The Brewers Association’s biennial Salary and Benefits Benchmarking Report returned last month, displaying how craft brewers’ employee needs and costs shifted between 2022 and 2024. The latest report includes information on 67 jobs, gathered from 92 breweries. 

Brewbound senior reporter Zoe Licata compiled some of the data on senior- and entry-level positions across fields. Insiders are diving into the numbers, including stats for head brewers, key accounts managers, warehouse managers, sales reps, bartenders and more. 

In today’s Brewbound Insider Newsletter and on Brewbound.com, Insiders are also reading about:

• Spirits brands’ new reliance on CPG’s marketing playbook (and why they may need to pivot away from it); 
• RTDs’ positive off-premise trends thru mid-November, in spite of total bev-alc’s declines;
• Tilray’s reverse stock split and new shareholder goals;
• And a familiar face returning to the middle tier via Sunset Distributing.

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Consumers aren’t choosing lighter drinks to compromise — they’re choosing them to trade up. VIVID owns that shift with full-flavor, low ABV ciders built for the modern palate and a premium lifestyle. This holiday, “Merry and Bright” isn’t just a vibe — it’s the new roadmap for better-for-you beverage growth. Learn more

The Brewers Association’s (BA) biennial Salary and Benefits Benchmarking Report is back, with wage and responsibility information representing more than 7,000 employees across the craft brewing industry. 

The BA surveyed 92 small and independent breweries, gathering information on 67 jobs.

We gather highlights from the report, encapsulating both senior- and entry-level positions across marketing, sales, production, distribution and hospitality.

Insiders can dive into the numbers here.

We’re just 9 days away from Brewbound Live (Dec. 10 & 11 in LA), and the room is quickly filling. 

Nearly every corner of beer and beverage-alcohol will be represented, from iconic craft breweries to fast-growing RTD and NA brands.

Join New Belgium, Firestone Walker, Lawson’s Finest, Whole Foods, Breakthru Beverage, Alaskan Brewing Co., Karl Strauss, Garage Beer, TALEA, Blake’s, ExtraMile Convenience and more. 

If you’ve been thinking about attending, now is the time to lock in your spot.

Tilray Brands’ approved reverse stock split is set to take effect Monday afternoon following the close of the market, the company announced last week.

The 1:10 reverse split will reduce the number of shares of common stock of Tilray from 1.16 billion to 116 million. Shareholders approved the move in June, which was necessary to avoid Tilray stock (TLRY) being delisted from Nasdaq because its stock price had fallen below the $1 minimum. 

Insiders can read more about the strategy behind the reverse stock split and find out what CEO Irwin Simon had to say to shareholders about the plan.

Bartenders influence nearly 11,000 drink decisions a year. As the ultimate touchpoint between drinks brands and consumers their advocacy can make a huge difference in achieving trial and trade-ups. Learn how your brand can be the one recommended from behind the bar. Learn more

If you’re a RTD or spirits company taking marketing cues from CPG, you may be doing it wrong.

“A vodka brand that’s just shelf blocking with 1,000 flavors is literally Oreo’s playbook – that’s not building advocacy for your brand – that’s just selling cheap vodka and making sure that you’re blocking your competition,” said Mike Perry, founder and chief creative officer of Brooklyn-based creative agency Tavern, whose client roster includes Fishers Island Lemonade and Crow 86 Whiskey, among others.

Insiders can read more, including spirits brands’ comments on the need for marketing shift.

Spirits- and wine-based RTDs are likely feeling the holiday cheer as they bucked declines across categories for the 2-week period ending November 15, according to analysis of NIQ data from Goldman Sachs Equity Research.

Overall, total bev-alc dollar sales in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels declined 5.9% in the 2-week (2W) period and fell 5.2% in the 4-week period (4W). Meanwhile, RTDs posted growth, led by wine-based offerings (2W dollar sales +29.7%, 4W +31.3%).

Insiders can read other highlights from the latest report, including 2- and 4-week data for spirits, FMBs, hard seltzer, leading spirits-based RTD brands and more.

It’s the last full week before Brewbound Live! While we’re getting the last of our prep reps in, expect the usual news and data reporting both on Brewbound.com and in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter.

This week’s podcast episode features Tomme Arthur, founder of The Lost Abbey (San Marcos, CA), who discussed his brewery’s updates with Justin last month at the CA Craft Beer Summit. Arthur shared why the 10th anniversary is particularly brutal for craft brewers lately, as the milestone tends to align with rent hikes.

Any shower beer is going to have a little bit of shower water in it – it’s unavoidable. But a new offering is putting some in on purpose. 

Devil’s Canyon Brewing has partnered with Epic Cleantec to create Shower Hour IPA, made with recycled shower water. They’ve also used recycled laundry water to make Laundry Club Kolsch. 

Insider’s Week in Beer newsletter writer Sean McNulty dove into the sudsy news and where you can find the purified bevs. He also looked at sobering beer trends in Germany, and how Deutschland may not be so different from the U.S. 

Insiders can catch up on the news (and plenty of GIFs) here.

Smog City Brewing co-founder Laurie Porter is a prepper. Even during craft’s days of double-digit growth in the middle 2010s, Porter, who calls herself “an incurable optimist,” was eyeing a future when that growth wouldn’t be there.

So Porter and her husband, Jonathan Porter, built Smog City (Torrence, CA) with diversified revenue streams – distribution, exports to international markets, four taprooms with over-the-bar sales and an intentional cap on production around 10,000 barrels – that allow the company to shore up its business if things go sideways. 

“At our level, between the 5,000 and 12,000, 13,000 barrel, a lot of our revenue is built off the taproom, direct-to-consumer, which has a little bit higher profit margin, it helps us float that wholesale. So if wholesale is struggling or we’re seeing dips and changes in seasons and customer changes, we have a little bit more buffer,” Porter said on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, recorded on location at the California Craft Beer Summit.

Listen to the full interview, which includes discussion on consumers heading back to taprooms, the impending closure of the Steelcraft Long Beach facility and opening of a new restaurant. Plus, the Brewbound team’s take on the Siebel Institute of Technology leaving Chicago, Athletic’s big 2025 and 2026 plans, and A-B’s rumored acquisition of BeatBox.

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Interested in other beverage coverage? 👀 Check out the BevNET Daily Briefing covering the broader beverage industry, including energy drinks, cannabis and other non-alcoholic beverages. Want to stick to the hard stuff? Subscribe to our Spirits Newsletter (published every 2 weeks). 

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