Distribution

Virginia brewers are one signature away from being able to self-distribute their beer in state. The Beer Industry Limited Distribution Act (House Bill 2258) passed the state Senate last week and has been sent to Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s desk. It would allow breweries to self-distribute up to 500 barrels annually.

D.G. Yuengling & Son beer is now rolling out in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma as part of the Pennsylvania brewery’s joint venture with Molson Coors for westward expansion.

Golden Brands – the Reyes Beverage Group’s Northern California subsidiary – has acquired rights to the Constellation Brands and Sierra Nevada portfolios from Sacramento-based Markstein Beverage Co.

CPI for Beer At-Home +9% in January vs. 2022 The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for beer at-home continues to outpace inflation, increasing +9% last month versus January 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Beer price hikes have yet to slow down, increasing +8.6% year-over-year (YoY) in December, +7.7% in November and… Read more »

Employees at Anheuser-Busch (A-B) InBev-owned Widmer Brothers Brewing have voted to join Teamsters Local 162, the union announced. Stony Creek Brewery has been approved by its hometown of Branford, Connecticut to construct a new tank farm, which would expand the company’s brewing capacity from 48,000 barrels, to 100,000 barrels.

Data and economy experts from 3 Tier Beverages, NielsenIQ’s CGA and the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) gave attendees insights into the state of the bev-alc industry and cider’s potential growth opportunities during the 13th annual CiderCon, held last week in Chicago.

Retailers’ coldboxes are “a battlefield” – particularly in the increasingly crowded beyond beer space – but cider is primed to “thrive,” according to Mary Guiver, Whole Foods Market’s global principle category merchant for beer, during a retailer panel last week at CiderCon 2023 in Chicago.

Allagash Brewing Company is going statewide in Illinois. Plus, Memphis, Tennessee-based Wiseacre Brewing has added statewide distribution in Virginia via Specialty Beverage.

Beer and flavored malt beverage (FMB) sales were up +2% in Q4, while hard seltzer sales declined -3% in the same period, according to the most recent Beverage Bytes survey conducted by Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

San Diego-headquartered Kings & Convicts Brewing, which acquired Ballast Point from Constellation Brands in late 2019, will vacate the Encinitas taproom and Miramar production facility it took over from Molson Coors in January 2022.

Seattle, Washington-based Schilling Cider is deepening its presence in Colorado and will transition to the Molson Coors distribution network in the state beginning February 1.

Looking to capitalize on Pennsylvanias’ fond memories of Jersey Shore vacations, Cape May Brewing will expand its Keystone State distribution this year. The Cape May, New Jersey-headquartered brewery will begin selling its products in the counties surrounding Pittsburgh, Scranton and Harrisburg.

Craft beer dollar sales at off-premise retailers reached more than $4.74 billion in 2022, a -4.7% decline year-over-year (YoY), according to the market research firm IRI.

Total beer category dollar sales at off-premise retailers reached more than $44.6 billion in 2022, according to the market research firm IRI.