NEWS

As we sit in the middle of the best 5-day stretch on the college sports calendar, I hope your attempt to redeem yourself from your men’s March Madness bracket with an intact women’s March Madness bracket yesterday totally paid off. Either way – I’m sure you’re enjoying some new beer ads to cheer you up! Well . . . kinda new.

Check out news items initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter March 18-20, including headlines from the Brewers Association, Ratio Beerworks, Athletic Brewing, Michelob Ultra and more.

More than two years after Blake’s Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders and Avid Cider Co. merged under the Blake’s Beverage Co. banner, the companies have found a rhythm that helped make Blake’s the “fastest growing” independent cidery in the U.S.

Sazerac has acquired Dirty Shirley, the ready-to-drink (RTD) vodka-spiked take on the classic Shirley Temple, the company announced Thursday.

Another low ABV beer with an explicit target audience made an appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank and came out with an investment. Potentially. Beer Girl founder Caroline Renezeder Foulk pitched the three-year-old lager brand to a panel of investment “sharks,” and caught the attention of Uncle Nearest founder Fawn Weaver.

Carbliss, the ready-to-drink (RTD) vodka-based cocktail that has become one of the breakout independents in its category, is rolling out a malt-based tallboy across seven Midwestern states.

The legal battle over Uncle Nearest has taken another dramatic turn: Founder Fawn Weaver's attempt to use bankruptcy court to wrest control of the bourbon brand from a court-appointed receiver lasted less than 48 hours before a judge threw the petition out.

The latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast features Baxter Brewing president Jenn Lever and Orono Brewing co-owner Abe Furth who share how they navigate seasonal traffic booms, how they've found success with blueberry-flavored beers and why guild work remains important.

A pair of big red network distribution deals were announced in the last 24 hours. Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to purchase the distribution rights of its brands, as well as “certain craft/NA brands,” from Advance Beverage Company in Bakersfield, California. Meanwhile, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits inked a deal for independent A-B distributor Clare Rose on Long Island.

St. Patrick’s Day may have fallen on a Tuesday this year, but the weekday timing didn’t stop consumers from celebrating the holiday in the on-premise, according to a report from BeerBoard.

Breakthru Beverage Group, one of the largest beverage distributors in the U.S., is jumping into the intoxicating hemp drink business.

After a three-week sprint to finalize deals to acquire BrewDog’s business on three continents, Tilray Brands’ first order of business is to “stabilize the brand,” Tilray CEO Irwin Simon told Brewbound.

The founders of Mission Craft Cocktails, the Southern California brand built on bar-strength bottled cocktails made with premium ingredients, see their company as a David in a segment of Goliaths. In their sling: a bet on economies of scale, format innovation and a purpose-driven brand.

The founder of Uncle Nearest has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after the troubled bourbon company defaulted on more than $100 million in loans and went into receivership.

Sixteen leaders from 12 bev-alc brands (and adjacent) were named to Inc.’s 2026 Female Founders 500. Representing craft beer are Holidaily Brewing (Golden, Colorado) founder Karen Hertz, Hot Plate Brewing (Pittsfield, Massachusetts) founder Sarah Real and Talea Beer Co. (Brooklyn, New York) co-founders LeAnn Darland and Tara Hankinson.

The kickoff to March brought continued declines for the bev-alc industry in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels, according to the market research firm’s latest weekly report.

Bev-alc off-premise dollar sales returned to growth in the latest weekly report from market research firm Circana, suggesting the prior week’s declines may have been a temporary blip (for now).

Members of the American Cider Association (ACA) elected two new and four returning representatives to the trade group’s board of directors last month.

Tilray Brands will acquire several assets from BrewDog’s U.S. business, including its Ohio production facility and remaining pubs, the company announced this morning.

U.S. brewers shipped nearly 1 million fewer barrels year-over-year (YoY) in January 2026, according to domestic tax paid shipment data shared by the Beer Institute. Shipments topped 9.6 million barrels in January, a 995,677-barrel decline from the nearly 10.6 million barrels shipped at the start of 2025.