Boston Beer’s continued volume declines did not entirely sully the company’s feelings about 2025, the company shared yesterday during its FY25 earnings call. 

In today’s Brewbound Insider Newsletter and on Brewbound.com, Insiders are reading highlights from the call, including why founder and CEO Jim Koch is optimistic for the year ahead for both the company and total beer. Plus, Insiders are diving into Boston Beer’s full Q4 and FY25 results, including gross margin, brand performances and marketing spend. 

Insiders are also reading about:

• The CHEERS Act’s  return;

• Adult non-alc brands’ success in alternative spaces;

• Michelob Ultra Zero’s fast-rise;

• The pushback against alcohol taxes in Colorado;

• And Tröeg's new year-round stout.
  

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FY25 marked Boston Beer Company’s 4th consecutive year of shipments and depletions declines. But leadership’s remarks during Tuesday’s earnings call with investors and analysts were anything but negative.

That positive tone was due to gross margin improvements, which the company delivered “faster than we expected in this difficult operating environment,” Boston Beer founder and CEO Jim Koch shared in his opening remarks.

Despite this optimism, Boston Beer continues to tackle volume loss. However, the company’s and overall beer’s downward trends have "clearly gotten better” to start the new year and “the improvement is certainly welcome,” Koch said.

Koch also shared 2025 brand performances and 2026 plans. Learn more

Or, dive deeper into Boston Beer’s Q4 and FY25 results

From yoga studios to luxury fashion houses to corporate campuses, a diverse ecosystem of alternative channels has quietly emerged as a small but meaningful growth opportunity for adult NA (ANA) drinks – and mostly through organic discovery.

“The alternate channels haven't been an outbound motion for us, it's all been inbound. It's certainly one that has grown almost without us noticing,” Brianda Gonzalez, founder and CEO of The New Bar, a L.A.-based ANA retailer and curator, said.

Alternative channel opportunities can be categorized into roughly 5 categories, according to Gonzalez.

Keep reading

The CHEERS Act is back for another round in Congress.  

The CHEERS Act was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on February 20. The bipartisan legislation would provide a tax incentive to bars, restaurants and entertainment venues to invest in energy-efficient draft systems by amending IRS code. 

Keep reading

Michelob Ultra Zero is now the No. 1 NA beer brand by volume in off-premise scans tracked by Circana (12-week period ending February 8), Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) shared this week.

The brand still trails Heineken 0.0 in dollar sales.

Keep reading

Go Deeper: Is the Dry January Boost Drying Up? NA Beer’s Share Gains Slow as BWC Flags ‘Signs of Saturation’

Drake’s Brewing and Figueroa Mountain Brewing have formed a joint venture known as West Coast Craft (WCC), the companies announced last week. 

In addition to Drake’s and Figueroa Mountain, the JV will include Bear Republic, which Drake’s acquired in 2023, and lager brand House Beer, which is part of Figueroa Mountain.

WCC brands will retain their independence in “marketing, branding and innovation,” and “there is no change in ownership” per the announcement. 

Keep reading

The Brewbound team is heading to the New England Craft Brew Summit (Friday, March 6) in Portland, ME. We’ll be on the ground covering the latest news and conversations coming out of the event, as well as recording Brewbound Podcast On Location interviews.

Here are a few ways to connect with us:

1. Stop by Booth #3: Watch a podcast recording, grab a T-shirt and chat with the team.

2. Share your news: Have updates from your brewery? We’d love to hear from you.

3. Reach out to meet: Email us at podcast@brewbound.com if you want to catch up in Portland.

See you there!

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