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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.
Congress passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which now advances to President Joe Biden for an expected signature.
Eight in 10 regular craft beer drinkers believe breweries should be allowed to ship beer directly to consumers in more states than the 13 where the practice is legal, according to a study published by the Brewers Association (BA) and Sovos ShipCompliant.
Oregon lawmakers are considering a tax hike on alcoholic beverages that would increase taxes on malt beverages by $70 per barrel. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill in the early hours of Saturday, February 27. The bill includes a $25 billion fund for grants for bars, restaurants and breweries.
Consumers spent $97 million on craft beer through e-commerce in 2020, which accounted for 24% of all beer category dollar sales online. In brick-and-mortar stores, however, craft beer makes up 12.6% of all dollar sales. In fact, craft has the second largest dollar share behind flavored malt beverages (32%), which include hard seltzers.
Denizens Brewing co-founder and chief brand officer Julie Verratti will join the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as associate administrator of field operations, beginning March 1. Verratti will step away from her role with the brewery to take on the political appointment.
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) announced today that the Distributors Against Human Trafficking initiative trained 5,164 distribution employees during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month in January.
Several pieces of legislation working their ways through Congress would bring much needed relief to the hospitality industry — including breweries, brewpubs and taprooms — as they continue to struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grupo Modelo, the Mexican business division of Anheuser-Busch InBev, has filed a lawsuit against Constellation Brands, alleging that the company is “misusing and misappropriating” the Corona trademark with Corona Hard Seltzer.
A new version of the Restaurants Act, which would provide $120 billion in grants to bars and restaurants, was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on February 4. The bill now includes “brewpubs, tasting rooms, taprooms, and licensed facilities or premises of a beverage alcohol producer where the public may taste, sample, or purchase products,” the Brewers Association said.
The Brewers Association (BA) is urging the Can Manufacturing Institute (CMI) to ensure that small and independent craft brewers have access to aluminum cans amid the years-long inventory crunch beverage producers are now facing. In a letter to the CMI, BA president and CEO Bob Pease painted a dire picture for the nation’s nearly 8,400 craft brewers. “These businesses will simply not survive that long without cans,” he wrote.
Did the pandemic really cause a bump in sales of so-called tried and true flagship brands in 2020? Not really, writes Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson in his latest members’ only column.
Off-premise beer category dollar sales increased 15.7% year-to-date through January 23, compared to the same period last year, market research firm NielsenIQ reported. For the four weeks ending January 23 (which includes December 28-31, 2020), off-premise dollars sales of the beer category — which includes core beer, flavored malt beverages, hard seltzers, ciders and malt liquor — increased 14.2%, indicating slight acceleration after January 1.
Oregon breweries looking to cash in on the $4.1 billion hard seltzer market need to consider the ingredients they choose to produce it, as the Oregon Liquor Control Commission’s (OLCC) classification of the bubbly beverage varies by base ingredients.
VPX Pharmaceuticals took its legal battle against PepsiCo to a second front this week as VPX-aligned company Quash Seltzer LLC filed a lawsuit alleging the conglomerate has threatened its prospective distribution partners out of doing business.
