• Oversupply & Oversaturation: Bev-Alc's Self-Made Issues 
• GABF Reveals New Location, New Schedule for 2026
• Hiyo Bets on Focus Over Flavor Proliferation
• Young Lion Gets New Owner
• Marketing People Moves at Holidaily and Bell’s
• ‘We’re on the Emergence of an Enormous Megatrend' 
• Boston Beer Adds 9% ABV Samuel Adams Cherry Bomb

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Inflationary pressures, changing consumer shopping habits, immigration enforcement tactics, COVID-19, weather – all and more have been listed as causes for bev-alc’s less-than-ideal last few years. But 1 of the largest hurdles for the industry might be by its own design, according to National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) chief economist and VP of analytics Lester Jones.

“We conflate supply and demand issues way too frequently in our industry,” Jones said last week during a webinar co-hosted by Fintech VP of distributor strategy Eric Kiser. 

“The problem with the beer market and the alcohol beverage market is a supply problem, and we need to put that first and stop pointing our finger at the economy and the consumer,” Jones continued. 

Jones highlighted that the bev-alc industry has “invested way too much in capacity,” fueled by dedication to volume growth, market expansion and portfolio additions. 

He said: “You can't just keep making and making and making and expecting people to consume and consume and consume.”

Of course, bev-alc suppliers cannot survive by simply slowing down production and waiting a few years for supply and demand to balance itself out. But there are places where they can realign their focus to better meet actual consumer demand, including the on-premise channel, which has been neglected during a decade of prioritizing the off-premise, Jones shared. 

The on-premise is continuing to see more consumers willing to pay for in-person experiences, including having a beer, according to retailer purchase data from Fintech.

Fintech’s database is made up wholesaler order invoices from 285,418 on- and off-premise retailers, including 125,703 independents. Tracked retailers purchased $66.8 billion in beer in 2025, down from $68.9 billion in 2024. However, on-premise retailers increased their beer purchases 2.6% YoY, or +$300 million. 

Insiders can read more here about opportunities in the on-premise. 

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After 25 years at the Colorado Convention Center, the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) will move outdoors, festival host the Brewers Association (BA) announced Tuesday.

The 2026 iteration of the festival – its 44th – will take place October 10 and 11 at Denver’s Levitt Pavilion in the city’s Ruby Hill Park, about 5 miles south of the convention center.

BA VP of marketing and communications Ann Obenchain said in the press release: “Great American Beer Festival has always reflected where American craft beer is headed. Taking the festival outdoors lets us reimagine what’s possible and we’re excited to bring fresh energy to the festival and provide an experience that feels uniquely Colorado.”

In addition to a new home, GABF will also have a new schedule, with 2 sessions taking place from 12-4 p.m. on a Saturday and Sunday. 

Paired, GABF’s food-and-beer pairing component that can be accessed with a separate ticket, will be “reimagined” and will return in 2026, a BA spokesperson told Brewbound. 

Insiders can read more about updates to GABF, as well as the event’s history.

With Constellation Brands and Live Nation now in its corner, Hiyo is focused on defining the positioning of its relaxing “social tonics.” 

“Our intention is not to create different mood lines into oblivion,” Hiyo co-founder and chief revenue officer George Youmans said at the Beer, Wine & Spirits Summit last week in San Diego.

Rather, the Los Angeles-based Hiyo team is aiming to improve its current functionality to create a more sensory experience and refine its messaging to “better explain” what a “social tonic” is. That’s the term Hiyo has chosen for its 4-SKU line of seltzers in 12 oz. slim cans that feature ashwagandha, l-theanine, lion’s mane, lemon balm and passion flower.

Insiders can read more about Hiyo’s plans.

The Young Lion Brewing brand will live on. 

Founder Jennifer Newman recently shared on LinkedIn that Rohrbach Brewing (Rochester, NY) purchased the brand’s intellectual property. 

Newman wrote: “Meaningful – because John Urlaub  was a mentor to me for over a decade as we built and ran Young Lion. Even more serendipitous, Dan McCumiskey, who was our head brewer for the last years of Young Lion, is currently the head brewer at Rohrbach’s – quality and consistency, baby!”

Young Lion’s IP was carved out of Other Half Brewing’s November 2023 acquisition of Young Lion’s brewery and taproom in Canandaigua, NY.

🎊 Holidaily Taps Jill Preston as Marketing Director

Shortly after ending a near-decade tenure at Left Hand Brewing (Longmont, CO), Jill Preston has joined gluten-free craft brewer Holidaily Brewing (Golden, CO) as director of marketing, she announced on LinkedIn this week. 

Holidaily, the nation’s largest dedicated gluten-free craft brewery, distributes to WA, OR, CA, ID, AZ, MT, WY, CO, KS, TX and MN. The brewery produced 5,146 barrels of beer in 2024, the most recent year for which BA data is available. 

🔔 Carly Davis Departs Bell’s

Bell’s Brewery (Kalamazoo, MI) senior brand manager Carly Davis has left the craft brewery after 6 years to join Greenleaf Hospitality Group as marketing director.

Davis, who led the marketing efforts of Bell’s largest brands, Two Hearted IPA and Oberon, announced the move on LinkedIn.

“Thank you to everyone who made the last six years so meaningful – and cheers to what’s ahead,” she wrote. 

Kalamazoo-based Greenleaf operates a mix of hotel, events, dining, retail and entertainment hospitality businesses.

^ Athletic Brewing co-founder and CEO Bill Shufelt told the Wall Street Journal's Bold Names podcast, likening the growth of NA to energy drinks.

“Where I see non-alcoholic beer coming in here is the confluence of the light beer nutritionals and the flavor of the more recent trends into one enormous big new trend that can meet both of those preferences and really aligns with modern health preferences,” he said.

Future Proof Brands, the Austin-based parent company of BeatBox Beverages, plans to lay off 158 employees following Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (A-B) majority share acquisition of the party punch maker.

According to a filing with the TX Workforce Commission, the layoffs will begin February 21 and last through March 7, impacting workers at the company’s East Austin headquarters. 

Rumors of layoffs began shortly after the acquisition announcement, but were not confirmed by the company.

Insiders can read more here.

Boston Beer Company is zeroing in on high-ABV seekers with its latest Samuel Adams launch: Cherry Bomb, a 9% ABV “imperial wheat ale.”

The beer is available year-round and nationwide in 19.2 oz. single-serve cans in convenience, liquor and grocery stores, aimed at the grab-and-go shopper. 

Cherry Bomb taps “into the cherry territory with the first major high-ABV cherry beer” from a major craft beer manufacturer, the company said in Wednesday’s announcement. The latest offering is well above the ABV of Samuel Adams’ existing core cherry beer, Cherry Wheat (5.3% ABV).

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