Data

The growth of spirits-based ready-to-drink cocktails (RTDs) may be slowing. However, the segment’s impact on the beer category is far from abating, according to bev-alc consulting and data firm 3 Tier Beverages.

Spirits-based RTD growth peaked in 2020, with dollar sales growth of more than 150% in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels (total U.S. xAOC plus liquor plus convenience), 3 Tier Beverages consultant Erin McVickers shared in a webinar last week. Growth then progressively slowed, but the segment was still able to more than double dollar sales from 2021 (nearly $1.53 billion) to 2024 (nearly $3.19 billion).

Domestic beer shipments drop back into the red in July, according to the Beer Institute’s (BI) latest monthly economic report.

Consumers’ interest in single-serve and other “alternatives to the norm” in package sizes could be a sticky trend across not just beer, but other bev-alc categories as well, according to the latest monthly report from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC).

Who drinks draft beer these days? The draft beer drinker is an older white man who is “relatively affluent” and spends around $201 monthly on dining and drinking in on-premise outlets, according to the latest “On Premise Draft Opportunity” report from CGA and Draftline Technologies.

Bev-alc’s negative trends remained relatively unchanged ahead of Labor Day, according to the latest weekly report from market research firm Circana.

It appears beer wholesalers are not very optimistic for an end-of-summer boost in sales, according to the latest Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

Craft wasn’t the only segment to record some improvement in recent scans, according to the latest monthly report from market research firm Circana.

Labor Day may need to start campaigning if it wants to remain a staple of end-of-summer celebrations, particularly with the youngest legal-drinking-age (LDA) consumers.

Craft’s off-premise performance over the last four weeks has been a tale of two channels.

The unpredictability of weekly bev-alc scans continues to give the industry whiplash. The beer category recorded a -2.7% year-over-year (YoY) dip in dollar sales and 4.3% decline in volume for the week ending August 17, according to the latest report from Circana and the market research firm’s EVP of BevAl, Scott Scanlon.

If last week’s Gallup survey suggesting Americans are drinking less has you ready to hit the panic button, maybe back away. Although there are declines in consumers’ expressed drinking behaviors, market research firm NIQ notes several opportunity areas for suppliers, retailers and on-premise operators.

Bev-alc sales continued to decline in the two-week period ending August 9, although cider and ready-to-drink (RTD) spirits are still enjoying a slight summer boost, according to analysis of NIQ data from Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

Q2 2025 beverage trends show spirits growth, wine declines, and non-alcoholic drinks rising, with energy drinks leading share gains. Insiders can take a deeper dive into the numbers in this report curated especially for Brewbound by 3 Tier Beverages.

Bev-alc off-premise dollar sales may have stemmed the outgoing tide of the past several weeks, but were still in the red year-over-year (YoY) and week-over-week (WoW), according to the latest weekly scans report from market research firm Circana.