Today, you’re getting a free taste of what it’s like to be a Brewbound Insider – no paid subscription required – with free access to Today’s Top Story about VT-based Lawson’s Finest Liquids.

Lawson’s finished 2025 with sales up nearly 16% in grocery stores in its core Northeastern markets, and “double-digit growth” in volume in its home state of Vermont. 

Check out our full coverage about Lawson’s 2025 performance and 2026 plans in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter and at Brewbound.com.

Beyond the Top Story, Insiders are also reading about:

• The shift in where younger drinkers spend on bev-alc;

• Prepared cocktails’ growth dominance in NIQ scans thru mid-February;

• Beer Girl’s newest board member and distribution expansion plans;

• And Real American Beer’s first NA beer.

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

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From formulation and stability to scaling for production, this free guide breaks down how to scale a cannabis beverage. Learn more

Lawson’s Finest Liquids ended 2025 with double-digit dollar sales growth in NIQ-tracked channels, the Waitsfield, VT-headquartered craft brewery announced Tuesday.

The brewery’s dollar sales increased 15.8% in grocery stores, bolstered by strong growth from its core brands Sip of Sunshine IPA (+6.2%) and Little Sip IPA (+11%) in NIQ-tracked northeastern grocery stores.

Lawson’s was the No. 1 craft beer in NIQ’s fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment in the Northeast, which includes the 6 New England states, NJ, NY and PA, the brewery shared.

Several factors contributed to the brewery’s volume gains in 2025, including signing with Colchester, VT-based Baker Distributing following the closure of VT Beer Shepherd in April 2025. With Baker, a Molson Coors-aligned house with significant local and regional craft business, Lawson’s attained “double-digit growth” in VT last year. 

Following its 2024 expansion to VA via Sheehan-owned Specialty Beverage and NC via Artisan Beverage Group in 2024, Lawson’s deepened its roots in those markets “while strictly maintaining its cold storage, cold shipment, and cold shelving process,” the brewery noted. 

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The pack mentality isn’t going away anytime soon in craft brewing. 

The Oregon Beverage Collective (OBC) – the tie up of Crux Fermentation Project, Cascade Lakes, Silver Moon, Goodlife and Tumalo Cider – launched a couple of weeks ago as one of the latest additions to this crowd.

OBC president Andy Rhine joined the Brewbound Podcast to share how those 5 brands are looking to build strength in numbers. 

Before the interview, Justin and Zoe break down the latest headlines, including the fallout from Dry January, the Brewers Association’s 2025 financial results, Tilray’s licensing deal with Carlsberg, the Left Hand Collective’s newest member and the Supreme Court’s ruling on reciprocal tariffs. 

Listen here

Younger Americans aren't just drinking less – they're funneling their social spending into fitness rather than alcohol, according to a new report from the Bank of America Institute. 

The findings, published this week and drawing on Bank of America aggregated credit and debit card data alongside federal health statistics, offer a glimpse of a consumer base in the middle of a generational shift away from alcohol and where they spend their money when they do drink.

Keep reading

Any remaining concerns about the seasonality of RTDs may be eased by the latest weekly off-premise scan report from NIQ.

Prepared cocktails – defined by NIQ as spirits- and wine-based RTDs, FMBs and hard seltzers – “remain a standout growth driver” through mid-February, according to the market research firm. In the last 4 weeks (L4W), ending February 14, prepared cocktails recorded a 7.1% You increase in dollar sales, while volume, measured in case sales, grew 1.5%. 

Total bev-alc dollar sales were about flat in the L4W (-0.2% YoY, to $7.5 billion), while volume was down 1.3%. 

Dive deeper into the data

FY25 marked Boston Beer Company’s 4th consecutive year of shipments and depletions declines. But leadership’s remarks during Tuesday’s earnings call with investors and analysts were anything but negative.

That positive tone was due to gross margin improvements, which the company delivered “faster than we expected in this difficult operating environment,” Boston Beer founder and CEO Jim Koch shared in his opening remarks.

Despite this optimism, Boston Beer continues to tackle volume losses. However, the company’s and overall beer’s downward trends have "clearly gotten better” to start the new year and “the improvement is certainly welcome,” Koch said.

Koch also shared 2025 brand performances and 2026 plans. Learn more

Or, dive deeper into Boston Beer’s Q4 and FY25 results

The Brewbound team is heading to the New England Craft Brew Summit (Friday, March 6) in Portland, ME. We’ll be on the ground covering the latest news and conversations coming out of the event, as well as recording Brewbound Podcast On Location interviews.

Here are a few ways to connect with us:

1. Stop by Booth #3: Watch a podcast recording, grab a T-shirt and chat with the team.

2. Share your news: Have updates from your brewery? We’d love to hear from you.

3. Reach out to meet: Email us at podcast@brewbound.com if you want to catch up in Portland.

See you there!

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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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