Stay informed on the latest beer industry, legislative, government affairs and legal news, including updates on the Brewers Association and NBWA. Understand the evolving beverage alcohol regulatory and legal environment that can directly impact your distribution, retail efforts, intellectual property, packaging and ingredients.
Submit Legislative News
If you have insights into recent regulatory or legislative news related to the beer or beverage-alcohol industry, please submit your news to your team.
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.
An influential group of beverage-alcohol retailers and distributors are supporting legislative efforts to keep hemp-infused beverages alive despite their prohibition, slated to take effect in November 2026.
Intoxicating hemp drinks are getting a lifeline in Chicago, despite the outlawing of other hemp-derived THC products.
Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth’s take on intoxicating hemp; non-alc Bero receives private equity investment; Otherlands Beer shares tariff impact; taproom closures; people moves; and more.
A former Rogue Ales & Spirits employee has filed a lawsuit against the now-shuttered craft brewery’s parent company, Oregon Brewing, for allegedly violating the WARN Act.
After a lengthy delay that included much fretting among industry insiders, the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) were unveiled earlier this month. Any fears that anti-alcohol activists had infiltrated the quinquennial process were eased, as the new guidelines preach moderation over specific daily drink allowances. Beer Marketer’s Insights senior editor Christopher Shepard, who has… Read more »
An Indiana congressman has proposed legislation to push back the upcoming hemp ban for three years, allowing more time to carve out a regulatory framework for hemp products.
The wait is over: The 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) have been released, and after months of uncertainty around how guidelines could affect the beverage-alcohol industry, trade groups are likely breathing a sigh of relief.
Here are some news items that were initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter January 5-6, including updates from Uncle Nearest, NIQ, Blake’s Beverage and more.
The beer category faces more uncertainty in 2026, according to wholesalers’ buying intentions logged in the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s (NBWA) monthly Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI).
From class-action suits over Fireball to disputes over jalapeño-flavored Tequila, this year’s bev-alc legal drama was, in a word, spicy.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Thursday directing the U.S. Attorney General to move cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III controlled substance, marking a watershed moment in the history of U.S. marijuana policy and a significant step forward for the nascent THC-infused beverage industry.
A proposed consumer antitrust class action lawsuit was filed against PepsiCo and Walmart after a now-dismissed Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint against them was unsealed. At issue is the allegation that Pepsi gave Walmart exclusive discounts not offered to other retailers.
Sycamore Brewing co-founder Justin Brigham may be divesting of the company, but industry members are not separating him and his legal charges from the Charlotte, North Carolina-based brewery so quickly.
PepsiCo allegedly created a soft drink “price gap” with Walmart, creating a system that allowed the world’s largest retail to obtain preferential promotional payments, while those same payments were reduced for Walmart’s competitors, according to court documents unsealed last week.
