• 📉 BWC: FMB, RTD Volume Gains Slowing
• 🎙️ Podcast: Anchor, Monster and Boston Beer
• ⚓️ Anchor’s Real Estate Price Revealed
• 👩‍⚖️ Landlord Sues Weathered Souls in Charlotte
• 🌊 Big Storm to Close Ybor City Location
• 📸 Reuben’s Brews Refreshes Packaging

The once-booming flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment is “showing some concerning declarations over recent weeks,” Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) founder Bump Williams noted in a recent report.

FMB volume gains dropped by half – from +2.2%, to +1.1% – from the four-week period to the one-week period ending May 18, according to NIQ retail measurement data cited by BWC. The segment recorded +11% and +8.2% volume growth in the latest 52 weeks (L52W) and 26 weeks (L26W) through May 18, respectively, and is showing signs of “saturation,” according to BWC.

Williams wrote: “Big 2023 launches are unable to cycle and the influx of new hasn’t been enough to more than make up for declines among the established players, at least not yet anyway.” 

Elsewhere in the beer category’s high end, imports recorded a -1.8% volume decline in the week ending May 18, but posted steady growth in all other tracked periods – “a beacon of consistent volume (and dollar) growth for the category,” according to BWC. 

Williams wrote: “There is no need to ring the alarm as long as Constellation, Diageo, Heineken, Sapporo and Radeberger are bringing healthy brands from across the globe to the U.S. market, but that little flash of red in the latest one week does make me curious if that is a sign of things to come or simply just a one-week outlier due to some [year ago] activity that wasn’t duplicated in 2024.” 

Craft’s volume declined -6.5% in the week ending May 18. Despite showing signs of improvement from its -6.7% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2020-2023, the segment’s volume showed signs of improvement in the past year (-3% in the L52W, -3.3% in the L26W, -3.2% year-to-date (YTD) through May 18, -3.7% in the L13W and -5.1% in the L4W). It is now “regressing,” according to Williams. 

Williams wrote: “Collectively this may not be as optimistic a picture you hope to see from some of the leading high-end segments heading into the summer, but there is still a lot of green that can be built off of as well.”

The premium segment “continues to suffer shockingly consistent volume declines” and accounts for 75-80% of the category’s overall volume declines, Williams wrote. Those declines have accelerated beyond the segment’s -7.5% three-year CAGR, driven by Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned (A-B) Bud Light’s catastrophic drop in sales stemming from a conservative-led boycott that began in April 2023.

The super premium segment, largely driven by leader A-B’s Michelob Ultra, appears to be in “recovery,” according to BWC. Volume sales of the segment increased +2.8% in the L4W and +0.9% in the L1W, up from declines of -2.6% in its three-year CAGR, -5.1% in the L52W, -3.3% in the L26W, -3.2% YTD and -1.7% in the L13W. 

Below premium volume has shown “steady improvements,” with -1% in the L4W and -2% in the L1W, a marked increase from the segment’s -7.4% three-year CAGR. 

Insiders can read more about how beer’s volume stacks up compared to wine and spirits, the recent deceleration of spirits-based ready-to-drink canned cocktails, and how the beer category has performed since its off-premise explosion in 2020.

The Brewbound team recaps the latest major headlines, starting with the billionaire founder of Chobani acquiring Anchor Brewing. Justin, Jess and Zoe share whether they foresaw this scenario playing out.

Following the Anchor talk, they dig into the rumors of a potential acquisition of Boston Beer by Suntory. 

The news wraps with a conversation on Monster Brewing’s shutdown of the Deep Ellum brewery and taproom in Texas. 

The show also features a 3-pack of interviews with:

• Monday Night Brewing co-founder and CEO Jeff Heck on operating multi-state taprooms;
• Dan Imdieke and Jason Pratt, the new owners of Cicerone, on their future plans for the certification program;
• And Rob Day on the importance of marketing, especially in a maturing craft beer market. 

Listen here or on your podcast platform of choice.

How much did Hamdi Ulukaya pay for Anchor Brewing’s real estate? The San Francisco Business Times reported the real estate came “at a deep discount.” 

