Data

March Madness did indeed extend March Sadness (readers of Brewbound’s weekend newsletter will get the reference). Draft volume during the opening weekend of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments declined -5.8% compared to the same weekend in 2024, according to on-premise data firm BeerBoard, which reviewed nationwide sales during the March 20-23, 2025, weekend and compared to March 21-24, 2024.

Beer has gained bev-alc dollar share at bars, restaurants and venues, taking from wine and spirits, according to the latest report from CGA, NIQ’s on-premise data arm. For the 52-week period ending January 25, beer accounted for 40.1% of all dollars spent in the on-premise channel, a +0.3 percentage point increase year-over-year (YoY). Ready-to-drink (RTD) canned cocktails increased dollar share +0.4 percentage points, to 1.2% of total bev-alc dollars.

Brewers Association-defined craft beer recorded a -4% decline in packaged volume in 2024, BA staff economist Matt Gacioch reported this week in the trade group’s annual packaging report.

St. Patrick’s Day weekend wasn’t necessarily lucky for purveyors of draft beer, according to on-premise data firm BeerBoard, which published its annual recap of bev-alc performance at bars and restaurants during the holiday.

After a promising week, bev-alc off-premise sales returned to the red, declining -3.8% YoY and -1% WoW, according to the most recent weekly report from Circana (data ending March 9).

The total beer industry ended 2024 in the red, but New England remains a positive beacon, as the region continues to buck trends, Bump Williams Consulting president Dave Williams highlighted earlier this month during a presentation at the New England Craft Brew Summit in Portland, Maine.

One-third of U.S. consumers plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, according to the 2025 Annual Holiday Preview report from consumer research firm Numerator.

It cost more to go out for a drink last month than it did a year ago, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) February 2025 Consumer Price Index (CPI) report. The CPI for total beverage-alcohol away from home increased +3.4% last month compared to February 2024.

Dollar sales of craft beer declined -4.2%, to more than $596.2 million, year-to-date (YTD) through February 23 in off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Circana.

Domestic beer shipments are off to a rough start in 2025. U.S. beer shipments declined -8.7% year-over-year (YoY) in January 2025, as brewers shipped 10.55 million barrels, according to estimates of domestic tax paid shipments from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), shared by the Beer Institute (BI). The decline amounted to more than 1 million fewer barrels being shipped YoY.

2025 kicked off with cautious optimism for the beer category, but that has been quickly subdued after a disappointing February and Super Bowl performance, according to Bump Williams Consulting’s (BWC) monthly report, citing NIQ off-premise data (total U.S. xAOC + liquor + convenience) through mid-February.

Distributor sentiment cratered in February 2025, with the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) survey recording a 14-point, year-over-year (YoY) decline to an index of 35.

In the first installment of 2025, 3 Tier consultants Danelle Kosmal and Devon Hevener share a trio of insights on industry growth, and accompanying downward trends, with NIQ off-premise data through January 25. Hot topics include high ABV beer and beyond, craft beer 6-packs and hard cider.

Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand beer and wine sales licenses to the state’s grocery, convenience, mass retail and warehouse stores. However, House Bill 1379 “faced tough questioning in committee and faces a tough road to passage in the House,” Maryland Matters reported, citing a nearly three-hour debate over it last week.