Beer’s off-premise St. Patrick’s Day performance was as lackluster as the on-premise, according to the latest weekly scans report from market research firm Circana. 

Brewbound managing editor Jess Infante dove into the numbers for Brewbound Insiders, including a -4% decline in off-premise dollar sales versus 2024, and what the numbers mean for the weeks ahead. 

In today’s full version of the Brewbound Newsletter, Insiders are also: 

• Diving to a proposed sales tax on beer, wine and hard cider sales in Oregon;
• Reading about Allagash’s big move for baseball season;
• Getting details on Tilray Brands’ stock issues;
• Learning which brewery has a dominating share of the world’s Centennial hop supply;
• And checking out Sierra Nevada’s revamped Big Little Thing IPA. 

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

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2025’s drinking occasions just can’t hold a candle to 2024, it seems.

In the lead up to St. Patrick’s Day (week ending March 16), off-premise bev-alc sales recorded a -3.9% decline YoYyear-over-year (YoY), market research firm Circana reported in its newest batch of weekly data. Holiday shopping delivered a +5% increase week-over-week (WoW).

Circana EVP of bev-alc Scott Scanlon wrote: “We continue to see negativity vs. prior year comps, but as expected, overperformance vs. prior week with help from St. Patrick.”

Dollar sales declined YoY across all mega categories. Spirits were nearly flat at -0.6% YoY, followed by beer (-4.4%) and wine (-5.2%). The ready-to-drink segment – which includes products that fall under beer, wine and spirits – posted modest growth at +0.3% YoY.

Insiders can read more about beer and RTD brand-level performance, including Guinness. 

Winner of Bevnet RTD Showdown. Best-in-class RTD at the SF International Spirits Competition. Beloved by customers of Whole Foods, Costco, and Trader Joe's. Because of this one ingredient. Learn more

Oregon bev-alc consumers may have to open their wallets and pay sales tax for the first time, should proposed amendments to House Bill 3197 pass. 

Amendments proposed by Rep. Tawna Sanchez were made public Tuesday, and would add an up to 8% retail sales tax on purchases of “malt beverages, cider and wine” in the state. 

Brewbound previously reported on a draft of proposed amendments, which was introduced March 3. The official amendments were not made public until yesterday (March 26). 

Insiders can dive deeper into the proposal, as well as comments from groups for and against the amendments and a recap of other recent tax-related moves in the state.

The Brewbound team is hitting the road and heading to the Craft Brewers Conference on April 28 – May 1 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Brewbound trio will be on the ground, covering all the latest news and presentations coming out of the conference, as well as hosting live podcast interviews at the Brewbound booth (#512).

Make sure to stop by our booth #512, where Brewbound will be chatting with brewery founders and owners, beverage entrepreneurs and c-suite leadership across the industry. Whether you’re a business vet or just starting out, we’d love to meet you and hear what’s new.

How to Connect with Us:

• Stop by our booth (#512): We’re excited to set up our Brewbound Podcast studio at BrewExpo America and engage with brewery leaders and industry suppliers. Swing by to meet our team, watch a podcast interview recording, participate in social content, and walk away with a T-shirt.
• Submit your news: Have news or updates from your brewery? Our team is covering the event and would love to hear from you. Submit your news here.
• Contact us to set up a time to chat: Want to schedule time to connect or be part of our coverage? Reach out to us at news@brewbound.com.

Allagash Brewing will celebrate its 30th anniversary this summer, and founder Rob Tod knows where he’ll be and what he’ll be drinking on the brewery’s birthday, July 1 – an Allagash White at the Great Lost Bear, the taphouse that served the first pint of White in Portland, Maine.

Tod tells Brewbound managing editor Jess Infante on the latest episode of the Brewbound Podcast: “I remember it like it was yesterday. That was our very first draftline I shipped eight kegs of Allagash White to Nappi Distributors on June 29, and July 1 I worked at the brewery all day and my plan was to head down to the Bear where I knew it was going on tap at 5 o’clock, and just hang out for a few hours and having a bunch of beers.

“I thought, my work’s going to be done. I’ve spent a year building the brewery. I’ve written this recipe, I’ve brewed the beer. I’m kind of all done.” 

Tod had a pint with the Bear’s owners and was happy with it. He had a second pint and a realization hit him: “I’ve got to get back to work.”

He continued: “I got in my car and I drove right back to the brewery and kept working on whatever I was working on at the time just continuing to build and piece the brewery together. I’ve always felt like the work isn’t done.”

Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.