Craft Beer

Two framed, hand-painted Chinese symbols adorn the doorway in Highland Brewing president Leah Wong Ashburn’s office. Read together, they mean “crisis,” but independently, they translate to “risk” and “opportunity.”

As the leader of California’s second-largest craft brewery – and one that sells more than 80% of its volume in its home market – Firestone Walker CEO Nick Firestone is uniquely qualified to discuss how trends in craft’s largest market are affecting its biggest suppliers.

Editor’s Note: The below news items were initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter December 22-26. Not an Insider? Become one today to get earlier access to what’s going on in the industry. CGA: 40% Consumers Plan to Take Part in Dry January; Half of Gen Z to Participate Two-in-five consumers plan to take part… Read more »

Five months after placing a winning bid for Alamo Beer Company, Australia-based private equity firm SKJ Capital has finalized its acquisition of the San Antonio-based craft brewery, SKJ announced today.

As alcohol sales have remained strained for years on end, the emergence of mainstream, legal hemp-based beverages has been a major boon for adult beverage retailers. Jon Halper, owner and CEO of retail chain Top Ten Liquors, is one of them.

The next evolution in adult non-alc (ANA) will require brands to push flavor to greater heights, invest in retail strategy, and find new occasions.

Von Ebert Brewing has spent the past five years playing catch up with demand. The Portland, Oregon-based company began in 2018 as a family-founded brewpub seeking to bring fresh German-inspired beers to the Pacific Northwest.

Brewbound Live 2025 is in the books! Podcast co-hosts Zoe Licata and Jessica Infante recap this year’s conference. Then, Karl Strauss Brewing (San Diego, CA) co-founder and CEO Chris Cramer joins Brewbound editor Justin Kendall for this week’s featured interview.

“Barring a drastic change in the last few weeks” of 2025, craft will likely record its third consecutive year of volume declines and second consecutive year in which brewery closings outpaced openings, according to the Brewers Association (BA) in the trade group’s annual Year in Beer report.

Craft beer’s grocery losses continued to accelerate in November, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana. The segment recorded high-single-digit declines in dollar sales (-8.2%) and volume (-9%) at grocery stores in the four-week period (L4W) ending November 30, Circana reported. Those losses mark an acceleration from the prior L4W period… Read more »

Sycamore Brewing co-founder Justin Brigham may be divesting of the company, but industry members are not separating him and his legal charges from the Charlotte, North Carolina-based brewery so quickly.

Wilsbach Distributors (Harrisburg) has acquired Brewery Products Company (York), increasing Wilsbach’s volume 50% and “expanding and streamlining” the company’s distribution rights across its South Central Pennsylvania footprint, Wilsbach president Frank Sourbeer Jr. shared on LinkedIn over the weekend.

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.