Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, June 28, 2025.

I think we can all agree that there’s nothing quite like a meeting that sounds like getting called to the principal’s office to indicate the state of one’s business.

But if you want a heat check on where things are in the beerbiz at the midway point of 2025 – I gotta think this confab where beer distributors called a meeting with the CMOs of major breweries to discuss the latest “beer sales trends” says it all.

Gonna also guess it’s vying for the record of most f-bombs dropped at a beer-related meeting outside of Justin’s last birthday party. Granted  – that was mostly me, but dammit if I didn’t have a great f’in time once I finally found out where it was, at which point Justin also dropped a few f-bombs of his own.

AND: FOUR LOKO is going the BEATBOX route (sorry, Justin, I’m not taking your ‘If you can’t beat ‘em, join’ em!’ dad joke suggestion) and introducing new resealable, non-carbonated 16.9 oz. tetra packs in 7 states this month … because nothing says “Finally!’ from discerning drinkers like 12% ABV products in 16.9 oz. packaging formats.

Non-alc beer brand AL’S set a partnership / licensing agreement with NY’s INDUSTRIAL ARTS to make the beer there, as well as handle all marketing and sales going forward. 

The goal is to eventually hit wider distribution for the NA lager brand, which made 930 BBL in 2024. INDUSTRIAL ARTS’ output was just over 18k BBL (-8% YoY), according to BA numbers. 

INDUSTRIAL ARTS also has its own NA beer line called Safety Glasses, which includes a core pils SKU. 

The New England-based beerglomerate is adding MA’s high-ABV centered brewery GREATER GOOD to its portfolio.

The BARREL ONE portfolio led by CEO Dan Kenary, now has 15 brands, including HARPOON, FIVE BOROUGHS, SMUTTYNOSE, LONG TRAIL and CRYSTAL LIGHT REFRESHERS, and will operate 9 brewery and taproom locations.

GREATER GOOD made 10,800 BBL in 2024 (-6% YoY and it's -7.7% in sales YTD, according to NIQ), and no financial terms for the deal were disclosed.

50%

The percentage of MODELO drinkers who are Hispanic, according to a new BERNSTEIN report looking at how the combo of Trump deportation policies #ICE and broader economic challenges among the group are taking the tailwinds out of MODELO sales.

SNOW MONKEY Sake

NJ Field Sales Rep – Positions also open in TX, FL and AR

BLUEBIRD HARDWATER

TN Sales Rep

FOOTHILLS BREWING

• 36%: Trying to save money;
• 34%: Going out less;
• 30%: Trying to be healthier.

• TX Gov. Greg Abbott saved weed in the state! Or at least he vetoed the bill that came to his desk for signature, which would have banned intoxicating hemp products in Texas. Abbott said it would be met with “valid constitutional challenges” and that “the legal defects in the bill are undeniable.”
• SAPPORO-STONE made another “very small-scale reduction” in its workforce, but no further details were given. The company cut 2% of its salesforce in January.
• KROGER will shut down 60 “underperforming” stores over the next 18 months. It’ll focus on opening stores in “high-growth geographies” starting next year. Yeah, that sounds smart. KROGER CO. has over 2,700 stores in the U.S.
• C&S WHOLESALE GROCERS is paying $1.8B (incl. debt) for food solutions company SpartanNash, which operates about 200 food store locations as well as a food wholesale business. 
• YUENGLING will enter Michigan in mid-August on draft, and in packaged form in September. This will be run by YUENGLING, as MI was previously swapped for LA, AR and MS with its MOLSON COORS JV. 
• SoCal’s ALESMITH is now available statewide in GA.

“Specific legacy national craft brands tend to be pulling the overall trends down, and we are seeing a similar trend in cider – all subcategories showing growth this year except national brands.”

– WHOLE FOODS principal category merchant for beer, Mary Guiver, in a new BREWBOUND interview in tandem with TOTAL WINE’s senior director of merchandising, Andrea Starr, about the trends they’re seeing on their shelves.

NA beer is leading the way at both in terms of what’s hottest, and Jess and Justin have the rest of the sales scoop here on what’s moving this summer overall.

BEVNET’s Ferron Salniker and Dave “no relation” Infante of the Fingers newsletter hop onto the pod this week to talk about the transformational change going on in CA with the exit of RNDC, as well as the changes in craft distribution happening in SoCal with HAND FAMILY COMPANIES’ entry.

BUT FIRST: J-funk is the one hopping in the BREWBOUND office hammock this week for a siesta (baby SHOCKTOP is adorable, but mom needs a break), so Justin and Zoe take the mic to share a hard refresher or 2, and dive into Gen Z’s aversion to burping. Kids today, so classy.

LISTEN HERE! Or just search “Brewbound” on your podcast listening platform of choice. And leave a review and rating, would ya? (Good ones only, plz)

 “The predictability, forecasting has never been worse.”

– COLUMBIA DISTRIBUTING CEO Chris Steffanci on the chaos introduced by not just the down and up nature of May and June sales trends in its Pacific Northwest territory.

Chris also dives into the growth they’re seeing in Japanese lagers and how craft is faring in the region.

This week’s beer goes out to Gen Z. Look, I know I’ve been a bit hard on you folks lately … so you certainly deserve a nice cold bottle of beer (you know how those aluminum tariffs are these days).

Although, let me know if you need help opening it … as the youngins on the NBA Champion OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER had no issues bouncing the PACERS out of town, but they were subsequently thwarted by the French.

Yes, it seems the team with the average age of 25.6 was flummoxed by France’s crafty contraptions for packaging Champagne … as they apparently had no idea how to open the bottles in the locker room. #TrueStory

So, the team consulted a wise veteran in the form of 31-year-old teammate Alex Caruso, who tapped his vast decade of LDA life experience to show them how to finally get the celebration started.  

Note to team management – if the THUNDER repeat next year, maybe just go with HIGH NOONs and call it a day.

Slainté!

-Sean McNulty