• 📊 BarthHaas: 2023 Global Hop Production +11.5%
• 🎙️ BA CEO Bob Pease on Retiring in 2025
• 👩‍⚖️ Crossover Beverage Guidance Takes Shape
• ❌ Dos Equis No. 1 in Texas On-Premise
• 🏝️ Deschutes Enters Florida with Cavalier
• 🖤 Black-Owned Breweries Outpacing Total Craft

Global hop acreage declined -3.3% in 2023 versus 2022, the second consecutive year of decline and a “significantly sharper” reduction versus the -0.3% year-over-year (YoY) decline recorded in 2022, global hop supplier BarthHaas reported this week. 

There were approximately 60,641 hectare (ha), or 149,847 acres, of hop cultivation area across the globe in 2023, a decline of -2,048 ha (-5,061 acres) compared to 2022. 

Despite the decline, hop production increased double-digits (+11.5%) in 2023, to 118,415 metric tons (mt), an increase of +12,216 mt YoY. The increase followed a -18.8% decline in 2022. 

Alpha production increased +9.4%, to 11.839 mt (+1,021 mt YoY), after declining -23.7% in 2022.

Meanwhile, global beer production declined -0.9% YoY, to 1.88 billion hectoliters (approximately 1.58 billion barrels), suggesting that hop inventory levels are still significantly above demand. 

BarthHaas wrote: “Further indications that the breweries still hold more than enough inventory are the significant delays in call-offs of contracted hop products still being reported, as well as the increasing number of requests from breweries for contract restructuring. 

“The effects are making themselves felt throughout the entire hop industry supply chain, from production to processing to marketing.”

The U.S. remained the No. 1 country by hop yield (47,601 mt), increasing its yield by more than 1,500 mt YoY, despite hop acreage declining by nearly 2,000 ha (-4,942 acres), to 22,545 ha (55,710 acres), a -9% decrease YoY and the second consecutive year of acreage reduction. 

Alpha production remained relatively consistent, accounting for 11.8% of total yields, or 5,623 mt, up from 5,421 mt in 2022 (11.7% of yields). 

BarthHaas wrote: “Towards the end of the 2022 harvest, the industry turned its attention to the contract market.

“Almost all the ensuing market activity over the winter months was focused on renegotiating existing contracts and reducing aroma variety acreage for the coming season. This led to cutbacks in acreage of almost all the leading aroma varieties, including the frontrunners Citra and Mosaic, as well as several mid-ranking varieties such as Azacca, Strata, Sabro, and Cashmere.”

Insiders can read more, including acreage and yield changes by hop variety, as well as in other regions, and a 2024 outlook. 

What’s the secret to reaching Alcohol shoppers? Learn from MikMak, Suntory Global Spirits, and Pinterest on how to engage the next generation of Alcohol consumers. Get insights from leading experts on industry trends, consumer preferences, and success stories. Watch now to enhance your strategies. Learn more

Long-time Brewers Association (BA) president and CEO Bob Pease will retire on June 30, 2025, after 32 years at the trade organization representing small and independent craft brewers, Pease and the BA announced last week. 

Pease joins the Brewbound Podcast to detail how long he’s been in talks to retire, why now is the right time and what advice he would give to his successor. He also discusses the legacy he’s leaving behind, the most important moves of his tenure and whether there’s a next chapter beyond the ski slopes.

Plus, the Brewbound team discusses other recent changes at the BA, Pease’s potential successor and the results of the BA’s latest Harris Poll of beer drinkers. 

Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform. 

With crossover products gaining shelf space, more guidance is emerging from trade associations and states to steer how brands, retailers and regulators define and treat these offerings. 

A mid-year overview of those changes as well as other regulatory developments was the focus of a webinar yesterday from the alcohol regulatory and distribution team at McDermott Will & Emery. 

While regulations often need time to catch up to industry transformations, new guidance documents are aiming to shape how crossover products such as Hard MTN Dew (Boston Beer Company/PepsiCo), Fresca Mixed (Constellation Brands/Coca-Cola), Simply Spiked (Molson Coors/Coca-Cola) and Topo Chico Hard Seltzer (Molson Coors/Coca-Cola) show up on the shelf.

The guidance centers on two areas: distinguishing between alc and non-alc products, as well as keeping alcoholic products away from minors. 

In June, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), FMI - The Food Industry Association, and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) announced a joint commitment related to the responsible marketing and merchandising of crossover alcoholic beverages across tiers. 

For suppliers, the key tenets of the guidance include: advertising responsibly, making product distinct and distinguishable from non-alc counterparts, multiple prominent notices that the product contains alcohol, and appealing to adults in packaging and via advertising. 

