The summer of 2025 is shaping up to be the most unpredictable that Columbia Distributing CEO Chris Steffanci has ever seen. 

Steffanci spoke with Brewbound editor Justin Kendall about the trends that are heating up in the Pacific Northwest, including an on-premise comeback, White Claw growth and craft building momentum. Brewbound Insiders are getting all of the details. 

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

• Reading why Brooklyn Brewery is doubling down for Pride month;
• Finding out about the sale of one of Rhode Island’s oldest brewpubs;
• Diving into consumers’ July 4 plans; 
• Taking a look at Rogue’s entry into intoxicating hemp;
• And watching Four Loko’s introduction of resealable tetra packs.

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

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This summer is shaping up to be one of the most unpredictable seasons that Columbia Distributing CEO Chris Steffanci has ever experienced.

Steffanci told Brewbound: “We're not sure how the consumer is going to react. And because we had a soft May, and now we're having a really good June, the predictability, forecasting has never been worse.”

The tumult is due in part to national trends as Hispanic consumers are under pressure from the Trump administration’s immigration policies, consumer sentiment being on a roller coaster of tariffs and inflation and a Memorial Day weekend that proved to be a bust for bev-alc sales. 

He added: “Memorial Day, we had great execution, we had tons of beer on the floor, but the pull was less than stellar. If you looked a couple weeks after, [we] still had big displays on the floor.”

The “good news is June’s starting to look a lot better,” with an assist from nice weather in the Pacific Northwest, an anomaly this early in the year, he continued. Helping build that confidence is a bounceback for the on-premise in WA and OR, including new accounts coming online in Seattle and Portland. 

Become an Insider to read the full Q&A.

Have updates from your market to share? We want to hear from you. Reach out to news@brewbound.com. 

When several companies walked back their support for underrepresented groups and canceled diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Brooklyn Brewery got even louder in its long-time support of the LGBTQ+ community. 

The New York City-based craft brewery is redoubling its efforts to support LGBTQ+ New Yorkers, who will celebrate during the city’s annual Pride march on Sunday, June 29. 

In this week’s edition of A Round With –  our Q&A with industry leaders conducted exclusively for Brewbound Insiders – Brooklyn president and CEO Robin Ottaway explains why 2025 is “the moment to step up.”

Insiders can read the full conversation, which features Robin’s thoughts on maintaining Brooklyn’s culture and growing its Special Effects NA brand family amid the NA segment boom.

Independence Day (July 4) celebrations may be slightly more subdued this year compared to 2024, but could lean more positively toward the on-premise, according to survey results from Numerator and CGA.

Numerator surveyed 5,900 consumers about their summer holiday plans. Of those respondents, 70% plan to celebrate the Fourth of July, down from 73% in Numerator’s 2024 survey. 

CGA – the on-premise arm of market research firm NIQ – also shared a preview of consumers’ July 4 plans ahead of next week’s holiday, showing slightly improved trends compared to 2024. 

Insiders can dive further into both survey results here.

Canned cocktail company Tip Top Proper Cocktails has named chief sales officer Nick Reely as its new CEO, effective July 1.

 Co-founder and CEO Yoni Reisman will step away from day-to-day operations and move into the newly founded board as its chairman.

Insiders can learn more about the move. 

With RNDC winding down distribution operations in California ahead of September 1 exit and consolidation continuing among craft wholesalers, this week’s Brewbound Podcast explores the fallout of both in the Golden State.

Ferron Salniker, BevNET spirits editor, and Dave Infante, founder of the Fingers boozeletter, join Brewbound’s Justin Kendall and Jessica Infante to look back on how one of the top distributors in the country’s California business crumbled, the effect on smaller bev-alc producers in RNDC’s book and the trickle-down effect on craft brewers.

They also explore multistate distributor Hand Family Companies' entry into the state through the acquisitions of three craft-focused wholesalers – Stone Distributing, Classic Beverage and Scout Distribution in Los Angeles – and the formation of Sunset Distributing. 

Plus, Brewbound senior reporter Zoe Licata and Justin chat about her recent feature on the hard refresher trend and Gen Z’s aversion to carbonated beverages. 

Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform.