Sierra Nevada leaders revealed their 2026 plans to wholesalers last week. Those plans include a focus on its core brands – Hazy Little Thing, Pale Ale, NA offerings and Pils – but also several new offerings. 

Brewbound editor Justin Kendall recaps the new brand plans, including a West Coast IPA, spring seasonal IPA and more. Insiders are getting the scoop in today’s edition of the Brewbound Insider Newsletter, as well as at Brewbound.com.

Insiders are also reading about:

• New ownership at major contract manufacturer City Brewing;
• A bill that could legalize intoxicating hemp beverages;
• And Tilray avoiding getting delisted on the Nasdaq.

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Sierra Nevada’s 2026 strategy revolves around a “core 4” philosophy involving its top brands, while supplementing its flagships with strategic additions, leaders of the Chico, CA-headquartered craft brewery shared last week during a virtual distributor presentation. 

The pillars of that strategy include:

• Hazy Little Thing, which is chasing an eighth consecutive year of growth;
• Pale Ale, a 45-year-old legacy brand the company is committed to returning to growth;
• A fast-growing NA portfolio of Trail Pass NA beer and Hop Splash sparkling hop water;
• And Pils, which started earlier this year as a draft-only release and is now rolling out package to off-premise retailers in 22 states. 

Sierra Nevada leaders shared plans for those brands and the company’s trends through the halfway point of 2025. They also revealed a handful of new offerings aimed at engaging new drinkers. 

Insiders can go deeper into Sierra Nevada’s plans, including a new West Coast IPA, spring seasonal, Hazy rotator, NA additions and more IPAs.

Kevin McGee used his law degree more than he expected when his family took over legacy CA craft brewery Anderson Valley Brewing Company (AVBC), including in legal battles over distribution rights. 

Now that the family has sold the brewery, a move announced in March, McGee is putting his degree to use full time. 

On the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, McGee recounts recent franchise law cases and victories in the Golden State and shares his expectations for more challenges to craft brewers’ ability to switch distributors in the future. 

McGee, who acted as AVBC’s president and CEO, also shares when he and his family knew it was the right time to sell the brewery. He explains what brewery owners thinking about selling need to consider, how they should prepare and what the current buyer market looks like.

Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

City Brewing & Beverage has completed a transfer of control to a new ownership group made up of some of the multistate contract manufacturer’s existing lenders.

The move has been in the works for several months as City has attempted to fix its financial situation. Terms of the deal and names of the involved financial partners were not disclosed. 

The ownership change has allowed City to reduce its debts, lower annual cash interest costs and secure new capital, according to a press release.

Insiders can read more, including details on the company’s new board of directors and what led to the ownership change.

This week, we got an early look at a draft copy of a federal bill sponsored by long-time CBD and hemp advocate Rep. Morgan Griffith – serving VA’s 9th district in his 8th term – which lays the early groundwork for legislation to federally legalize intoxicating hemp products. 

The legislation would put guardrails around consumable hemp products, including intoxicating hemp-derived THC offerings, while allowing hemp food and beverages to be sold to individuals 21 and older.

Insiders can read more here. 

Craft’s off-premise performance over the last 4 weeks has been a tale of 2 channels. 

Craft’s struggles this year have come in its largest channel, grocery, where dollar sales have declined 6.7%, to $1.44 billion, and volume has fallen 7.9% YTD through August 10, according to data shared by market research firm Circana. 

The convenience channel has been more forgiving to craft, with dollar sales down 0.8% and volume declining 2.8% YTD.

Insiders can go deeper into the numbers, including a look at four-week figures, details on craft brands posting double-digit growth over the last month and an update on craft’s pricing.

Brewbound Live, our annual business conference for beverage-alcohol professionals returns to Marina del Rey, California, on December 10 and 11.

Tickets are available now for the 2-day gathering of founders, entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, retailers, distributors and suppliers from across the industry. The event will include on-stage conversations with industry leaders, networking and pre-arranged one-to-one conversations with retailers and distributors.

Brewbound is excited to announce the following speakers for the event:

• Sophia D’Angelo, founder and CEO, Boston Experiential Group;
• Kaleigh Theriault, director of bev-alc thought leadership, NIQ;
• Andrew Hummel, director bev-alc vertical, CGA;
• Rosalie Kennedy, director of marketing, Athletic Brewing;
• Sam Hendler, co-founder and CEO, Hendler Family Brewing Company;
• Bourcard Nesin, analyst – beverages, Rabobank;
• Jon Halper, owner and CEO, Top Ten Liquors;
• Nick Firestone, CEO, Firestone Walker.

Conversations will cover the state of the bev-alc market, creating experiences and consumer connections across generations, the growth of the intoxicating hemp beverage market, strategies for platform building and much more.

Bev-alc companies will also have the opportunity to book one-to-one conversations with Whole Foods Market, Breakthru Beverage California and California Beverage Solution members Sunset Distributing and Heimark Distributing. 

Additional retailers, wholesalers and speakers will be added in the coming weeks. If you’re interested in speaking at this year’s event, send your pitch to news@brewbound.com.

Register for Brewbound Live LA 2025 >>

Brewbound Live is presented by Powered by Sorse, Fast Track Packaging, Strike Visuals, John I. Haas, Can-One, and Tripleseat Software LLC. Sponsorship opportunities are still available for those seeking to elevate their presence beyond participation.

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