Beneath the surface of craft beer’s 2025 production decline (-5.1%, to nearly 21.86 million barrels) were power moves, usurpings and stumbles among the industry’s top 50 breweries, which the Brewers Association (BA) released today.
Brewers Association president and CEO Bart Watson believes the Craft Brewers Conference works best when it’s “the big-tent event that everybody is coming to and connecting with.” On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, Watson explained that he views the largest annual gathering of craft brewers (April 20-22 in Philadelphia) in four buckets.
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 United States Senate passed a sweeping tax reform bill early Saturday morning that includes a number of changes to the tax code and benefits alcohol producers. With a vote of 51-49 today, the Senate passed H.R. 1, the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” which is the largest tax overhaul in 31 years and includes the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA).
The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild has hired Andrew Lemley as the organization’s new executive director. Lemley comes to the Guild from New Belgium Brewing Company, where he most recently served for the last four years as the Fort Collins-headquartered brewery’s government affairs representative.
A majority of U.S. senate members now support legislation that would reduce excise taxes on all brewers and importers. According to a press release jointly produced by six beverage lobbying groups, including the Beer Institute and the Brewers Association, 51 senators have co-sponsored Senate Bill 236, known as the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA).
Executives from the largest beer companies in the U.S. gathered in San Diego this week for the annual Beer Institute (BI) meeting, and a theme of unity emerged as industry leaders attempt to stem continued share losses to wine and spirits.
The Beer Institute — a national trade association representing brewers, beer importers, and industry suppliers — announced today that Travis Gibbons has been named senior director of health policy and regulatory affairs. Gibbons brings over a decade of government and advocacy experience to the Beer Institute.
