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🚨 What You're Missing 🚨 |
| | Celebrities and athletes continue to enter the THC-infused beverage space. The latest includes current and former NBA stars Allen Iverson, Al Harrington and Kevin Love. Brewbound Insiders are reading more about the products they’re launching. Plus, Insiders are hearing why Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec is “bullish” on (low-ABV) beer. In today’s Brewbound Insider Newsletter, Insiders are reading about: - Outlaw’s move into Texas;
- The Hemp Beverage Alliance’s preferred way of working with states;
- Lawson’s 8 Trill Initiative collab with Crowns & Hops.
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. |
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| | Sponsored message from Seattle Cider Co. | Sweater weather calls for cider. Seattle Cider’s Pumpkin Spice is crafted with fresh pressed Washington apples, real pumpkin, and a blend of warm spices. Cozy, aromatic, and unmistakably fall, this is how we do pumpkin season in the PNW.
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Today's Top Story |
| | The Brewbound team recaps the 2025 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) and the start of the NBWA’s Annual Convention and trade show, on the latest edition of the Brewbound Podcast, recorded in Las Vegas. Jess and Zoe share their experiences at GABF, including which legacy craft brewery brought the Party Bomb; festivalgoers’ reception for full-strength spirits; the return of timed special pours; mixing Pop Rocks and BeatBox; and the flamboyant embrace of costumes. The conversation shifts to NBWA convention’s first day, including the key theme of wholesaler independence from supplier interference shared by outgoing NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser and board chair Rebecca Maisel. They also discuss the underlying theme of beer as a social lubricant, including untapped events and occasions that could provide a boost to a soft beer category. Then, in this week’s featured interview, Maisel joins Justin to discuss her call for freedom for “undue supplier influence” and why distributors are questioning their supplier relationships. Maisel also dishes about her last ride on the NBWA board after 11 years, why drinkers are distracted and the growth of intoxicating hemp beverages. Listen here or on your preferred podcasting platform. |
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Brewbound Headlines |
| | | The ever-expanding and evolving THC-infused beverage space is getting an injection of star power from current and former NBA players. Viola, the premium cannabis brand founded by former power forward Al Harrington, has partnered with former Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard Allen Iverson and plant-based wellness brand Horticulture to create IVERSON THC-infused craft sodas. Elsewhere, Utah Jazz power forward Kevin Love has joined hemp-infused beverage and functional gummy producer Shift Naturals as an investor. Insiders can go deeper into the story. |
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| | | Low-ABV IPA maker Dad Strength is poised to disrupt the beer category, according to recent investor and Shark Tank star Robert Herjavec. “We just think that Dad Strength is a perfect fit,” Herjavec told NBWA president and CEO Craig Purser during a fireside chat Tuesday at the trade organization's annual convention. Insiders can read more about the investment and why Herjavec believes the beer category is poised to return to "high growth." |
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ICYMI |
| | | As one joint is lit, another one is extinguished. I think that’s how the saying goes. Or at least it loosely works as a metaphor for what we saw over the past week in the ever-busy world of state cannabis regulations: as OH slams the door shut (for the moment) on hemp, CA passed a law attempting to wrangle its market into compliance. The one consistent in all these stories? Nobody is really happy. BevNET editor-in-chief Jeff Klineman and managing editor Martin Caballero dove into the dueling trends and ever-changing legislative landscape. Insiders can read the full report here. |
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Save the Date |
| | How do you create memorable experiences that will attract today’s drinkers and keep them engaged with your brand? Brewbound Live 2025 will explore experiential marketing with case studies from Athletic Brewing Company’s partnership with Boston Experiential Group. Athletic director of marketing Rosalie Kennedy and Boston Experiential Group founder and CEO Sophia D’Angelo will share how their work together has helped the dedicated non-alcoholic beer maker form stronger bonds with its consumers through key activations. Brewbound Live 2025 is the business conference for beverage-alcohol professionals, featuring on-stage strategy sessions with industry leaders, dedicated networking breaks and pre-arranged 1:1 conversations with retailers and distributors. The event will take place December 10 and 11 at the Marina del Rey Marriott. Tickets are available now for the gathering of founders, entrepreneurs, sales leaders, marketers, c-suite executives, retailers, distributors and suppliers from across the industry. |
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👋 That's all for today's Brewbound Newsletter |
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