After initially being listed for $40 million by real estate firm CBRE, the 2.1 acre property in the Potrero Hill neighborhood sold for $9.9 million to Potrero Hill SFII LLC, which is linked to Ulukaya’s Shepherd Futures family office, the Business Times reported, citing city records. 

Notably, the real estate had been broken up into four lots and then sold in two separate deed transactions for around $4.95 million each, the outlet reported. Each of those transactions appear to fall below a higher tax bracket tax rate for real estate sold for $5 million and up.

The sale price for the Anchor Brewing brand and intellectual property has not been made public. 

The Charlotte-based landlord of Weathered Souls Brewing Co. is suing the brewery and co-owner Mike Holt alleging breach of contract and guaranty, and unjust enrichment on its now-shuttered location in the city, according to the Charlotte Business Journal. 

Weathered Souls’ 10,300 sq. ft Charlotte taproom closed on April 6; it had opened in November 2022. However, the landlord alleges that the brewery became delinquent on rent starting in February 2023 and hadn’t made a rent payment since November 2023. As of April 11, the company allegedly owed $217,354 in back rent. 

Gateway is seeking back rent and future rent through Weathered Souls’ lease term on the Charlotte location, which runs through January 31, 2032, totalling around $2.9 million, plus fees. Weathered Souls is reportedly liable for rent on the Charlotte space until it is leased again, landlord costs incurred while seeking a new tenant and the difference between rent rates if a new tenant agrees to rent the space for a lower rate.  

Earlier this week, Weathered Souls co-founder Marcus Baskerville wrote on LinkedIn that he is seeking a new role in the food and beverage industry. In March, Baskerville said his top priority was to “get Weathered Souls bought out.” Baskerville first announced that he was seeking an equity partner to buy out Holt and take a majority share of the business last September. 

Weathered Souls rose to national prominence in 2020 when Baskerville created Black Is Beautiful, an open source collaboration to raise money for social equity and racial justice organizations after the murder of George Floyd.

Clearwater, Florida-headquartered Big Storm Brewing will shutter its taproom in Tampa’s Ybor City neighborhood, which opened in February 2023.

The brewery allegedly owes its landlord Tampa-based Third Lake Partners $387,770.82 in back rent, according to a lawsuit reported on by the Tampa Bay Business Journal. 

June 16 will be the location’s last day in operation. The Ybor City taproom is offering “all day happy hour” with $4 beers and vodka sodas, $6 spirits and $8 cocktails through then, according to a post on its Instagram account last week. 

Brewbound is excited to announce three additional speakers for the Brewbound Live business conference December 11 and 12 in Marina del Rey, California. 

The two-day conference will bring together leaders from all three tiers for business-focused conversations on driving the bev-alc industry forward, data presentations, networking and brand building at the Marina del Rey Marriott. 

Joining the speaker roster are:

• Arthur Moye, owner and CEO of Full Circle Brewing;
• Kaleigh Theriault, director of thought leadership, beverage alcohol vertical, NIQ;
• Brian “BK” Krueger, VP of business development and portfolio strategies, Bump Williams Consulting.

They join previously announced speakers include: 

• Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner, Russian River Brewing;
• Peter Skrbek, CEO, Deschutes Brewery;
• Lester Jones, chief economist and VP of analytics, National Beer Wholesalers Association;
• Jennifer Hauke, founder and president, Draftline Technologies.

Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks. Interested in speaking? Follow this link to see our speaker guidelines. 

In addition to the mainstage programming and networking parties, Brewbound Live will feature opportunities for one-to-one conversations between brewers and bev-alc brands and retail buyers from chains such as Whole Foods Market. Registered attendees will be considered for meetings with buyers, as space is limited. Find out more details here.

Brewbound Live tickets are available now.

Seattle, Washington-based Reuben’s Brews is giving its offerings a fresh look. The refresh also ushers in new 12-pack packaging, merchandise and point-of-sale items. 

New packaging will begin showing up in Pacific Northwest retailers in late June. 

Reuben’s Brews co-founder Adam Robbings said in the announcement: "Just as we all update our wardrobes over time but are the same people underneath, our cans have updated their look but are still the same great tasting beers at heart. We spend every week making our beers just that little bit better, working to add delight to your day. It’s been a really fun project to brighten up our cans and better share each beer's story!"