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.
Seven of the 10 largest Brewers Association-defined craft breweries recorded production volume declines in 2025, according to data shared by the trade group in the May/June Issue of The New Brewer magazine.
Craft brewers’ production volume fell a collective 5.1% in 2025, according to the Brewers Association’s (BA) annual Industry Production Report, published today.
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.
Atlantic Beverage Distributors’ fight to keep Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers from terminating their wholesaler relationship hit a roadblock this week when a judge denied the distributor’s motion for a preliminary injunction against a pending arbitration hearing.
The Brewers Association (BA) released its annual craft brewery production report, which showed a 9% decline in 2020, in large part due to the COVID-19 pandemic. BA chief economist Bart Watson cautioned that the decline is not a perfect representation of the year for the nation’s 8,764 craft breweries.
The COVID-19 pandemic put hard times on the U.S. craft brewing industry in 2020, as production declined for the first time in the modern craft era, the Brewers Association (BA) announced today. The number of barrels produced by craft breweries had steadily grown in recent years, from 24.3 million barrels in 2016 to a peak of 26.3 million barrels in 2019.
The consumer-facing, in-person Great American Beer Festival tasting event will not take place for a second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brewers Association (BA) announced today. However, the competition that accompanies the festival will go on as planned this year, while the in-person event is slated to return in 2022 for GABF’s 40th anniversary.
Heineken-owned Lagunitas Brewing has named Tony Amaral head of sales, following the departure of Tom McReavy, who formerly led the Petaluma, California-based craft brewery’s sales division before taking the top sales role at Stone Brewing last month.
To break down the “significant roadblocks” facing the state’s 200 craft breweries, the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild (MNCBG) has launched a political action committee, the MN Craft Beer PAC.
The Brewers Association (BA) released its annual top 50 rankings of craft breweries by beer sales volume in 2020. Although there was some jockeying for position, the top of the list remained largely unchanged, with D.G. Yuengling & Son, Boston Beer Company and Sierra Nevada holding down the top three spots again.
Under the new county order, breweries, wineries and craft distilleries may open for indoor service capped at 25% capacity if all alcohol sales are accompanied by bona fide meals, which can be provided in partnership with a food vendor. Businesses without food service may offer outdoor on-site service.
Some Kentucky craft brewers will soon be able to distribute their own products and terminate wholesaler contracts more easily after Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 15 into law on March 18. The new law will allow breweries producing fewer than 50,000 barrels of beer annually to self-distribute up to 2,500 barrels per year.
Stone Brewing Company has agreed to pay a more than $1.8 million offer in compromise to the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for alleged violations related to tax reporting and payments.
Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers is attempting to sever its relationship with Atlantic Beverage Distributors, its Massachusetts wholesaler. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based craft brewery provided Atlantic with notice on January 14, two days after franchise law reform was enacted in the state.
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.