After nearly 30 years, New Belgium wood cellar director and blender Lauren Woods Limbach is preparing to leave the foeder forest. Limbach caught up with managing editor Jess Infante to discuss the 28-year career she built introducing American craft drinkers to wood-aged sours.

In addition to the farewell to Lauren, today’s Brewbound.com coverage for Insiders includes:

• Cigar City’s Tampa taproom shuffle plans;
• Molson Coors CEO Rahul Goyal’s first remarks at Beer Institute board chairman;
• And NIQ’s report on projected Thanksgiving spending.

In today’s Brewbound Insiders Newsletter, Insiders are also reading about:

• Layoffs at Constellation Brands’ Rochester, NY HQ; 
• Monster’s mixed Q3 results;
• A new light lager entrant from a beloved New England grocery chain;
• And the return of limited-edition Rainier Jubilee cans.

Insiders also have access to the Brewbound Newsletter Archive, including previous newsletter-exclusive Insider content.

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Lauren Woods Limbach started at New Belgium as an assistant to the brewery's co-founders in 1996 and the rest is “an incredible fairy tale, wild ride, with some of the hardest work and the best people on Earth,” she said in an Instagram video last week announcing her upcoming retirement. 

In 28 years at New Belgium, Limbach accomplished an astonishing amount. She established the Fort Collins, CO-headquartered brewery’s sensory program after earning a certificate in an early cohort of U.C. Davis’ sensory science training. 

Limbach told Brewbound: “I had fun every day. My job never, ever just became a job. I never had a job description.” 

Insiders can read more about Limbach’s tenure, her philosophy on consumer interests and the 3-tier system and the absolute doozy she selected as her career’s final beer.

Cigar City Brewing (CCB) will shutter its taproom and facility on Tampa’s Spruce Street next year when its lease ends and move into the Ybor City space currently occupied by Cigar City Cider & Mead, parent company Monster Brewing announced Thursday.

Insiders can read more about Monster’s consolidation of production facilities and taprooms and Cigar City’s latest scan data. 

Molson Coors president and CEO Rahul Goyal has plenty on his plate in his first month in the top spot, having taken over for Gavin Hattersley in October, but he’s added 1 more responsibility to his list: Beer Institute (BI) board chairman. 

The trade group’s board approved Goyal as board chair Wednesday morning, filling yet another vacancy left by Hattersley’s retirement. In his first address as board chairman, Goyal assured members that he is committed to promoting beer and its interests, including spreading the message of beer as the beverage of moderation, fighting for tighter intoxicating hemp regulations and protecting tax benefits.

Insiders can read more, including Goyal’s statements on intoxicating hemp and additional remarks from BI prexy Brian Crawford.

Bev-alc “is on the chopping block” for consumers this Thanksgiving, with more than ⅓ of consumers planning to not purchase alcoholic beverages at all, according to market research firm NIQ.

36% of consumers don’t plan to purchase bev-alc at all for Thanksgiving, NIQ reported. 

Insiders can go deeper into NIQ’s Thanksgiving findings, including GLP-1 users’ impact.  

High Rise Beverage co-founder Matt Skinner has built a coastal-themed brand in the Southeast but his ambitions extend across the nation. 

The Charleston, South Carolina-headquartered intoxicating hemp beverage brand is now available in 22 states, and Skinner sees an opportunity to go even bigger.

“We’re in the space of being a nationwide brand at this point,” he says on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, recorded in October at the National Beer Wholesalers Association’s Annual Convention in Las Vegas. 

“Having those partnerships and getting in with the right distributors now is important. They’re finding who they feel like their horses are in the category, and I think we are aligning across the country with that.”  

Before the interview, Justin and Zoe discuss the latest news, such as New Belgium’s packed new product slate for 2026, including new Voodoo Ranger IPAs and a canned cocktail offshoot, as well as Molson Coors’ tough Q3 earnings report.

Listen here. 

It’s time to reveal the finalists for the Brewbound Live Pitch Slam, our business pitch competition for beer and beverage-alcohol brands. They will compete during Brewbound Live 2025, taking place on December 10 + 11 in L.A.

The lines between beverage-alcohol and adult beverages continue to blur, and this year’s Brewbound Live Pitch Slam finalists are at the forefront of that evolution. These brands represent the future of innovation across beer, functional drinks, THC-infused products, sake, and beyond.

Learn more about who will be pitching on the Brewbound Live Stage!

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