At the retail level, retailers need to have separation and additional signage, as well as train employees on merchandising. 

Insiders can review changes at the state level, potential consequences for producers and advances in direct-to-consumer access. 

Heineken USA’s Dos Equis import brand is the No. 1 beer brand in Texas on-premise retailers, with 10.2% total share and the top draft handle in the state by dollar sales, the company shared, citing NIQ CGA data in Texas for the 52-week period ending May 18. 

Dos Equis took the top spot in January 2024. To capitalize on the on-premise opportunity in Texas and other key markets, the company is rolling out a Dos Equis “Lucky” creative campaign that launched ahead of Cinco de Mayo, including two ads. 

The first spot, titled “Salt,” shows the “dressing” of Dos Equis with salt and a lime, although some folks like tajin and chamoy. A second ad launched earlier last month titled “Bottle Cap.”

Look for social, radio, digital and out-of-home ads in Sun Belt states, such as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma. 

Year-to-date (YTD) through June 16, the Dos Equis family ranked as the 18th largest beer category vendor with $189.35 million off-premise sales, according to market research firm Circana. Off-premise dollar sales and volume (measured in case sales) of the Dos Equis brand family declined -1.9% and -1.4%, respectively, year-to-date through mid-June, in multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by the firm. 

Deschutes Brewery’s push to reach nationwide distribution has reached the opposite corner of the country from the brewery’s Bend, Oregon, home. 

Beginning this month, Floridians can now sample offerings from the country’s 12th largest craft brewery by volume, according to Florida Beer News, which confirmed that craft- and import-heavy distributor Cavalier will be selling Deschutes in the Sunshine State. 

Deschutes’ products available in Florida include both the full-strength and non-alcoholic versions of Fresh Squeezed IPA and Black Butte Porter, as well as Symphonic Chronic Double Dank IPA. 

Dollar sales of the Deschutes brand family declined -6.7%, to $65.7 million, in the 52-week period ending June 15 at total U.S. outlets tracked by NIQ. Volume declined -11.4%.

Most Black-owned breweries outperformed the industry in volume in 2023, according to data from the National Black Brewers Association (NB2A). 

The 59 Black-owned breweries producing fewer than 1,000 barrels annually increased their output by +1% year-over-year, to 12,921 barrels. Compare that with the -8% volume decline recorded by total craft breweries of the same size.

The NB2A wrote: “These breweries grew 9% faster than similar-sized breweries in the U.S.”

One-fifth of Black-owned breweries produced between 1,000 and 10,000 barrels last year. Their output declined -4% year-over-year (YoY), to 39,224 barrels, slightly outpacing declines of breweries of similar size in overall craft (-3%) and total beer (-2%).

The one Black-owned brewery that produced more than 100,000 barrels increased its output +20%, to 331,645 barrels, which is identical to the output listed for Brooklyn Brewery in the BA’s May/June issue of the New Brewer.

There were no Black-owned breweries producing between 10,000-100,000 barrels. 

The NB2A wrote: “These are positive indicators of the expanding impact of Black-owned breweries in the overall market, despite the low number and significant challenges they face.”

Check out prior Brewbound coverage for more on the NB2A and the state of Black-owned craft breweries from the organization's press briefing during the Craft Brewers Conference, as well as NB2A executive director Kevin Asato’s keynote conversation with Crowns and Hops founders Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter during the 2023 Brewbound Live business conference, and Asato’s interview on behalf of the NB2A and its founding board officers, who were named Brewbound’s Beer Champions of the Year.

It’s time to book your room for Brewbound Live! Our two-day event for beer and beverage-alcohol professionals heads to Marina del Rey, California, on December 11 + 12. Register now to stay just steps from the action and save on your stay at the Marina del Rey Marriott Hotel (4100 Admiralty Way, Marina Del Rey, CA).

The Brewbound Live room block always sells out, so we encourage you to register today to secure your place among brewers, retailers, investors, distributors, beer leaders, and industry partners. Once registered, you will receive an email with the link to the discounted room block. Plus, right now you can take advantage of early registration pricing and save $100 per registration. Plan ahead to save and take advantage of both the room block and early registration discounts.

Attendees can look forward to expert presentations from brewery leaders, retailers, beverage-alcohol suppliers, wholesalers, and data providers, business conversations during scheduled networking breaks, the Brewbound Live Pitch Slam, samples of the latest innovations in the industry and the Brewbound Live Official Party, all set against the backdrop of sunny Southern California.

Register for Brewbound Live Winter 2024.