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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.
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) announced during National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month that the Distributors Against Human Trafficking initiative has trained 6,000 beer distribution employees to safely spot and report the signs of human trafficking. NBWA is well on its way to reaching its goal of training 10,000 employees by the end of 2021.
In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, Massachusetts lawmakers finally passed franchise law reform legislation. If signed by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, the measure would put to rest a long-simmering debate between the Bay State’s craft brewers and their wholesaler partners.
A dispute in one of the most prominent families in the beer industry — the Massachusetts-based Sheehans, owners of Sheehan Family Companies, which operates beer wholesalers in 13 states and Washington, D.C. — has spilled into the court system. Timothy G. Sheehan and George L. Cushing, a trustee who represents trusts that benefit Tim Sheehan and his brother John T. Sheehan, filed a civil lawsuit in Massachusetts’ Suffolk Superior Court alleging that the patriarch and matriarch of the family, Gerald (“Jerry”) and Maureen Sheehan, have violated their fiduciary duties and misappropriated company funds.
Brewbound readers in 2020 sought out news about the pandemic, mergers and acquisitions, brewery closures and job changes. 2020 marked a year of shifts for brewers, as well as Brewbound, which shifted its business model to a subscription model. With that in mind, we’ve pulled the five most-read stories before the paywall was introduced and the five most-read stories after.
Federal excise tax cuts for brewers and importers have finally been made permanent. After nearly a week of uncertainty, President Donald Trump on Sunday signed into law the $900 billion economic relief package and $1.4 trillion government funding bill Congress passed last week.
Permanent excise tax cuts for brewers and importers was just a signature away. However, getting pen to paper on the $900 billion economic relief package and a $1.4 trillion government funding bill passed by Congress is now in question after President Donald Trump unexpectedly pushed back against the measures.
A permanent reduction in the federal excise tax for alcohol producers and importers is a signature away. The U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have both signed off on the $900 billion economic relief package, which includes language from the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), as well as additional Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding for small businesses, among other measures.
The temporary federal excise tax cuts enjoyed by brewers and importers over the last three years are on the verge of being made permanent. Congress has included language from the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) in the $900 billion COVID-19 relief package that is expected to pass in the coming days.
The California Craft Brewers Association (CCBA) has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) director Sandra Shewry alleging that the state has infringed upon the constitutional rights and denied the state’s beer manufacturers equal protection by requiring them to serve a meal to guests in order to operate their tasting rooms while not imposing the same restrictions upon the state’s winemakers.
Consumers are continuing to trade up in their alcoholic beverage purchases, even as the COVID-19 pandemic-induced economic downturn continues, Brewers Association (BA) chief economist Bart Watson said during a webinar last week. “People still see beer as an affordable luxury, while beer has taken on a lot of price relative to wine and spirits,” he said.
On-premise retail sales will not rebound to pre-pandemic levels in 2021, Brewers Association (BA) chief economist Bart Watson shared yesterday in a webinar for members of the trade group. “The on-premise is not fully going to recover next year,” he said.
The BA, which represents the nation’s small and independent brewers, is advocating for several measures at the federal level that would support craft breweries, whose businesses have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite claims by Vital Pharmaceuticals/VPX Sports boss Jack Owoc that “terminated means terminated,” PepsiCo can continue to distribute Bang energy drinks until the completion of ongoing dispute between the two parties, according to an emergency arbitration ruling issued on Monday.
National not-for-profit trade ground the Brewers Association (BA) today announced the organization’s priorities and initiatives for 2021. The BA, which promotes the interests of small and independent craft brewing companies, shared in an email to members that its board of directors held its final meeting of 2020 in which the organization’s 2021 budget was approved and the trade group’s agenda and priorities for the new year were set.
