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%.
Welcome to Brewbound’s inaugural A Round With, a new weekly feature that grabs a round with beer industry leaders to discuss business challenges, wins … and maybe even have a little fun?
The price of beer increased across the board last year. The average case price of craft beer in 2023 increased +3.6% year-over-year, to $42.41 across all outlets, according to NIQ data shared by Bump Williams Consulting.
Forgotten Boardwalk Brewing is winding down operations after losing its lease, founder Jamie Queli announced earlier this month. “To all of our loyal customers, friends, family and supporters – we wish you a heartfelt thank you for being a part of the Forgotten Boardwalk story for the past 10 years,” she wrote in the brewery’s… Read more »
Craft cans gained +3.6% share of craft dollars in 2023, and now account for 69.9% off-premise craft dollar sales, according to NIQ data shared in Bump Williams Consulting’s 2023 craft recap.
Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Wynwood Brewing Company, Miami’s first craft brewery and taproom, will close its doors next month after more than a decade in business, Eater reported Wednesday.
Dedicated non-alcoholic (NA) beer maker Athletic Brewing is taking a page out of 2010s craft beer check-in culture and run-tracking with its new app feature. Athletic launched “Track Record” earlier this month in order to give its app users a way of recording their alcohol-free days and creating streaks.
Another Heineken executive is moving over to the Lagunitas team. The Heineken-owned, Petaluma, California-based craft brewery announced today the appointment of Peter Green as head of sales. Green will officially take over the role on March 1.
The final Circana beer report for 2023 has arrived and it’s time to see how the category and its segments fared in scans, starting with a look at craft.
Two Roads Brewing Company has elevated two executives on its sales and marketing teams: Collin Kennedy to VP of marketing and Brian Duprey to VP of national accounts.
A former server has filed a lawsuit against Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) alleging the craft brewery platform violated federal and state labor laws by undercompensating tipped employees and requiring them to do untipped and unpaid tasks, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.
Longtime Allagash Brewing sales director Naomi Neville will depart the Portland, Maine-headquartered craft brewery in early February after more than 14 years. With Neville’s impending exit, Allagash has promoted Josh Fruchtman to sales director.
Nearly seven months after the dissolution of its proposed merger with Cape May Brewing, Flying Fish Brewing filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last month. The brewery listed nearly $9.3 million owed to secured and unsecured creditors and nearly $1.3 million in assets, according to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the district of New Jersey.
The Brew Talks panel discussion features Dave Williams of Bump Williams Consulting, Sam Calagione, co-founder of Dogfish Head, Kristen Burke from Burke Distributing, and Andrea Starr, the Director of Beer Merchandising at Total Wine & More.
Amid a sea change of top positions within craft this year, leadership at Rhinegeist Brewery explored the transition at the top of the Cincinnati, Ohio-headquartered craft brewery at the 2023 Brewbound Live business conference in Marina del Rey, California.