NEWS

After a “soft” quarter, Boston Beer executives laid out the company’s plans for growth in the second half of 2024 and beyond during a conference call on Thursday with investors and analysts. Boston Beer – whose portfolio includes Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Dogfish Head and Hard MTN Dew – recorded shipments (sales to wholesalers) declines of -6.4% and depletions (sales to retailers) declines of -4.% in Q2. This followed a Q1 with shipment growth of +0.9% and flat depletions.

In the latest edition of A Round With – Brewbound’s Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – we caught up with Matt Smith, founder of Beverly, Massachusetts-based Wandering Soul Beer Co.

Three years post-pandemic, the beer industry’s performance is still “erratic,” National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) chief economist and VP of analytics Lester Jones said during a webinar on Tuesday.

Boston Beer Company failed to keep up with softer comps and continued to post declines in Q2 2024, with negative trends accelerating versus Q2 2023, according to the company’s latest earnings release, covering the three months ending June 29.

Three years post-pandemic, the beer industry’s performance is still “erratic,” National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) chief economist and VP of analytics Lester Jones said during a webinar on Tuesday.

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has plans to acquire Horizon Beverage Group, Southern Glazer’s announced today.

The Brewbound Live Pitch Slam returns to the Brewbound Live business conference on December 11 + 12 in Marina del Rey, California. The annual competition provides an opportunity for startups in beer and beverage-alcohol to pitch their product, generate industry awareness, and open the door for new partnerships. How It Works: Emerging beer category brands will... Read more »

Almost Friday Media, the comedy meme account turned digital media empire that has long celebrated the vaunted opening of a beer at the closing of the workweek, had a drinker base long before it had a beer brand.

Massachusetts-based Exhibit A Brewing has closed its Framingham brewery and taproom, and will move operations more than 90 miles west to Williamsburg, the craft brewery announced this week.

Twisted Tea accounts for the majority of Boston Beer’s volume and has become the company’s “only meaningful source of growth,” Bernstein analyst Nadine Sarwat wrote in a report focusing on the brand’s sustainability.

Craft volume is down an estimated -2% through the first six months of 2024, according to Brewers Association (BA) chief economist and VP of strategy Bart Watson in his annual midyear webinar Tuesday.

After being stuck in limbo for much of July following the passage of regulations on THC-infused beverages in Iowa, Iowa City-based Climbing Kites is pushing new products into retailers this week.

Monster Brewing-owned Cigar City has debuted new packaging for its flagship Jai Alai IPA. The new artwork features Jai Alai in larger, brighter font. Refreshed cans of Jai Alai in 12 oz., 16 oz. and 19.2 oz. sizes, as well as 6- and 12-pack cartons, are rolling out “this summer.”

Great Lakes Brewing Co. is continuing to expand distribution of its craft beers more than 36 years after its founding.

Gonna open this weekend’s newsletter with an invitation to the Brewers Association to join me for a pint in NYC (you’re buying – uhh, Justin insists), as the BA just published a report that asserts that the price of a pint on-premise has tracked below the rate of inflation for the past 3 years. It also cites an average pint price of $6.85 as of the end of 2023. So, come to NYC and let’s have a couple of craft pints to toast to that – just make sure you bring more than $20.

An estimated 1.884 billion hectoliters (hl), or 1.58 billion barrels, of beer were produced worldwide in 2023, a -0.9% decline year-over-year (YoY), according to global hop supplier BarthHaas in its annual report.

At-the-brewery pint prices have not kept pace with inflation, according to a recent report from Brewers Association staff economist Matt Gacioch.

Short’s Brewing is celebrating two decades in Bellaire, Michigan this year. The craft brewery makes a range of beers, from its flagship Local’s Light, to Bloody Beer, a Bloody Mary-inspired beer, and produced nearly 44,000 barrels of beer in 2023, according to the Brewers Association.

Global hop acreage declined -3.3% in 2023 versus 2022, the second consecutive year of decline and a “significantly sharper” reduction versus the -0.3% year-over-year (YoY) decline recorded in 2022, global hop supplier BarthHaas reported this week.

With crossover products gaining shelf space, more guidance is emerging from trade associations and states to steer how brands, retailers and regulators define and treat these offerings.