Despite estimated production volume declines of 4%, craft brewers are feeling confident halfway through 2026, according to the Brewers Association’s (BA) mid-year report.
Small and independent craft brewers’ output declined 4% in 2025 – more than 25% less than was previously reported by the Brewers Association (BA). The BA issued a correction of its 2025 Beer Industry Production Survey (BIPS), which was published last month, after receiving “revised production figures for a small number of regional craft brewers,” a BA spokesperson said in a statement shared Tuesday with Brewbound.
More than half (55.45%) of Brewers Association (BA) defined regional craft breweries beyond the top 50 recorded production volume declines in 2025, but there are still signs of improvement compared to 2024, according to annual data shared last week by the trade group.
Sierra Nevada’s strategy to continue 2026’s growth into 2027 involves a portfolio-wide packaging overhaul, the return of major brand campaigns and a meaningful dive into the beyond beer category.
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (SGWS) has appointed Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) vet Glendal Vandenbempt as managing director of its newly created “Gold Division.”
As Sierra Nevada plans to tackle what it calls craft beer’s No. 1 enemy, “The Vortex” – the self-perpetuating cycle of distribution losses that drive volume declines that beget more distribution losses – the brewery has built a multi-faceted innovation slate.
Athletic Brewing Company is adding two QB1s to its roster as “athlete-owners” as the NFL season kicks off tonight. New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott struck multi-year partnerships with the dedicated non-alcoholic beer maker and stakes in the business.
A fitness company appears to be the winner of last week’s auction for Rogue Ales & Spirits’ intellectual property, including the Rogue.com domain, the proprietary Pacman yeast strain and trademarks for Rogue and Dead Guy, among other assets.
Check out news items were initially reported in the September 4 Brewbound Insider Newsletter, including headlines from Rogue, Prohibition Brewing, Chula Vista Brewery and others.
If operating a craft brewery in 2026 wasn’t hard enough, imagine doing it surrounded by water and glaciers, requiring all supplies to come via a sea barge, often with a five-day travel delay. That’s how Alaskan Brewing has operated for 40 years.
Dedicated non-alcoholic (NA) beer maker Athletic Brewing is tapping wine and spirits marketer Dan Kleinman as its next CMO. Kleinman will take over the role, effective September 8.
After Sierra Nevada’s brands delivered growth in a challenged craft beer market, the country’s No. 2 craft brewery by volume plans to keep its foot on the gas. Part of stemming volume declines requires recruiting new drinkers into craft.
Sierra Nevada has identified craft beer’s biggest villain and thinks it has a plan to defeat it. In a James Bond-themed presentation during its wholesaler conference at its campus in Mills River, North Carolina, the country’s No. 2 craft brewer by volume armed its wholesalers with a “license to sell” and a specific mission to tackle what it’s calling the Vortex – the self-perpetuating cycle of beer volume declines at retail that lead to distribution declines, which create more volume losses.