Beer Industry News, Insights, Jobs, & Events

Total beverage-alcohol dollar sales turned positive year-over-year [YoY] (+0.8%) and week-over-week [WoW] (+1.7%) in the week ending June 21, according to the latest weekly report from market research firm Circana. Off-premise dollar sales reached $1.542 billion during the week, which featured several drinking-centric occasions, including Father’s Day celebrations and nearly two weeks of World Cup play. Volume, measured in case sales, declined 1.9%.

Untitled Art is ceasing operations after a decade, the New School reported, citing “internal sources and memos circulated around the company employees and partners.”

Most founders build to scale, but Adam Kost, founder of ready-to-drink brand Dirty Shirley, built to prove. In a saturated market, Dirty Shirley was structured from day one as a market-validation project that was lean, disciplined, design-led and deliberately positioned for an early strategic exit – which it got.

Craft dollar sales declines stabilized to start the summer selling season after a period of worsening trends. In the four-week period (L4W) ending June 14, craft dollar sales declined 4.6% year-over-year (YoY) at multi-outlet grocery, mass retail and convenience stores (MULO+C) tracked by market research firm Circana. This marked no change in momentum from Circana’s previous monthly report (data ending May 17), which itself reflected a doubling of dollar sales declines compared to the prior period (-2.3% YoY L4W through April 19).

Keg 1 Management is wheeling and dealing. The multi-state distribution platform/consolidator’s Keg 1 Missouri subsidiary announced a deal to acquire more than 1 million cases from Fechtel Beverage & Sales in Central Missouri.

Well, it’s nice to see TILRAY totally learned from the spending warning lessons of the previous BREWDOG ownership era. It’s launching a promotion to give away up to about $1.3M of beer in the UK and Vegas at its branded locations if England, Scotland or U.S. teams make the World Cup Final (although with these remaining odds, don’t get your hopes up too high there, Tartan Army).

Nearly 300 Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC) workers in Illinois are expected to be laid off as the distributor shuts down its operations in the state.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 on-premise boost has emerged from coast to coast, according to the latest report from data firm BeerBoard. Those gains are much steeper in states with the 11 stadiums hosting World Cup matches, often by several orders of magnitude.

Fresh off its launch into the hard soda set with Spiked Pop, Owl’s Brew is shaking up its approach to the mixer category. The brand’s Functional Non-Alcoholic Mixers launched on Amazon this week, blending fruit juice, tea and botanicals with ingredients like L-theanine and vitamin C.

Four Loko-maker Phusion Projects has licensed some of its brand assets to Chuck It LLC for use on intoxicating hemp beverages.

Boston Beer Company and two former sales representatives have reached a settlement in a lawsuit over the company’s use of non-compete agreements, according to a court order filed Monday.

Hemp industry advocates are celebrating the inclusion of pro-hemp language in a recent White House letter to Congress regarding a supplemental budget request.

Mass Appeal Draught House and Grille opened on the eve of the kick-off of FIFA World Cup 2026 at its neighbor, Gillette Stadium. Hendler Family Brewing co-founder and CEO Sam Hendler joined the Brewbound Podcast to discuss how the multi-branded taproom handled an influx of guests, what Scottish fans prefer to drink – and what they’re not drinking.

Rhinegeist’s Cheetah lager is being reincarnated later this summer. This August, Rhinegeist will relaunch Cheetah as Super Lager, in collaboration with grocery chain Kroger, a fellow Cincinnati-based business.