Category: Commentary
Opinion and commentary relating to the alcohol beverage industry
News Tilray Jumps Deeper into Cannabis Drinks
As Anheuser-Busch sheds craft beer brands and Molson Coors exist the cannabis drinks business, Tilray jumps in. A week after Tilray announced that they were buying eight craft brands from Anheuser-Busch, Tilray said they will acquire the remaining 57.5% equity ownership of cannabis-infused drinks maker Truss Beverage from Molson Coors Canada.
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News Tilray Deal Highlights the Rapid De-Evaluation of Craft Beer Brands
Tilray Brands, the pharmaceutical, cannabis and consumer packaged goods company that just purchased eight craft brands from Anheuser-Busch, paid an astonishingly low $85 million for approximately 8 million cases combined. That’s about $150 per barrel, a far, far distance from the height of the craft beer industry when brands sold as high as $1,000 per barrel only 6-8 years ago.
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News Follow the Leader – Molson Coors Buys Blue Run Whiskey
In another sign that large global brewers are continuing to chase after growth beverage segments outside traditional beer, Molson Coors announced that they will purchase Blue Run Spirits, makers of premium Blue Run Kentucky Bourbon. It is another step forward in the evolution of large brewing companies turning more and more into ‘beverage companies.’
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News AB Sells Off Eight Craft Brands to Tilray Including10-Barrel, Widmer, Redhook, Breckenridge and Shock Top
Large global brewers have been slowly selling off their acquired craft brands in recent months. That trickle is now a deluge as Anheuser-Busch announced that they will sell eight craft beer, cider, and energy drink brands to Tilray Brands Inc. The sell-off includes 10-barrel Brewing, Widmer Brothers, Redhook, Breckenridge Brewery and Blue Point Brewing along with the AB in-house craft brand Shock Top.
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News Coca-Cola Forms New Subsidiary for Alcoholic Beverages Called Red Tree Beverages
Coca-Cola, the largest beverage company in the world, has established a new division to develop and manage its alcohol beverage business. The move spotlights the diversification and fragmentation of the alcohol industry, as the largest beverage manufacturers look for ways to benefit from the growing demand for non-traditional alcohol products such as FMB’s, RTD’s and other alcohol-infused drinks.
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News The Demise of Anchor Brewing – A Wide Angle Perspective
Many questions have been asked since Anchor Brewing announced last week that the iconic brewery was closing. And many reasons have been assigned as to what caused the demise of the beloved San Francisco brewery. But the story, and the outcome is both varied and complex.
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News ‘We Were All Brewers’ – Longtime Anchor Employees Talks About Brewery Closure
David Burkhart was an employee at Anchor Brewing in San Francisco for 31 years; half of his life. Like many in the industry, it seems inconceivable to him that Anchor is gone forever, and he envisions an angel, “hovering over the brewery, who sees the value in a small business that makes unique, local, delicious, beautiful products — San Francisco in a glass.”
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News Is ‘Premiumisation’’ on the Decline?
Premium alcoholic beverages have been outperforming other price categories for many years, helping to drive the steady growth in craft beer. But the first half of 2023 has begun to show some cracks in premiumization, which may not bode well for craft beer, which is already slowing due to multiple other factors.
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News Bud Light Continues Decline with Broad Impact on the Industry
In a story that continues to disrupt the beer industry, Bud Light sales have continued to decline for the ninth week in a row and has now fallen an astounding 24.4% over that period. The downfall has led to significant sales declines at AB wholesalers across the country, an uptick in sales for competing brands and has allowed Modelo to replace Bud Light as the number one selling beer.
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News Constellation Sells Two Breweries Back to Original Owners – Will Exit Craft Beer Biz
In the second, and third such event in just a few weeks, the founders of two craft breweries are reacquiring the brewery back from a global brewer. The founders of Funky Buddha Brewery in Oakland Park, FL and Four Corners Brewing Co. in Dallas, TX are buying back the company they founded from Constellation Brands.
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News Wait, What? Original Owners of Appalachian Mountain Buy Brewery Back from ABInBev
There have been many twists and turns in the history of the craft brewing movement. Without a doubt, one of the most pivotal points along the 40-plus year timeline was when the large global breweries began buying up independent craft breweries in earnest in the early 2010’s. Those of us in the industry wondered where it would lead. Today, maybe we have a hint; the original owners of a brewery that was acquired by ABInBev announced that they have bought the brewery back. Beginning of a trend?
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News Nevada Craft Brewers Makes Push for Self-Distribution Small Step
In the state of Nevada, where beer wholesalers have deep political connections, self-distribution for small brewers has always been a non-starter. But craft breweries in the state are making a push for a small step forward in a bill that would allow craft breweries to move beer that is brewed at one location to their own off-site taprooms or tasting rooms without having to first sell it to a distributor.
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News Spirits Pass Beer in Supplier Sales Market Share for First Time
Distilled spirits market share in the U.S. has surpassed beer for the first time, growing supplier sales market share for the 13th straight year up to 42.1%. The growth puts spirits just slightly ahead of beer at the end of 2022, with beer posting a market share of 41.9%.
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News What Does 2023 Hold for Hard Seltzer
Hard seltzer exploded out the gate. Sales grew triple digits in both 2019 and 2020, driven by evolving consumer trends and tastes. Many in the industry predicted a slower, but still robust growth in 2021 of 50-80%. Instead, hard seltzers grew by only 16% in 2021.
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News Will the ‘Paradox of Choice’ Require Craft Beer to Simplify?
A long-running study of Americans’ attitudes, values and purchasing behavior has shown that a new consumer trend may be emerging: a newfound desire for simplicity and simplified choices. This may not bode well for the craft beer segment, and some industry analysists are pointing to it as a root cause for the sluggish performance of craft beer coming out of the pandemic.
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News Non and Low Alcohol Category Shows Big Gains in 2022 – Growth Expected to Continue
Driven by increasing consumer demand, no-alcohol and low-alcohol beer, cider, wine, spirits, and ready-to-drink (RTD) products grew by more than +7% in volume across 10 key global markets in 2022, according to a comprehensive new study published by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. The category is expected to increase by a third by 2026, spearheaded by growth of non-alcohol products.
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News BA Releases ‘Year in Beer 2022’ Report with Mixed Signs of Recovery
The Brewers Association today released their “Year in Beer 2022” report, a look back at a year “marked by overall growth but lots of variation.” While there were 200+ breweries that closed during the year, over 550 new breweries have opened, adding to the over 9,000 already operating. But the report also identified a number of challenges for craft brewers in the year ahead, indicating that the headwinds are far from over.
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News How the Economy and Consumer Habits will Impact the Beer Industry
In a rough and tumble economy, with ballooning inflation and fears of a looming recession, one of the most important indicators of where the beer industry might be headed is how beer drinkers feel about the economy, as measured by the Consumer Sentiment index published regularly by the University of Michigan. According to an analysis by beverage industry consulting firm First Key, this metric is highly predictive of certain beer-buying behaviors, and it’s currently at its lowest level since it was first measured in 1952.
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News The Future of Hard Seltzer
Posted by Tom McCormick
Don’t count out hard seltzers, at least according to one industry consulting firm. Although hard seltzers have generally gone through a rather quick boom/bust cycle, the category is forecast to grow globally at a compound annual growth rate of 8.2% up until 2028.
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