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%.
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.
Monster Brewing is selling off the equipment assets of Deep Ellum Brewing (Dallas, Texas) at auction, after shuttering the brewery’s taproom and shifting production of the brand’s beers to other facilities last year. In other auction news, Trillium Brewing’s outdoor bathrooms have got to go. The Boston brewery is auctioning off the bathrooms from its former beer garden.
Now-shuttered Iron Hill Brewery’s fate continues to play out piecemeal in bankruptcy court, as the buyer of half of the brewpub’s locations has resold them along with its intellectual property, among other steps taken to liquidate its assets.
Minneapolis has dominated national headlines for weeks as area residents protest the Department of Homeland Security’s heightened crackdown on Minnesota’s large immigrant population. Tensions have intensified as agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have killed two American citizens in shootings that have been recorded by observers. Local businesses such as Insight Brewing have taken… Read more »
Modern Times Beer and Ashland Hard Seltzer parent company Wings & Arrow has named Wes Van De Vort as CEO.
After 25 years at the Colorado Convention Center, the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) will move outdoors, festival host the Brewers Association (BA) announced Tuesday.
