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Anyone looking for an answer to when craft’s current era of compounding hurdles and declines will come to an end received a reality check Wednesday during Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bart Watson’s state of the industry address, held at the start of Day 2 of the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Indianapolis.
Around 10,000 industry members are expected to make the trip to Indianapolis for the 2025 Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo America (April 28 to May 1). The gathering takes place against a backdrop of growing headwinds for craft breweries and an overhaul of CBC’s host organization, the Brewers Association.
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (SGWS) has consistently charged independent retailers as much as 12% to 67% more than national and regional chains for the same products, according to newly unsealed redactions in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) price discrimination case against the distributor.
Two former Boston Beer Company employees are pursuing a class-action lawsuit, alleging the Twisted Tea maker skirts Massachusetts law by paying departing workers $3,000, minus taxes, instead of “garden leave” or other compensation, while enforcing restrictive noncompetition agreements.
Four incumbents and two new members will join the Brewers Association (BA) board of directors following last month’s election. The new term is slated to begin in February 2026.
Bev-alc retailers are adjusting their buying habits as the Trump administration’s signature economic policy continues to add volatility to the spirits and wine industries.
Even for an industry born out of risk and uncertainty, hemp beverages are now officially in uncharted waters. As part of the funding bill to reopen the government signed into law last night by President Donald Trump, hemp-derived products will be required to contain less than 0.4 mg THC per container, as of November 13, 2026. Swept away like a storm in the night, the multi-billion-dollar, hemp-derived THC industry is waking up this morning to the stark reality that, barring the creation of a legal federal framework, they will be virtually extinct within a year.
The Senate advanced a spending package Monday that includes language that would effectively ban all hemp products. The package now moves to the House, which could pass it through to President Trump as early as today. Industry members for and against the ban have been vocalizing their stance online and in D.C. Below are some of the latest updates.
Intoxicating hemp beverages could be sacrificed in a deal to reopen the federal government. As political factions in Washington, D.C., spar over how to end the longest-ever federal government shutdown in U.S. history, legislators – led by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) – are attempting to use the situation to shape the future of hemp and intoxicating THC products and restrict the market created by the 2018 Farm Bill.
A coalition of 54 beer, wine and spirits distributors are asking U.S. House and Senate leaders to regulate and tax intoxicating hemp products similar to alcoholic beverages, according to a letter sent Wednesday.
The Brewers Association (BA) has hired Michael Mohr-Ramirez to lead its federal government affairs efforts, the trade organization announced Monday.
Bars, restaurants and social gathering spaces are beer’s “moneyball” opportunity, National Beer Wholesalers Association VP of analytics and chief economist Lester Jones shares during the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. Jones is the first of two interviews this week. Adam and Amanda Kroener, the founders of spirits-based cocktail brand Carbliss, also join this week’s podcast.
If you thought Skimmers, Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) entrant into the vodka-based tea segment, looked a bit too similar to the space’s lead brand Surfside, you’re not alone. Philadelphia-based Stateside Brands LLC, the parent company of Surfside hard tea and lemonade, filed a complaint against A-B in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Tuesday.
If the beer industry had a dollar for every time someone said “we’re controlling what we can control,” the category would possibly be in the black this year.
The beverage-alcohol industry has endured an “onslaught of negative news” about health concerns and alcohol consumption in 2025, Bernstein analyst Nadine Sarwat shared during a panel discussion this week at the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) Annual Convention in Las Vegas.
Garage Beer’s Jason Kelce on beer’s social connection; Hemp Beverage Alliance leaders on bans, tax revenue; Boston Beer’s Social Pop debut.
Low-ABV IPA maker Dad Strength is poised to disrupt the beer category, according to recent investor and Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec.
