• 🛒 BWC: Craft Finds Q1 Growth in Grocery
• 🎙️ CBC Convos w/ Breeze Galindo & Pam Brulotte
• 👑 Imports Pass Domestic Premiums
• 🍹 MA Gov. Passes Permanent Cocktails To-Go
• 🌵 Urban South Closes Houston Taproom
• 🗣️ Ball Q1 Volume Exceeds Expectations
• 🆕 Upland Launches Sibling Beverage Brand, Rāe

We loved showing this amazing skateboard off at CBC and wanted to give people who didn't attend a chance to win it! This limited-edition skateboard would look dope on you taproom wall or cruising around the brewhouse. Enter to win today! Learn more

Craft finished Q1 with dollar sales nearly flat year-over-year (YoY), declining -0.3% in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels (total xAOC + liquor plus + convenience) through March 30, Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) reported in its first quarterly craft report for 2024.

While not quite in the green, craft had the smallest decline of all beer segments, in a quarter when only three segments recorded growth: imports (+6.8% YoY), flavored malt beverages (+11.3%) and non-alcoholic (NA) beer (+32.5%). Craft also outperformed total beer, which recorded a -1.2% decline in dollar sales in the quarter. 

Craft recorded growth in grocery – a channel that the segment has struggled with recently – posting a +1% increase in dollar sales YoY, on-par with total beer trends (+1.1%). In convenience, the strongest channel for craft, the segment increased dollar sales +1%, well above total beer (-3%). 

Craft took the biggest hit in liquor plus, where dollar sales declined -5.4%. Total beer recorded a -2.3% decline in the channel. 

Craft trends also appear to be improving, with dollar sales declining -0.2% YoY in the last 13 weeks, and increasing +0.9% in the last four weeks. Total beer dollar sales declined -1.2% in the 13-week period and increased +1.2% in the four-week period.

Craft share of total beer dollar sales in total NIQ-tracked off-premise channels increased +0.1 share points versus Q1 2023, to 11.8%. The segment had the third largest increase in share behind imports (+1.8 points, to 23.7%) and FMBs (+1.1 points, to 9.6%). All other segments, excluding NA offerings, were flat or lost share.

🏆 New Belgium Passes Molson Coors as No. 1 Craft Vendor

Kirin-owned New Belgium Brewing was the No.1 craft vendor in NIQ-tracked channels, passing Molson Coors and increasing dollar sales (+14.6%) and volume (+11.8%) YTD. The Fort Collins, Colorado-headquartered craft brewery increased its share of total craft dollars +1.3 points YTD, to 10.3%.

As a beer vendor, Molson Coors increased dollar sales of its brands +7.2% and volume +5.3%. However, when including only its craft brands, Molson Coors dollar sales declined -6.6% and volume declined -8.9%. Molson Coors craft brands also recorded a loss of -2.8 weighted distribution points YoY, and a -0.6 point decline in share of craft dollars, to 8.5% share. 

Other top craft vendors in the green through Q1 include:

• No. 4 Sierra Nevada (dollar sales +3%, volume -0.4%, craft dollar share +0.2 points, to 6.7%);
• No. 8 Gambrinus (dollar sales +0.8%, volume -0.5%, dollar share flat, at 2.3%);
• No. 9 Athletic (dollar sales +66.7%, volume +71.2%, dollar share +0.9 points, to 2.2%);
• No. 10 Firestone Walker (dollar sales +1.3%, volume flat, share flat, at 2.2%);
• No. 11 Mahou USA-owned Founders (dollar sales +1.6%, volume -1.4%, share flat, at 2.1%);
• No. 12 Kirin-owned Bell’s Brewery (dollar sales +6.9%, volume +5.6%, share +0.1 points, to 1.9%).

Insiders can dive deeper into the report, including performances from the top new brands and regional craft trends.

The first round of interviews from the Brewbound Podcast On Location at the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC) in Las Vegas are here. 

Breeze Galindo, the director of operations on the Michael J Jackson Foundation for Brewing and Distilling, discusses the foundation’s work, evolution and scholarship awards for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color professionals in the bev-alc industry. Galindo also dishes on her brewery in-planning, MiLuna Brewing Company, which she will open in New York.

Then, Icicle Brewing founder Pam Brulotte chats about her journey into the brewing industry, being married to a hop farmer and starting a brewery in Leavenworth, Washington. She also discusses her work with the Brewers Association (BA), including co-chairing the trade group’s diversity, equity and inclusion committee. 

Plus, Jess, Justin and Zoe recap Day 2 of CBC, including BA chief economist and VP of strategy Bart Watson’s state of the industry speech. 

Listen here or on your podcast platform of choice.

Move over domestic premiums, imports are king.

Imports overtook domestic premiums in dollar sales in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels in the four-week period ending April 20, making imports the No. 1 beer segment in scans, Bump Williams Consulting founder and CEO Bump Williams reported in the firm’s latest monthly report. 

