• 🇺🇸 How the Election Results Could Impact Bev-Alc
• 🫗 Molson Coors to Cut 90 Jobs in Wisconsin
• 👾 Monster Alcohol Brands ‘Restructured'
• 🇮🇹 BA's 2024 Style Guidelines
• 🎙️ Highland Brewing’s Leah Wong Ashburn
• 📊 O-I Glass on Demand Trends, Beer Struggles

In the wake of Tuesday’s election, beer industry trade groups are diving into the changes that could be coming and the potential impact on their members, with shifts across the U.S. Senate, House of Representatives and White House.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has been elected president, with 295 electoral votes as of press time. In the Senate, Republicans have taken the majority from Democrats, with the latter losing four seats as of press time, according to the Associated Press (AP). And the House majority is still in question, with 25 seats yet to be called. As of press time, Republicans have 211 seats and Democrats have 199, with 218 needed to have a majority. 

Here are some of the watchouts according to the Brewers Association (BA) and Beer Institute (BI):

💰 Taxes

2025 will be “a big year for taxes,” BA senior director of federal affairs Katie Marisic wrote in a blog post for the trade group. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act, passed by then-President Trump in 2017, includes several provisions that will expire in 2025 or have already lapsed. 

Included in those expiring provisions is Section 199A, which gives small business owners the option to deduct “up to 20% of their qualified business income (QBI) from pass-through entities, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships and S corporations,” according to Marisic. 

“More than 70% of breweries are organized as pass through. If they are utilizing it, losing this tax provision could impact them significantly,” Marisic wrote.

“Trump sees the starting point of his convocation as the Trump tax cuts, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and that's his starting point, is a full redo of the cuts themselves,” Bully Pulpit International partner Scott Mulhauser said during a panel discussion Tuesday at the BI Annual Meeting in New York City. Mulhauser was joined by BI president and CEO Brian Crawford and Fierce Government Relations managing partner Kirk Blalock.

🚢 Tariffs

Trump will lead with a “tariff first policy,” according to Mulhauser, reminding attendees at Tuesday’s conference that Trump referred to tariffs last month as “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” 

In his previous presidential term, Trump passed a 10% aluminum tariff, which the BI has vehemently opposed, claiming it has significantly raised the price of aluminum “regardless of whether the metal was meant to be tariffed” or not, and allegedly placing the majority of costs on U.S. suppliers. 

“Trump obviously is coming in more eyes wide open that he wants to do more and that he thinks that’s a great stick to get other countries to move,” Blalock said. 

Additionally, “some of the architects” behind the aluminum tariff are expected to be back at the decision-making table with Trump’s election win, according to Blalock, who recalled being in a meeting when one of those architects called former Molson Coors chairman Pete Coors “un-American, because he didn’t believe in tariffs.”

Mulhauser and Blalock agreed that there appears to be a disconnect between who tariffs are meant to impact, and the actual effect it has on related industries. 

Mulhauser said: “We all know that it'll increase prices on consumers. Why they don't know that? I don't know, but that's their belief. Nonetheless, that's probably one of the more dangerous aspects of a Trump 2.0 from a policy perspective, and one that we should be concerned about.”

Insiders can read more, including potential impacts on government funding, cannabis regulations and the Small Brewers Caucus.

Molson Coors will layoff 90 workers in Milwaukee and Chippewa Falls as the company ceases brewing operations at the two Wisconsin facilities and transfers production to its larger production facility in Milwaukee, according to a pair of federal WARN Act notices and Wisconsin Business Closing and Mass Layoff Law filings with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. 

The company reported that 56 workers would be affected at Leinenkugel’s in Chippewa Falls and 34 at its Tenth Street Brewery in Milwaukee, with a layoff date of January 17, 2025. 

Earlier this week, Molson Coors announced its plans to permanently end brewing operations at the two breweries, while transferring the remaining production of Leinenkugel’s for distribution to its larger-scale Milwaukee plant. 

The Leinie Lodge and pilot brewery will continue operations in Chippewa Falls.

Monster Beverage Company reported that it has "restructured" the senior management of its alcohol brands division, following the appointment of Ray LaRue as president, the company shared within its Q3 2024 financial results. Nevertheless, the company said it remains “positive for the prospects of alcohol products within our broader portfolio.”

Monster CEO Rodney Sacks added that the company is “continuing to consolidate production facilities to maximize efficiencies,” but he did not provide additional commentary. Monster has shuttered the Deep Ellum and Oskar Blues production breweries in Texas, and transitioned the Cigar City brewery in Tampa to a research-and-development facility. 

