NEWS

Leading spirits brand Tito’s Handmade Vodka plans to leave Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) for Reyes Beverage Group in California. The announcement comes after RNDC filed notice to lay off at least 60 of its staff in the Golden State.

Brewbound asked retailers, distributors and data analysts which trends they’re watching and why at the start of 2025. From non-alcoholic (NA) adult beverages and imports to draft and on-premise shifts, here are the trends our respondents will be tracking this year.

Citing a challenging beer market, Sapporo-Stone Brewing has undergone a restructuring that has cut 1% of all roles, which affected 2% of total employees, a spokesperson confirmed to Brewbound.

Let’s rewind on the past year. It was a tough year for craft. Big changes happened at the Brewers Association. A billionaire saved Anchor from the abyss (maybe). Dietary guidelines loomed for alcoholic beverages … 2024 was a whirlwind. To wrap up the year, Christopher Shepard and Dave Infante joined the Brewbound Podcast for our annual beer-journos recap and reflection

After more than 40 years together, the American Homebrewers Association (AHA) and the Brewers Association (BA) are parting ways, the non-profit organizations announced today.

Monster Beverage expects to take another impairment charge on Monster Brewing, the bev-alc division created after it acquired CANarchy, executives shared during a conference call for investors Tuesday.

In this issue: New Beer SKUs Decline, Shelf Space Shrinks; Beyond Beer ROS +69% in On-Premise; Arkansas Sake Maker Plots Future Growth; Mayflower Halts Closure; Trump on Tariffs; Sales Chief on Peroni's Growth Trajectory; Three Floyds Launches Light Lager.

Riding +7% depletions growth in 2024, Rhinegeist Brewery is looking at high ABV line extensions of its two biggest brand families to bolster that growth in 2025.

IPA remained the top craft style by far in 2024, with a 49.41% share of segment dollar sales in off-premise retailers, gaining 2.49 share points, according to Circana.

Sake is a staple of drinking culture in Japan, but in the U.S. bringing the category to new consumers takes a variety of approaches. Arkansas-based Origami Sake is attempting to make the traditional rice wine more approachable to American drinkers by pairing its premium-positioned products with transparent packaging callouts and a new non-alc variety that caters to moderating consumers.

Beer’s battle for shelf space is nowhere near over, according to data from Bump Williams Consulting (BWC), shared by president Dave Williams earlier this month during Beer Business Daily’s Beer, Wine and Spirits Summit in Palm Beach, Florida.

This week’s beer goes out to one of beer’s all-time greatest pitchmen, Mr. Bob Uecker, who died this week at the age of 90 … and they just don’t make ‘em like Bob anymore. He’s of course known for the Major League movies and Mr. Belvedere in the ’80s, and to an older demo as one of the top Tonight Show guests ever (with 100+ appearances). Plus, he also called BREWERS games in Milwaukee for 54 seasons. 🤯

Total bev-alc retail sales reached $112 billion in 2024 but, excluding ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, no category saw growth in dollars or volume, according to market research firm NIQ.

Rhinegeist Brewery has added former New Belgium Brewing CEO Steve Fechheimer as an advisor to its board of directors.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has proposed new rules for nutrient and alcohol content labeling on wine, beer, and spirits.

As many drinkers take a break from craft beer and other alcoholic beverages in January, craft breweries such as Notch are using the month and its lighter traffic to close taprooms temporarily as they undertake renovation projects.

On-premise sales velocity declined -6% for the two-week period ending December 28 and was flat through the New Year’s holiday for the week ending January 4, according to the latest report from CGA, NIQ’s on-premise division.

The Mindful Drinking Fest returned to Washington, D.C. this past weekend, bringing together over 1,200 attendees and nearly 220 adult non-alcoholic products in a Dry January celebration that has grown 10 times since its first iteration three years ago and 40% since just last year. Brewbound's sibling publication BevNET stopped in for the second year in a row and saw the energy and acceleration brought by the sober curious crowd firsthand.

The American Cider Association (ACA) has named its next CEO. Monica Cohen, a former executive for Dairy Farmers of America (DFA), has been appointed CEO of the hard cider trade association, taking over less than a month ahead of the ACA’s largest annual industry event, CiderCon (February 4-7).

New Belgium CEO Shaun Belongie joins the Brewbound Podcast to discuss the comeback in Asheville, the company’s still-unfolding contingency plans and the road ahead.