Category: Beverage Industry News
- Business of Beer 833
- Commentary 159
- Crisis Response 193
- Distribution & Retail 225
- Industry Events 19
- International 271
News Brewers Association Separates from American Homebrewers Association
After 42 years under one roof, the Brewers Association (BA) and American Homebrewers Association (AHA) are getting a divorce. It was announced today that the AHA has filed for incorporation in the state of Colorado as a step to becoming an independent 501(c) nonprofit organization.
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News American Craft Beer Hall of Fame to Hold Inaugural Inductees
The American Craft Beer Hall of Fame will hold its inaugural group of inductees, set to be revealed during a special livestream event on February 15, 2025, at 3:00 PM EST. The Hall of Fame was recently formed to celebrate the trailblazers, innovators, and visionaries who have made significant contributions to the craft beer movement in the United States.
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News TTB Proposes Mandatory Disclosures of Allergens and Alcohol Facts in Labeling
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has published two Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRMs) that would require the disclosure of allergen as well as Alcohol Facts information on labels of alcohol beverages. Although the specifications were expected in some form, the proposed new requirements would be a major labelling change for alcohol beverages at a time when the industry is struggling with declining sales across all categories.
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News Molson Coors Rejects Jake and Dick Leinenkugel Offer to Buy Chippewa Falls Brewery.
Molson Coors has rejected an offer by Jake and Dick Leinenkugel to buy the Chippewa Falls Brewery. Molson Coors is closing the iconic brewery and moving production to their main brewery in Milwaukee, yet declined the brothers offer to buy the brewery.
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News Nationwide Collective Beer Effort to Support LA Fire Victims
Common Space Brewery of Hawthorne, CA has initiated a call for breweries nationwide to brew a beer called “WE LOVE LA” with proceeds being directed to a selection of non-profits supporting the victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.
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News NA Beer Tops NA Wine and Spirits During Dry January
According to a recent survey by the Beer Institute, 22% of those consumers participating in ‘Dry January’ prefer NA beer versus 10% who choose NA liquor and 13% who prefer NA wine. Of those participating in Dry or Damp January, they cited improving wellness (49%) and saving money (48%) as the top reasons.
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News Greene King Gets Final Approval to Build New Brewery in UK
With excess brewing capacity at an all-time high across the globe as beer consumption declines, building a new brewery from the ground up is almost unheard of in the industry. Almost. Greene King has received final approval for its new $49 million brewery in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK and construction will begin by the middle of this year.
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News The Craft Beer Legacy of Jimmy Carter – Legalizing Homebrew
The homebrewing movement no doubt had a key role in the birth of the craft brewing industry. In the early years of craft brewing, most of those who started a craft brewery were homebrewers. Jimmy Carter, who recently passed away at the age of 100, is responsible for making homebrewing legal in the U.S.
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News Surgeon General Proposes Mandatory Cancer Risk Warning Labels on Alcohol
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has proposed that alcohol beverage containers should carry a warning label that alcohol is a leading cause of cancer. Murthy says in a report issued today that alcohol contributing to nearly 100,000 cancer cases and about 20,000 cancer deaths each year.
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News BA Rolls Out New Marketing Campaign to Promote Members During Dry January
The Brewers Association has rolled out a new consumer-facing marketing campaign in an attempt to drive business to its members breweries after the holidays and during “dry January.” The campaign reveals two evolving trends for the BA; marketing directly to the consumer in an effort to drive more business to its members, and promoting the fact that member breweries offer more than just traditional beer
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News Harpoon and Smuttynose to Merge – More Deals May Follow
Two pioneering and iconic New England beer brands are merging. Thirty-year old Smuttynose of Hampton, NH will merge operations and ownership with 38-year-old Harpoon Brewery of Boston, MA. The new company more than hinted that they may be looking for more brands to acquire.
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News Jim Koch Announces New Succession Plan for Boston Beer
Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer Company has famously said many times that his succession plan was “not to die.” Now is has a backup plan. Although he said he has no plans to retire imminently, he has announced that his longtime wife Cynthia Fisher will inherit his controlling stock in the brewery.
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News Castle Island Brewing Company to Purchase Cambridge Brewing Brand
Cambridge Brewing recently announced that it was closing its doors after 35 years in business, but it now appears that the Cambridge brand will live on. The pioneering brewery has sold its intellectual property to Castle Island Brewing Company in nearby Boston.
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News TTB Establishes ‘American Single Malt Whisky’ Standard of Identity
In a final ruling, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has amended the distilled spirits standards of identity regulations to include “American single malt whisky” as a type of whisky that is produced in the United States and meets certain other criteria.
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News SPB Hospitality Sells Rock Bottom and Gordon Biersch Locations
SPB Hospitality has sold Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery, Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant, ChopHouse & Brewery, Ragtime Tavern and Seven Bridges Grille & Brewery to Kelly Companies of Southern California. The transaction of this sale includes 16 restaurants, with flagship and airport locations included.
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News FTC Sues Southern Glazier’s for Price Discrimination
The Federal Trade Commission sued Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, the largest distributor of beer, wine and spirits in the country for price discrimination, alleging that Southern favored large chain buyers such as Costco, Total Wine & More and Kroger over smaller independent retailers.
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News BA Estimates a Decline of 2% or More in 2024 Craft Beer Production
The Brewers Association (BA) is estimating that 2024 will be a second year of declining sales for independently owned craft breweries. In the BA’s midyear survey, craft saw an estimated decline in production of -2% and the association estimates that the full-year number may be weaker than the midyear estimate.
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News ‘Bubble Bill’ Introduced in US Senate to Lower Taxes on Carbonated Fruit Ciders
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York has introduced the Bubble Tax Modernization Act to the Senate (S.5442) to amend the Internal Revenue Code to remove the differentiation between mead and low alcohol wine for purposes of the tax imposed on wines. The bill will help cider makers avoid paying a much higher tax if their cider reaches a certain carbonation level.
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News TTB Exempts 24 Brewing Ingredients from Formula and Approval Requirements
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is expanding its list of exemptions from the formula requirements for brewery products made with certain ingredients by exempting 24 additional ingredients. The exemption of was in responds to two petitions filed by the Brewers Association (BA) requesting further exemptions from formula requirements.
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News Craft Beer Leads the Way in On-Premise Analysis
A detailed analysis of draft beer sales over a 12-month period through March of this year shows that draft beer handles are continuing to increase in the on-premise across the US despite a continued slowdown in overall on-premise beer sales.
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News BA Names Bart Watson as President and CEO
Posted by Tom McCormick
The wait is over. In a much-anticipated decision, the Brewers Association has named Bart Watson as the next President and Chief Executive Officer of the association. Tapping the next leader from the inside of the association to replace Bob Pease is a bit of surprise given that the search was national in scope – but the having a talented, articulate industry veteran who knows the culture of the BA and of the industry will serve the association and its membership well.
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