Monster posted a -6% decline in Q3 net sales for its alcoholic beverage brands (The Beast, Nasty Beast Hard tea, craft beer brands and hard seltzers), which the company attributed “primarily due to decreased sales by volume of craft beers.” 

The $39.8 million in sales for its bev-alc portfolio in Q3 2024 marked a -$2.5 million decline from Q3 2023 when the company posted $42.3 million in sales.  

The company reported that Q3 gross profit “was adversely impacted by an increase in inventory reserves” for its alcohol brands of $10.6 million.

Monster execs also touted the launch of a second variety 12-pack for The Beast, with flavors including Mean Green and new flavors Pink Poison, Gnarly Grape and Killer Sunrise (6% ABV each), during the quarter. The company also rebranded The Beast to drop “Unleashed” from its name. 

Cigar City Jai Alai underwent its first brand refresh since 2017, with new packaging shipping now. Oskar Blues is also releasing its first non-alcoholic beer, Designated Dale’s. Read Brewbound’s previous coverage.

The company said it is also exploring international distribution opportunities for its alcoholic beverages.

Execs also noted during the call that the company’s brewery in Brevard, North Carolina, was closed for a week due to flooding from Hurricane Helene. The brewery is now "partially operational” and is expected to “be fully operational by mid-November.”

The Brewers Association (BA) has added Italian-Style Pilseners to its 2024 Beer Style Guidelines. 

BA competition director Chris Williams said in the announcement: “We’re excited to have a new home for the many Italian-Style Pilseners we’ve seen popping up in the global beer market over the past few years. 

“Giving these beers an opportunity to shine in their own standalone competition category gives us the opportunity to recognize this flavorful style. We look forward to seeing who makes the best Italian-Style Pilsener in the world for the 2025 World Beer Cup Competition

The Beer Style Guideline update in November marks a change from previous years and “a new cadence” of releasing revisions to the style guide, which were historically released in the spring. The BA said the change allows it to consider recent feedback from Great American Beer Festival judges prior to the World Beer Cup. 

Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione will take part in a fireside chat at the 2024 Brewbound Live business conference this December in Marina del Rey, California.

The two-day event will take place December 11 and 12 at the Marina del Rey Marriott. Calagione will speak on Day 2, and will discuss craft’s imperative to remain vibrant and relevant with new legal-drinking-age consumers. He’ll also touch on the state of the overall beer and bev-alc business and the future of the Delaware craft brewery as it celebrates its 30th anniversary and five years since it merged with Boston Beer.

Calagione will field questions from audience members both in the room and online and may bring a surprise to share with the in-person crowd. 

Brewbound Live 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. Tickets are available now.

Check out the full agenda.

Take a peek at the speaker roster.

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 and ExtraMile Convenience Stores and distributors such as Breakthru Beverage California, Reyes Beer Division and California Beverage Solution (Stone Distributing, Markstein Sales and Heimark Distributing). Registered attendees will be considered for meetings with buyers, as space is limited. Find out more details here.

Register today for Brewbound Live!

Highland Brewing owner and CEO Leah Wong Ashburn provides an update on how Asheville, one of the country’s great craft beer cities, is recovering in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 

Last weekend, Highland brewed its first beer since the hurricane cut a path of destruction through Western North Carolina. Ashburn shares the steps the brewery took to return to operations, starting with ensuring that all of its team members were accounted for and had their basic needs covered, and then stabilizing the business. She also explains the importance of people visiting Asheville now, after the biggest month of business was wiped off the calendar.

Ashburn also discusses Highland’s first post-hurricane milestone, the release of Cold Mountain winter ale November 7-11. 

Plus, Jess and Justin touch on several headlines, including a craft brewery deal in Iowa, the vibes at the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Guild’s annual meeting, a leadership change at the American Cider Association and the pending closure of Revolution Brewing's Logan Square brewpub after 15 years.

Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

O-I Glass shipments increased 2% in Q3 2024 for the first time in six quarters, the company reported last week. The above bar chart from O-I’s financial results shows glass demand trends, as well as category trends for the quarter. Beer remained on the wrong side of the bar graph as part of O-I’s business, but the company sees growth opportunities on the premium side of the category.

Aluminum cans have taken the majority share of beer category packaging, with a split of around 70% cans to 30% bottles. The Beer Institute reported earlier this week that cans held a 64.1% volume share in 2023 compared to bottles’ share of 26.9%.