Imports increased share of total beer dollars sales by +5.1 points in the four-week period, to 24.7%. Meanwhile, premium lights’ share declined -7.2 points, to 24%. 

Williams wrote: “We saw flashes of this also take place throughout Q3 and into Q4 last year … as the gap between segments rapidly tightened. But carrying over into the start of 2024 is yet another new phenomenon and it has to make you wonder at what point we’ll see imports claim that No. 1 rank on a running YTD [year-to-date] basis in addition to selective cuts of more recent time periods.”

From 2020 to 2023, the share gap between domestic premiums and imports shortened from 8.4 percentage points, to 1 point. YTD, domestic premiums have 24.4% share of beer category dollars, while imports have 23.9%. Trends are expected to continue, as domestic premiums have started to lap more favorable year-over-year (YoY) comps – past the year anniversary of the conservative-led boycott of top brand Bud Light (Anheuser-Busch InBev) – yet are still recording share loss. 

The share exchange is not just from Bud Light declines – particularly as domestic brand performances are “slowly trending back toward historical levels” – but more from consumer shifts toward more flavor-forward bev-alc, Williams wrote. 

Insiders can dive into those consumer shifts, as well as top new brands in the latest week.

Cocktails to go are now permanent in Massachusetts.

Gov. Maura Healey included the allowance in a supplemental budget bill signed Tuesday. Temporary measures allowing cocktails-to-go expired in the Commonwealth on April 1. 

Twenty-seven states and Washington, D.C., have now passed cocktails to-go permanently, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS): Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. 

Six states have temporary measures in place: California (expires December 31, 2026), Colorado (expires July 1, 2025), Illinois (expires August 1, 2028), New Jersey (expiration date not yet set), New York (expires April 9) and Vermont (expires July 1).

New Orleans-based Urban South Brewery has closed its Houston, Texas, taproom.

The brewery announced the news on social media April 19, writing: “It is with a bittersweet feeling that we announce the closing of our beloved Houston taproom starting today. While we bid farewell to our cozy space, rest assured that Urban South beers will continue to be brewed out of the original New Orleans location and still be readily available across Houston through distribution channels.”

The closure was effective immediately, with events scheduled for the rest of April canceled. 

Landlord disputes and surrounding construction were the cause of the closure, Urban South founder and CEO Jacob Landry told Chron.

Urban South opened the 14,000 sq. ft. Houston location in early 2020, less than a month before COVID-19 pandemic shutdowns began. The brewery also operates a taproom in its home market of New Orleans.

Two billion units – the “share shift” that occurred at aluminum can maker Ball Corp. following the conservative-led boycott of Anheuser-Busch InBev and Bud Light.

“We lost the 2 billion, and multiple competitors picked that up and incremented up. And we’ve got line of sight to fill that hole this year,” Ball CEO Dan Fisher said Friday during the company’s Q1 earnings call with investors and analysts.

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The Brewbound Live business conference returns December 11 and 12 in Marina del Rey, California.

Brewbound Live will feature beverage-alcohol industry leaders taking part in business-focused conversations, data presentations, networking and much more across two days at the Marina del Rey Marriott.

Brewbound announced the first speakers for this year’s conference. They include:

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

Additional speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Register for Brewbound Live 2024.

At Brewbound Live in Marina del Rey, CA on December 11 + 12, beer and beverage-alcohol brands can participate in retailer one-to-ones. Leaders from Whole Foods Market will be available for private, pre-scheduled meetings. Brands will be selected at each retailers’ discretion.

As the world’s leader in natural and organic foods, with a vast network spanning over 500 stores, Whole Foods holds substantial influence in the market. These meetings present a unique opportunity for beer and beverage-alcohol brands aspiring to excel in retail channels focusing on natural and organic products. 

Participating brands can gain invaluable insights and strategic guidance tailored towards facilitating growth within these specialized retail environments.

You must be registered for Brewbound Live to be considered for a retailer meeting. Once you register for the event, you will receive an email with instructions for signing up.

Register for Brewbound Live Winter 2024.

Slim cans aren’t just for hard seltzers, according to Upland Brewing Company.

The Indiana-based craft brewery has launched a new “sibling beverage brand,” Rāe, with its first product, a “sparkling golden ale,” available in 12 oz. slim cans designed using artificial intelligence (AI). The 4.2% ABV beer was created to be “a new kind of beverage that appeals to craft consumers looking for something different than what is already in the market,” according to a press release. 

Upland wholesale brands marketing director Samantha Marr said: “It is important for us to be more accessible to both a younger and more diverse generation. We wanted to create a brand that appealed to those who enjoy an active lifestyle, really care about the ingredients in the products they consume and like to unwind with an aesthetically pleasing and high-quality beverage. 

“Rāe is a reimagination of what consumers have been led to believe beer must taste and look like. … It will be a standout in a market dominated by sugary and artificial-tasting seltzers and canned cocktails.” 

Rāe is available at Upland’s on- and off-premise accounts across the brewery’s footprint.