No one is immune to the beer industry’s weakened 2025 expectations, according to distributors in the latest survey from Jefferies. In a followup to yesterday’s survey results coverage, Zoe details distributors’ outlook for the largest beer suppliers, including Anheuser-Busch, Constellation, Boston Beer and more, available for all Brewbound Insiders.

In today’s full version of the Brewbound Newsletter, Insiders are also:

• Diving into Memorial Day shopping trends from Numerator;
• Getting details about a distributor deal in Texas;
• Learning how tariffs may impact consumers’ bev-alc purchasing behaviors;
• And reading Sierra Nevada CCO Ellie Preslar’s thoughts on craft rationalization.

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

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Distributors have become increasingly more pessimistic about beer. But how do they feel about the biggest suppliers and their outlooks for 2025? 

Investment banking firm Jefferies asked this question in its latest beer distributor survey, which represented portfolios from Tilray (60% of respondents), Constellation (55%), Anheuser-Busch InBev [A-B] (50%), Molson Coors (50%), Boston Beer (40%) and more.

Zoe has survey highlights for Brewbound Insiders, as well as insights on Molson Coors' Simply Spiked, Boston Beer's Sun Cruiser, Tilray's craft beer brands and more. Read the full story here.

Beer is the drink of choice for nearly 3/4 of consumers planning to buy bev-alc products for their Memorial Day weekend celebrations, according to insights firm Numerator.

Of the 5,900 respondents surveyed, half plan to mark the long weekend – the unofficial kick off to summer – with a celebration, and 43% of them plan to buy alcoholic beverages.

Insiders can read more about where consumers plan to shop, as well as find out what products over-index among younger LDA shoppers and check out 2024’s MDW sales to see what bev-alc is up against. 

CBC conversations continue on the Brewbound Podcast with a pair of interviews featuring Right Proper Brewing co-owner and Brewers Association board chairwoman Leah Cheston and Hi-Wire Brewing co-owner Adam Charnack.

Cheston and Brewbound managing editor Jessica Infante discuss Executive Order Me a Beer – Right Proper’s pay-it-forward program to support laid off federal employees with beers and networking – and the unique experiences of parents in the beer industry. 

Executive Order Me a Beer is Right Proper’s second time supporting federal employees as they navigate staffing struggles. The first was Pay It Furloughed during the 2018-2019 federal government shutdown that left many employees without paychecks for a stretch, Cheston said.

Cheston said: “It's community first, and D.C. is hard, right? You have to find the balance between we're not political, we're a brewery first, right? But we are a community hub, and we're purpose-driven, value-driven. And so sometimes it is hard to find where that fits in.”

So far, 700 beers have been purchased, but federal workers have only claimed about one-third of them, so in addition to offering the beers, Right Proper has been hosting networking happy hours to boost pint redemption. 

Cheston also discussed life as a brewery-owning parent and the division of labor between her and her husband and Right Proper co-owner Thor Cheston. Due to a now-defunct quirk in Washington, D.C.’s licensing laws, the licenses for the brewery’s two locations needed to be split up between the Chestons, so one was listed as Leah’s and the other was Thor’s, meaning their children thought their parents – and everyone else’s – just had their own breweries.

Cheston said: “They don't know any other way, and they love it. And for a while, I think they did not realize that every kid's parents don't have their own breweries.”

Then, Charnack discusses the recovery process of Hi-Wire’s flagship location in Asheville in the wake of Hurricane Helene with senior reporter Zoe Licata. The brewery’s facility in the city’s River Arts District is “back in full swing and we’re fully operating,” he said.

Charnack explained: “This is what Asheville is like, generally. Everything looks fully functional and back to normal, but under the surface is six months of pain that is a real deep wound.”

In addition, Zoe and Jess discuss the last gasp of Q1 earnings season, the cooler selection at Zoe’s parents’ most recent gathering and Instacart’s new party platform, Fizz.

Listen here or on your preferred podcast app.

Talk about high visibility retail: With more than 50,000 concerts and festivals last year, Live Nation events brought in more than 150 million thirsty customers, and concert attendance keeps rising.

Recently, Live Nation started investing in rising CPG brands, and attendees of BevNET Live on June 11 & 12 in New York City will have the chance to learn about the way these partnerships work through the lens of JOLENE Coffee, a brand co-founded by celebrities Anthony Kiedis and Shane Powers with investment by Live Nation, Global Brand Equities, and the h.wood group.

In this conversation, Russell Wallach, the architect of Live Nation’s global brand ecosystem, will sit down with Anthony Kiedis, co-founder of JOLENE and Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman, and Jackie Atlas, the veteran CPG executive tasked with scaling the new ready-to-drink coffee. They’ll unpack JOLENE’s ties to Live Nation and that organization’s approach to investment, marketing, and brand positioning, while sharing the best ways to develop connections within Live Nation as their partnership approach evolves, as well as the broader role of concerts and festivals as brand acceleration opportunities.

The panel is part of the excitingly varied program that BevNET Live offers this summer. Tickets are still available for the event, which also includes Beverage School, the New Beverage Showdown, retailer one-to-one meetings, and extensive sampling and networking opportunities.

There are less than 30 days until the conference!

Register for BevNET Live >>