatis shared three insights on industry growth, as well as three underperforming areas across bev-alc scan data.

Employees at Anheuser-Busch (A-B) InBev-owned Widmer Brothers Brewing have voted to join Teamsters Local 162, the union announced. Stony Creek Brewery has been approved by its hometown of Branford, Connecticut to construct a new tank farm, which would expand the company’s brewing capacity from 48,000 barrels, to 100,000 barrels.

Data and economy experts from 3 Tier Beverages, NielsenIQ’s CGA and the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) gave attendees insights into the state of the bev-alc industry and cider’s potential growth opportunities during the 13th annual CiderCon, held last week in Chicago.

Retailers’ coldboxes are “a battlefield” – particularly in the increasingly crowded beyond beer space – but cider is primed to “thrive,” according to Mary Guiver, Whole Foods Market’s global principle category merchant for beer, during a retailer panel last week at CiderCon 2023 in Chicago.

Seattle, Washington-based Schilling Cider is deepening its presence in Colorado and will transition to the Molson Coors distribution network in the state beginning February 1.

The cider segment has long been dominated by a small sampling of national brands which shape the industry’s perception of the segment’s overall performance. But regional cider brands tell a different story; one of growth, product diversity and changing consumer perspectives.