Brewbound Insiders are getting details on Sierra Nevada’s 2025 innovation plans, including new non-alcoholic beer offerings, and a sneak peak at the company’s return to the craft lager space. 

Insiders are also:

• Learning about the sale of two wholly owned Anheuser-Busch distribution branches;
• Diving into Oregon hop production data;
• And checking out what Zoe was drinking during her island vacation.

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

Become a Brewbound Insider today!

Or, be in the know on all food and beverage news from Brewbound, BevNET and NOSH with Insider All Access.

While many annual business plans over the next couple months will likely include fourth-category innovations, Sierra Nevada is focused on continuing to innovate with “beer-flavored beer.”

Sierra Nevada leadership shared their plans with wholesalers Wednesday at its brewery in Mills River, North Carolina. The company’s top three priorities for 2025 include continuing the growth of Hazy Little Thing, revitalizing Pale Ale and strengthening the company’s non-alcoholic portfolio.

Hazy Little Thing continues to lead growth for Sierra Nevada, and will remain a top priority for the company in 2025 (more on that in future coverage). However, Sierra Nevada does not want to limit its hazy offerings, and believes in the style’s ability to bring in more consumers, VP of marketing Lesley Albright told wholesaler partners. 

Albright said: “While this category often seems a little old news to us in the industry – of course there are hazies everywhere – we are really confident, and we hear from consumers that there's still a lot of people coming into this style, a lot of people still trying it, and it has a large effect on our entire portfolio.”

A new limited hazy offering will join Sierra Nevada’s Little Thing brand family in 2025: Rad Little Thing. 

Insiders can read more, including details on new non-alcoholic beer offerings and a craft lager play.

Look out for further coverage of the event, including Sierra Nevada’s 2025 goals and why the company still believes in investing in craft. 

Beverage makers have new pressure to decarbonize their supply chain, requiring innovation. To lower costs and decarbonize supply, tea, coffee, lemonade, soft drink, and alcoholic beverage makers have switched to Sugaright’s liquid cane sugar. Learn more about our sugar & new fermentability study. Learn more

Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) has reached agreements to sell wholly owned distributor branches in Massachusetts and Ohio to independent A-B distributors in each state, the company announced today.

Quality Beverage will acquire the Boston, Massachusetts-based branch, and Columbus Distributing will acquire the Canton, Ohio-based branch, according to a press release.

Insiders can read more about A-B’s deal activity within its wholly owned network, both in selling and acquiring.

Beverage-alcohol’s growing “fourth category” of flavor-first offerings are quickly becoming a “mega category,” NIQ VP of alcohol industry thought leadership Jon Berg shared on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast. 

Berg explains how the collective of ready-to-drink offerings such as flavored malt beverages, canned cocktails, hard seltzers and other flavor-forward offerings have shifted the fortunes of bev-alc for the year, while the best case scenario for beer, wine and spirits is likely a flat year. He also dishes on the tension between value and volume, slumping craft sales, channel outlooks and brand life cycles.

Plus, Zoe is back with a beer report from the Bahamas. She and Justin discuss their travel schedules, the decline in attendance for this year’s Craft Brewers Conference and Monster’s bev-alc struggles. 

Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform. 

At Brewbound Live in Marina del Rey on December 11 + 12, beer and beverage-alcohol companies can participate in retailer One-to-One meetings with ExtraMile Convenience. The buyer will be available for private, pre-scheduled meetings, and brands will be selected at the retailer’s discretion.

ExtraMile Convenience is a successful, industry-recognized c-store brand with more than 1,000 franchised convenience stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Alabama, and Mississippi. The growing ExtraMile network leverages experience and efficiency of scale to deliver “extra” value.

Meet with Michelle Abdollah, the Category Manager of Alcoholic Beverages, during Brewbound Live. Michelle is a seasoned retail expert with over 15 years of experience in merchandising and operations. With a proven track record of driving growth and profitability, Michelle has honed her skills through various leadership roles at 7-Eleven and Target. Her expertise has earned her recognition as one of the Top Women In Convenience by Convenience Store News in 2024.

Beer and beverage-alcohol professionals attending Brewbound Live can also meet with Whole Foods beer category buyers, with additional retailers to be added soon!

You must be registered for Brewbound Live to be considered for a retailer meeting. Once you register for the event, you will receive an email with instructions for signing up.

Register for Brewbound Live 2024.