The craft brewery collective trend isn’t going away anytime soon. The latest alliance is between Four Corners Brewing in Dallas and Coop Ale Works in OKC. 

Brewbound first reported the formation of the Frontier Beverage Collective, which was announced to distributors on April 1. In Today’s Top Story and at Brewbound.com, Insiders are getting the scoop on the new partnership, including who is tasked with leading the new collective.

Insiders are also reading about:

• The potential fallout for small producers if Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard do merge;
• Positive shipment news from February (albeit on the easiest of comps);
• BeerBoard’s Week 2 on-premise March Madness report;
• Molson Coors’ completion of its Atomic Brands/Monaco deal;
• Millstream Brewing’s beyond beer acquisition; 
• Bart Watson’s breakdown of Section 232 tariff updates;
• And Wormtown’s newly renovated taproom.

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Dallas-based Four Corners Brewing Company and OKC-based Coop Ale Works “have combined operations” in a “strategic merger” to create the Frontier Beverage Collective, according to an April 1 note shared with distributor partners and obtained by Brewbound. 

The note said the “change is effective immediately.”

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Start your CBC week with the Brewbound team and industry peers at Love City Brewing.

We are excited to host a networking happy hour from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, April 19, at Love City’s Callowhill taproom, a short walk from the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

The event offers an opportunity for brewers, leaders, suppliers and other industry professionals to connect ahead of a busy week of educational sessions and visits to the trade show.

During the gathering, Brewers of Pennsylvania executive director Hannah Ison will share insights from the guild’s efforts to support and advocate for Keystone State craft brewers this year.

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Craft was the only segment to lose share of volume and dollar sales across all 4 tracked regions during Week 2 of March Madness, according to on-premise data firm BeerBoard.

For its 2nd tournament report, BeerBoard focused on share trends across segment, style and brand during the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds (March 26-29). Across 4 geographic regions (Northeast, South, Midwest and West), domestic beer gained share of volume and dollars, while craft lost share of both in all four regions. Imports and beyond beer posted more mixed results.

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U.S. beer shipments did a 180 in February, increasing 0.2% YoY after a 1 million barrel loss in January, according to the latest report from the Beer Institute (BI). 

February domestic tax paids topped 10.3 million barrels, marking an increase of nearly 20,000 barrels compared to February 2025. The growth follows a 9.5% YoY decline in January, to 9.6 million barrels.

It's worth noting that February 2025 recorded the largest YoY declines in shipments last year, so the latest data is cycling easy comps.

Dive deeper

When 2 spirits giants merge, what does that mean for smaller, independent suppliers?

Pernod Ricard and Brown-Forman confirmed last week that they are in merger talks – possibly transforming into a $30 billion behemoth with a portfolio spanning brands such as Jack Daniel’s, Jameson and Absolut Vodka.

Wall Street appears divided on the likelihood of a deal, but a merger between the world’s 2nd-largest spirits company and the top U.S. whiskey supplier could create more barriers to capital and markets for independent suppliers.

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In the wake of major middle-tier shakeups that will see the largest distributors getting even bigger and major manufacturers adding brands to their portfolios, Fingers newsletter author Dave Infante joins the Brewbound Podcast to recap a wild couple of weeks in the bev-alc industry.

The Brewbound team and Infante cover recent distributor consolidations by the Reyes Beverage Group and Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits and whether this signals a new era of mega distributors. They also discuss the effect on small producers, especially brewers who are now competing with a variety of products outside of traditional beer in their wholesalers’ books.

The crew also dissect recent brand acquisitions among suppliers, including Firestone Walker’s Trumer Pils pick up in the U.S. from Gambrinus and the potential fallout; Constellation Brands’ deal for HOPWTR; Molson Coors’ addition of Monaco; Pernod Ricard and Brown Forman’s flirtation; and Phusion Project’s purported interest in selling Four Loko. 

The show wraps with a discussion of the upcoming Craft Brewers Conference and why everyone will be vibe-checking attendees later this month.

Listen here

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