Distribution

Ohio Allagash fans rejoice: The Portland, Maine-based craft brewery is headed back to the Buckeye State. Allagash has partnered with Premium Beverage Supply to distribute its core portfolio of beers in Ohio, 20 years after the brewery pulled out of the state.

Although still in decline, craft beer’s dollar sales and volume losses eased up in May, according to the most recent off-premise report from market research firm Circana.

Nearly a quarter of consumers (23.3%) have stopped drinking, or are taking a break from bev-alc, according to a recent survey by Bump Williams Consulting (BWC).

The country’s second-largest beverage-alcohol distributor, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), is shuttering its operations in California, the country’s largest spirits market, after losing several major suppliers.

The country’s second-largest distributor, Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) has been shedding suppliers at an alarming rate, with another major national loss announced today. Following Brown-Forman’s exit from RNDC in California this month, the whiskey giant will now follow suit in other states.

Beer is the drink of choice for nearly three-quarters of consumers planning to buy bev-alc products for their Memorial Day weekend celebrations, according to insights firm Numerator.

Softer than expected Q1 trends have caused distributor sentiment to wane for the beer category, according to survey results from investment banking firm Jefferies.

Beverage-alcohol’s embrace of flavor and craft beer’s shifting distribution trends were among spotlighted issues during last week’s Beer Marketer’s Insights Spring Conference in Chicago. Leaders from BeatBox Beverages, Boston Beer Company, Atomic Brands, Columbia Distributing and Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) shared where their business and the beer category is heading. Here are a few soundbites from the conference.

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) is shaking up its distribution network for its spirits-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail brands. The moves are concentrated in California, where A-B told Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) it would move the Cutwater Spirits RTD family to Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits (SGWS).

Not that long ago, the idea of buying cannabis online – especially in a drinkable format – would have seemed like an unlikely pipe dream. Now, order-by-mail has become a primary mechanism for distributing intoxicating hemp beverages.

The craft segment’s dollar sales and volume declines have accelerated to start the second quarter, traditionally the lead-up to beer’s all important summer selling season, according to the most recent off-premise report from market research firm Circana.

Overall beer category dollar sales declined in Q1 2025 compared to Q1 2024, but those losses were unbalanced between the channels, according to the most recent report from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and Fintech. Beer dollar sales reached an estimated $15.8 billion in the first quarter of the year, down about 4% year-over-year (YoY).

Family-owned, boutique craft distributor VT Beer Shepherd has sold part of its portfolio, including the distribution rights to Lawson’s Finest Liquids, and has ceased operations. Baker Distributing in Colchester, Vermont, has acquired the distribution rights to Lawson’s Finest and other brands from VT Beer Shepherd.

Beer distributors’ top priority in lobbying visits with congressional members during the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) legislative conference was to push for permanence for lowered tax rates put in place by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).