Explore the world of craft beer, from performance reports and innovation tactics to the state of the industry and breaking news.
Anyone looking for an answer to when craft’s current era of compounding hurdles and declines will come to an end received a reality check Wednesday during Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bart Watson’s state of the industry address, held at the start of Day 2 of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Indianapolis.
Around 10,000 industry members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America (April 28 to May 1). The gathering takes place against a backdrop of growing headwinds for craft breweries and an overhaul of CBC’s host organization, the Brewers Association.
Craft’s rolling four-week losses improved to start 2025, according to the most recent report from market research firm Circana. The segment’s off-premise dollar sales declined -3.1% and volume, measured in case sales, declined -4.6% in the four-week period ending January 26 (L4W) at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C). That marked an improvement over the prior four-week period (through December 29, 2024), when craft dollars declined -5.1% and volume declined -6.5%.
Nearly 500 workers will lose their jobs with the closure of 38 BrewDog-owned pubs across the U.K. following Tilray’s acquisition of parts of the Scottish craft brewery, consultant firm AlixPartners shared in a press release.
Tilray Brands has struck a deal to acquire some assets of Scottish craft brewery BrewDog, it announced today. The deal, which closed today, includes BrewDog’s global brand and intellectual property, its brewing operations in Ellon, Scotland, and 11 pubs across the U.K. and Ireland.
Lawson’s Finest Liquids ended 2025 with double-digit dollar sales growth in NIQ-tracked channels, the Waitsfield, Vermont-headquartered craft brewery announced Tuesday.
The Colorado Beverage Coalition – which represents the state’s breweries, wineries, cideries, distilleries and related partners – has come out against a bill that would raise fees on beverage-alcohol by 60%.
805 is heading to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Firestone Walker has launched the 805 portfolio – including flagship 805 Blonde, 805 Cerveza and 8ZERO5 non-alcoholic (NA) – in Minnesota via Johnson Brothers-owned Artisan Beer Company, the Duvel Moortgat-owned brewery announced.
The Brewers Association (BA) slashed nearly every line in its 2025 expenses, but the cuts were still not enough to offset declining revenue, according to the trade group’s annual report.
Longmont’s Bootstrap Brewing is the latest Colorado brewery to join Left Hand Collective, a craft brewing “alliance” formed last year with the merger of Left Hand Brewing and Dry Dock Brewing.
Barrel House Z ceased operations earlier this month after nine years, the Weymouth, Massachusetts-based craft brewery announced last week.
The latest joining of craft brewing forces occurred in Bend, Oregon last week, with the creation of the Oregon Beverage Collective (OBC).
Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter February 9-11, including headlines from the Brewers Association, Colorado and New Belgium.
The beverage-alcohol landscape has “radically” changed over the last decade, but small and independent producers – both in beer and hard cider – are primed to take advantage, Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bart Watson shared at CiderCon last week in Providence, Rhode Island.
If December’s trends reversed craft beer’s fortunes in the off-premise, January’s easier comps added a strong tailwind. Craft continued to outpace the overall beer segment in the convenience channel, with dollar sales up 5.4% and volume, measured in case sales, up 0.4% year-to-date (YTD) through January 25, according to market research firm Circana.
Major domestics and regional craft brands are on the shopping lists of New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks fans ahead of the teams’ Super Bowl LX showdown Sunday, according to consumer research firm Numerator.
Kirin-owned New Belgium Brewing has reorganized its business administration teams, resulting in the elimination of some roles, a spokesperson confirmed to Brewbound. The employees whose jobs were cut amount to fewer than 1% of the company’s overall workforce.
