Daily Briefing Newsletter

Meet Brewbound Pitch Slam winner Hurray’s Girl Beer; FIFCO Rrvamps Seagram’s Escapes; news from Molson Coors, Fair State & Night Shift; Owl’s Brew collabs with Chelsea Handler.

So, just me … or did #DryJanuary journalism about people taking a break or lessening alcohol consumption at the start of a new year turn into straight up anti-alcohol propaganda this year, real quick?

This week’s beer goes out to one of beer’s all-time greatest pitchmen, Mr. Bob Uecker, who died this week at the age of 90 … and they just don’t make ‘em like Bob anymore. He’s of course known for the Major League movies and Mr. Belvedere in the ’80s, and to an older demo as one of the top Tonight Show guests ever (with 100+ appearances). Plus, he also called BREWERS games in Milwaukee for 54 seasons. 🤯

Welcome to the beer biz, TKO. Yes, on the day that the owner of the WWE (and UFC) announced that it became a minority investor in Real American Beer, the beer’s top spokesperson had a … less than favorable launch night appearance on NETFLIX WWE RAW.

So – who’s ready for 194 non-alcoholic beer stories in a 2-week period!? 🥳 Enjoy this very brief sweet spot between folks moving on from their “Top Holiday Drinking Recommendations!” missives and into their “People don’t drink anymore!” stories.

This week’s beer goes out to GUINNESS! I assure you that the actual shortage of the good stuff in Britain as Christmas approaches is entirely unrelated to my trip there earlier this month (if it was one of my London trips when I was in my 30s – maybe).

This week’s beer goes out to Oktoberfest beers for kicking pumpkin beers’ a**es during this fall seasonal uh, season. Lester Jones shared this nice chart here from the folks at FINTECH in a webinar last week illustrating the dominance (well done on the Beerfest addition there – who says data nerds don’t have fun?).

A-B Believes in the Strength of Total Portfolio; A Round With PR Expert Kevin York; BI: October Beer Supply Nearly Flat; Massachusetts’ Redemption Rock to Close; CinBev to Acquire Taft’s Brewing; Yuengling Adds Illinois; and Craft Gains Share of On-Premise Dollars.

Brewbound Insiders are reading details of Constellation Brands’ latest divestment in its wine and spirits division, with the sale of Svedka Vodka to Sazerac. Insiders are also diving into the latest weekly scan data from Circana; reading about the closure of Cisco’s Portsmouth taproom; and catching up on several job changes.

Folks, we’ve had a lot of advancements in craft beer over the years (flaked oats – who knew?), but like many other sectors in life, the folks north of the border are showing us how it’s done. ONTARIO RACING is celebrating the release of a new UNFILTERED documentary project by partnering with local brewery AVLING to finally create a beer so that you too can feel like a horse when having a cold one.

Well, we tried, Massachusetts … but apparently you just can’t be trusted with $2 off a MILLER LITE before 6 p.m., as the state has removed happy hour legislation from a $4B economic development package set for a final vote soon. Liability and insurance factors were cited, which, having seen Boston St. Patrick’s Day footage over the years … I’m not gonna argue with.

More than three decades after launching with amber ales, Kirin-owned New Belgium Brewing’s and Bell’s Brewery’s portfolios look a little different, in very intentional moves to stay relevant with the rapidly changing bev-alc market, according to CEO Shaun Belongie.

Folks, we’re getting pretty close to GOOSE ISLAND’s annual Bourbon County release! Gotta say, it’s nice to still have one of craft’s few remaining annual traditions left here at the end of 2024, even though I’m pretty sure Justin and I couldn’t finish one bottle between the two of us at this point. In a whole weekend.

Here at the end of election week … it’s much better when it’s beer that is seeing its extremes are widening. BWC broke out the growing divide in ABV preferences in the U.S. since 2022, for sales through Oct. 20 via NIQ data: