Boston Beer Company - Samuel Adams

Jim Koch on Boston Beer’s potential internal CEO candidates: Allagash’s new taproom; Erik Ellington’s NA beer; and more headlines.

What do distributors want in 2025? A survey of 173 distributors from across the U.S. found that middle-tier leaders are seeking simplification and focus in programs, among other key traits. Those answers were among the takeaways from consulting firm Tamarron’s 27th annual Brewer Partnership Compass survey.

Boston Beer president CEO Michael Spillane is ending his leadership role with the company after just over a year, according to an 8-K filing submitted today (Friday, August 1) to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Hard tea continued to fill Boston Beer’s sails in Q2, but it was newbie Sun Cruiser that put in the brunt of the work rather than veteran Twisted Tea, company leadership shared Thursday during a call with investors and analysts.

Q2 was once again a thorn in Boston Beer Company’s side, despite a rosier Q1, according to financial results released by the company late Thursday. Boston Beer shipments (sales to wholesalers) declined 0.8% year-over-year (YoY), while depletions (sales to retailers) declined 5% for the three-month period ending June 28.

Nice weather and ideal timing helped boost beer’s performance over Fourth of July weekend, producing “surprisingly strong trends,” according to distributors surveyed by Goldman Sachs.

Boston Beer revealed a new 10-year sponsorship deal with the Boston Red Sox last Friday for its Samuel Adams brand; Spirits giant Proximo has shifted its California distribution to Breakthru Beverage, which it is with already in CO, MO and NV; New Belgium alum Ramon Tamayo joined Calicraft (Walnut Creek, CA) as head brewer in May; and more headlines

Bev-alc volumes declined in the two-week period ending June 14 except for cider and some ready-to-drink subcategories, according to analysis of NIQ data from Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

Non-alcoholic beer, Italian imports and fruit-forward offerings are just a few of the summer trends popping in Total Wine & More and Whole Foods Market stores. Total Wine’s Adrea Starr and Whole Foods Market’s Mary Guiver offered insights into what they’re seeing as summer sets in.

The beer category “surprised” Circana EVP BevAl Scott Scanlon last week and not in a good way. Both dollar sales (-6.1%) and volume (-7.3%) dropped mid-single digits in the week ending June 15 at off-premise retailers tracked by the market research firm.

The Dead are helping raise Dogfish Head’s trends. The Boston Beer Company-owned, Milton, Delaware-based craft brewery’s launch of Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale earlier this year has returned the brand to growth for the first time since 2019, co-founder Sam Calagione told Brewbound last week.

Six of the 10 largest Brewers Association-defined (BA) craft breweries recorded volume declines in 2024, according to data from the trade group’s May/June edition of The New Brewer magazine.

Distributors have become increasingly more pessimistic about beer. But how do they feel about the biggest suppliers and their outlooks for 2025? Investment banking firm Jefferies asked this question in its latest beer distributor survey, which represented portfolios from Tilray (60% of respondents), Constellation (55%), Anheuser-Busch InBev [A-B] (50%), Molson Coors (50%), Boston Beer (40%) and more.

Beverage-alcohol’s embrace of flavor and craft beer’s shifting distribution trends were among spotlighted issues during last week’s Beer Marketer’s Insights Spring Conference in Chicago. Leaders from BeatBox Beverages, Boston Beer Company, Atomic Brands, Columbia Distributing and Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) shared where their business and the beer category is heading. Here are a few soundbites from the conference.