Welcome to Brewbound’s Inside Look at the Beer Business for the week that was … Saturday, June 14, 2025.

Well, it seems the Gen Z: Bar Noobs report is becoming a weekly thing. 

After last week’s bewilderment at the idea of using cash instead of credit cards as a way to control how much one spends at a bar in a given evening … it seems this week our relatively new LDA patrons need to be instructed how “ordering at the bar” works in the U.K.

Yes, according to a new Daily Mail piece, pubs are now putting up signs telling (seemingly younger) patrons to stop forming one straight line back from the bar like they’re in line for a Covid nose swabbing, and to just come up to the bar and fan out like … every other generation knew to do at a pub before them.

Ya know, that way the bartender can just guess who’s actually next up to be served! Have you no sense of adventure and mystery, Gen Z?

However I, for one, blame all of that craft beer parent shaming in the 2010s around bringing your kids to taprooms. Kids gotta learn somehow …  and now look what you’ve done – actions have ramifications, beer nerds! 

ALSO: Don’t worry, GUINNESS – you seem to be safe at DIAGEO. The company has been holding discussions about selling all or part of its India cricket club, ROYAL CHALLENGERS BENGALURU – which as we all know just won the prestigious IPL championship (more folks likely watched this than the Super Bowl globally).

• DIAGEO is looking at a $2B valuation for the team, so yeah – keep on splitting those Gs, folks.

PLUS: Cans rose to a 76% share in off-prem sales tracked by NIQ in the L4W ending May 17, according to BMI. 

UH OH: CIRCANA beer sales data YTD through roughly May 18 (i.e. going into the summer season) for the past 2 years:

• 2024: Dollars: -0.5%, Volume: -2.3%
• 2025: Dollars: -2.6%, Volume: -4.2%

BUT: At least beer and bev-alc at-home prices overall stayed well below the over CPI inflation rate of +2.4% YoY:

• Bev-alc: +1.5% YoY (at-home was +0.2% YoY)
• Spirits: +1.9% YoY at-home
• Beer: +0.6% YoY at-home
• Wine: -0.9% YoY at home

This time it’s Denver’s STATION 26, which joins GREAT DIVIDE, DENVER BEER CO, STEM CIDER and others at WILDING, which now total about 47k BBL all together … which would make it a BA Top 50 company.

STATION 26 production and packaging will move to WILDING’s facility in the Sunnyside neighborhood of Denver – but all other operations will continue business as usual, with an unspecified change in beer production jobs. 

No price or financials were disclosed.

ELSEWHERE IN COLORADO: SKA Brewing was sold to 2 families with ties to the beer distribution business, according to the Durango Herald. 

No price was disclosed, although all SKA debt was reportedly wiped out in the transaction, and no personnel changes are taking place at the brewery.

TILRAY beverage division president Ty Gilmore is leaving the company, with chief growth officer Prinz Pinakatt taking over the division.

Over in the spirits group, BRECKENRIDGE DISTILLERY COO Ken Bohnet and distillery founder Bryan Nolt will lead the TILRAY spirits division.

PLUS: TILRAY is closing down the REDHOOK Brewlab location in Seattle after an 8-year run. 

ELSEWHERE AT TILRAY: Shareholders approved a reverse stock split at ratios of 1:10 and 1:20 in an effort to prevent the stock from being delisted, as it’s been below $1 on the NASDAQ since mid-February. The company is keeping the execution of the tactic on pause for the time being.

J-dog has you covered here on what this could mean for future M&A at TILRAY, especially given its favorable leverage situation. Huh, we’re voting down “J-dog” already? OK, fine – we do have two Js here, I’d hate to create any competition for the title.

DOGFISH is on track for sales and volume to increase this year for the 1st time since 2019, and that’s largely thanks to Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale.

It’s the company’s biggest brand launch by volume in its first 3 months, topping the launch of 60 Minute IPA, and has moved 250k CEs so far.

Sam Calagione also noted that 40% of its sales are through independent liquor stores and the on-prem, which isn’t showing up in typical industry off-prem sales tracking numbers. Sam also mentioned that DOGFISH has strong demand for on-prem taphandles that it is currently still trying to fulfill.

Merch sales for the collab brand have also exceeded $250k to date.

“75% of Hispanic consumers are going to restaurants less. There's less social occasions.”

- CONSTELLATION CEO Bill Newlands at a DEUTSCHE BANK conference last week, diving into the beer sales headwinds that the company is seeing this year – significantly influenced by the Trump administration’s policies. 

COMMONHOUSE ALEWORKS

Sales Manager – Charleston, SC

GREAT CENTRAL BREWING CO

Maintenance Supervisor – Chicago, IL

KILLS BORO BREWING

• A-B is being accused by exporter CRAFTCANTRAVEL of selling KONA beer in territories where it doesn’t have the rights to do so in a new lawsuit. A-B has responded saying it’s “an error” on their part that’s “small and isolated,” and argued “there is no cause for the court’s involvement.” … which oddly enough are the same lines I use when Justin sees me taking RUSSIAN RIVER beers from his basement fridge. 
• The BA added 7 more beer styles for beer nerds to fight over. Hopefully things don’t get too heated with the West Coast-style pilsener debate at taproom trivia night this week. 😳
• Over 160 union members are on strike in Florida against BREAKTHRU, as negotiations have yet to yield a new deal around increased wages, better healthcare benefits and “a secure retirement plan.”
• STONE IPA is significantly outpacing craft trends in grocery YTD through May 18 in CIRCANA data, with dollar sales +3% and volume +6% (overall craft is -6.2% and -7.1%, respectively).  

UPSLOPE Brewing founder Matthew Cutter joins the pod this week to discuss his BEVBOOST beer widget innovation that can hold:

• Fresh flavor compounds
• Functional ingredients
• Vitamins or even mood-enhancing additives such as THC and CBD

The widget unleashes them into a carbonated drink right when a can is cracked open (a la the GUINNESS thing, but with flavors, an extra hop punch, etc).

But first, the BREWBOUND trio discuss:

• All of that Colorado beerbiz dealmaking 
• Zoe reliving her days when she was too cool for school 
• Jess seconding my using cash in bars revival notion 🤝and more

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)

This week’s beer goes out to all the fathers out there (kids, remember to mix in an ATHLETIC or two on your runs to the beer fridge for dad tomorrow). Although hopefully all of you dads know more about your kids than the ones Jimmy Kimmel Live found on the sidewalks of L.A.(🤯).

Now, in honor of your big day – the folks at HARD MTN DEW are thoughtfully inviting you to become something called a HARD MTN DADDY #yikes. Yes, little Dylan and Emma, you could soon be getting a new sibling named … HARD MTN DEW Baja Blast.

The MTN DEW folks are giving dads across the U.S. the opportunity to “adopt” a can of Baja at HARDMTNDADDY.com (wow, how was that URL still available?), where one can submit “adoption applications” detailing how you plan to raise your Baja Baby this summer.

I’m sure your wife will be proud to display the Baja Baby announcement plaque that the most creative entries will receive (although the $2,000 cash that also comes with it should probably smooth things over).

So, a Happy Father’s Day to Justin, Jess’ Mr. Brewbound and all of the other dads out there today. I hope a cold one is in your future, or better yet, already in your hand.

Slainté!

-Sean McNulty 

(you can always reach me here on LinkedIn)