Category: Beverage Industry News
- Business of Beer 773
- Commentary 159
- Crisis Response 190
News Cannabis Cafes Legalized in California
It was only a matter of time. Consumers in California will have another option in how they spend their social time out come 2024. The state legislature has passed a bill that will allow cannabis dispensaries to prepare and serve food and non-alcoholic drinks on-site, opening the door to cannabis cafes across the state. The measure is on the desk of Governor Gavin Newson where it is expected to be signed.
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News Anchor Brewing Employees Continue Effort to Buy Brewery
Employees of the shuttered Anchor Brewing Company have raised over $90,000 and are moving on to the next step of buying back the brewery as an employee-owned co-op. The initial funds will go in part to pay for legal assistance as the groups looks to attrack outside investors.
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News Ohio Craft Brewers Introduce Franchise Reform Legislation
After attempts to negotiate a deal with Ohio beer wholesalers, the Ohio Craft Brewers Association has introduced legislation to reform strict franchise laws in the state. The bill would exempt beer manufacturers that produce less than 250,000 barrels of beer a year from the Ohio Alcohol Franchise Law.
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News Beer Takes Another Tumble in July – Domestic Shipments Down 8.4%
The Beer Institute published their estimate of domestic tax paid beer shipments by brewers for July 2023 which showed a 8.4% decline versus the same month last year. Domestic shipments are now down 6.8% for the year through July compared to last year.
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News BA Now Accepting Speaker Proposals for Educational Seminars at CBC 2024
The Brewers Association accepting proposals for educational seminars and researcher presentations at the 2024 Craft Brewers Conference. The 2024 CBC will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sunday, April 21 through Wednesday, April 24.
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News BA to Offer New Online Training Center for Brewing Professionals
The Brewers Association (BA) has launched a new online training center to support training and development needs for industry professionals. The training center features online courses that can be completed in short sessions via a computer, tablet, or mobile device. The BA will be rolling out new content and feature releases over the next year, including training modules on beer quality management, beer ingredients, and human resources.
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News Brewery Creates First Commercial Beer Using All Unmalted Barley
Cool Cousin Brewing in New York had made a beer entirely from unmalted barley, instead creating wort by adding an exogenous enzyme cocktail in the mash. The process is ostensibly to save water and carbon dioxide in the brewing process.
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News Possible Government & TTB Shutdown Could Impact Brewers
With Congress back in business after the summer recess, they now have until Sept. 30th to pass the 2024 fiscal year budget. Although Congress could enact a short-term budget to keep the government open until negotiations are complete, it is not a certainty, and brewers should prepare for a possible shutdown of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) non-essential services such as label approvals, formula approvals and brewers’ notices.
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News Craft Maltsters Guild to Hold 2024 Conference in Davis, Calif. – Seeking Speaker Proposals
The Craft Maltsters Guild has selected the University of California Davis Conference Center in Northern California as the location for the 2024 Craft Malt Conference that will be held on February 23 and 24, 2024.
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News Sales of Spirits Fall by 4.2% in First Half of 2023
A report from the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) shows that sales of spirits in the US fell by 4.2% during the first six months of 2023. Sales of premium spirits took the biggest hit with products over $100 per bottle falling by two digits.
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News Falconer Foundation Offering Full Scholarship to ABG Education Program
The Falconer Foundation is offering a full-tuition scholarship to the American Brewers Guild’s Intensive Brewing Science & Engineering program, a 22-week distance education program with a final week of residential instruction. The course is designed for brewers and homebrewers who lack formal training in brewing science and covers all the fundamentals of beer production and quality assurance.
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News Non-Alcohol Beer Booms in Germany
Non-alcoholic beer sales in Germany have boomed in recent years, where beer consumption per capita is the fourth highest in the world. The volume of non-alcoholic beer produced in Germany has almost doubled over the past 10 years, showing that the trend for non-alcoholic beer popularity is not limited to the US.
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News Bud Light Sales Continue to Fall as Modelo Extends Lead as #1 Beer in U.S.
It seems like it will never end. In a consumer boycott that has extended far beyond anyone’s expectations, sales of Bud Light continue to fall over the summer months, allowing Modelo Especial to widens its lead as the top selling beer in America. The Mexican beer now accounts for 8.4% of beer sales in off-premise stores year-to-date through Aug. 19, compared to 8.2% for Bud Light.
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News Craft Beer Makes Encouraging Rebound in August NBWA BPI
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) released the Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) for August 2023 which shows craft beer at 42 which is 14 points above the August 2022 reading of 28. The trend may indicate that the segment has bottomed out and could see higher levels of ordering in the future.
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News Seven Calif. Beer Distributors Join Forces to Create Statewide Network
As in many states, trying to piece together a network of regional beer distributors in California to cover the entire state is extremely difficult. But seven independent beer wholesalers have developed a novel idea of banding together to offer a shared distribution network called California Beverage Solution.
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News Garrett Marrero and Maui Brewing Step Up to Support Local Community – You Can Help
Garrett Marrero, CEO and co-founder of Craft ‘Ohana (Maui Brewing/Modern Times) in Kihei, Hawaii has been working non-stop since the devastating Maui fires to help the local community, another shining example of how craft breweries can make a significant impact in times of need. The following is an update from Garret and how you can help the Maui Brewing team support their employees and local community.
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News Beer Continues to Slip but Remains Top Alcoholic Beverage
Beer continues to be the number one alcoholic beverage among American consumers over spirits and wine with 37% saying beer is their preferred drink with 31% choosing spirits and 29% choosing wine. But the numbers continue to slide downward for beer, with nearly 50% of consumers choosing beer as their preferred drink over wine and spirits 20 years ago.
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News Maui Brewing Initiates ‘Kokua Project’ to Help Victims of Fire
The craft brewing industry has always inspired its community to help others in times of need. There are hundreds of examples of craft breweries who have raised funds to support local causes. Garret Marrero, CEO and co-founder of Craft ‘Ohana (Maui Brewing/Modern Times) in Kihei, Hawaii and chair of the Brewers Association board of directors, has created the Kokua project to support the ongoing needs of the people affected by the tragic fires that took place last week on the island of Maui.
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News Craft Beer Down 2% Mid-Year – Number of Breweries Continues to Increase
The Brewers Association (BA) mid-year look at the numbers shows that BA defined craft breweries are down 2% through the first half of 2023, the first decline of the industry since the BA began tracking numbers, with the exception of the pandemic year 2020.
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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 Tilray Jumps Deeper into Cannabis Drinks
Posted by Tom McCormick
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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