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%.
Torch & Crown Brewing has shuttered its flagship location in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood after five years in business, after receiving an eviction notice from its landlord last month.
Rogue Ales & Spirits, one of the country’s largest craft breweries by volume, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Monday, citing more than $16.7 million in debts.
Five Boroughs Brewing will shutter its taproom in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood next month, parent company Barrel One Collective announced Monday. The company cited the brewery’s lease ending as the reason for the closure and emphasized that a search for a new home is underway.
Pike Brewing (Seattle, Washington) will close Pike Pub and Pike Fish Bar, both located at the city’s iconic Pike Place Market, it announced this week. Details of Molson Coors chief commercial officer Michelle St. Jacques’ separation from the company were laid out in a Form 8-K filing Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Siebel Institute of Technology, one of the leading brewing schools in the country, will leave Chicago and move to Montreal on January 1, it announced Thursday.
Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) president Dave Williams has a running list on his phone of the specific challenges or obstacles bev-alc industry members are facing today.
Untappd, the Next Glass-owned craft beer rating social platform whose users have anointed some craft brewers and crushed the souls of others, has expanded ratable products to include spirits, wine, adult non-alcoholic (ANA) beverages, ready-to-drink cocktails (RTD), THC-infused seltzers, coffee, soda and “more,” according to a press release.
Craft beer’s off-premise losses accelerated in October, according to the most recent monthly report from market research firm Circana. In multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C), craft’s dollar sales have declined 4.5% and volume, measured in case sales, declined 6% year-to-date (YTD) through November 2, according to Circana.
Monster Brewing’s 2026 innovation slate will include a pair of lagers and the company’s first spirits-based, ready-to-drink offering.
Rogue Ales & Spirits informed the landlord it owed nearly half a million dollars that it was shutting down on Friday, according to local news reports. The Newport, Oregon-headquartered craft brewer and distiller allegedly owes the Port of Newport $545,000 in rent and Lincoln County $30,000 in taxes. The Port of Newport owns the building that houses Rogue’s 47,000 sq. ft. production brewery, warehouse and taproom.
Oregon’s Rogue Ales & Spirits has apparently shut down operations at its production facility and brewpubs on Friday, according to a report that first appeared in the Lincoln Chronicle.
With the snap of Thanos’ fingers, Creature Comforts Los Angeles branded taproom is no more. The taproom closed in October after two years in business.
The COVID-19 pandemic, increases in remote and hybrid work, inflation and economic uncertainty … all have contributed to many Gen Z consumers feeling lonely. In a recent survey, 15% of Gen Z said they “never” felt lonely in the past year, compared to 60% of baby boomers who said the same, David and Jonah Stillman, the co-founders and father-and-son duo behind consulting firm GenGuru.
Iron Hill Brewery may have another act coming. The mid-Atlantic brewpub chain, which abruptly shuttered earlier this fall, is set to be acquired by restaurateur Jeff Crivello, according to filings in U.S. Bankruptcy for the District of New Jersey, where the chain filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in October.
