Monster’s foray into beverage-alcohol is expanding, as the energy drink maker plans to leverage its early success in flavored malt beverages with the launch of Nasty Beast hard iced tea, company leaders shared during the company’s annual shareholder meeting held Thursday. 

The new line of hard teas will leverage branding from Monster’s first FMB, The Beast Unleashed, to give it a “billboard effect” when it hits shelves later this year, Goldman Sachs analyst Bonnie Herzog wrote.

Details: 

• 6% ABV;
• Four flavors;
• Packaged in 12 oz. can variety packs and 24 oz. single-serve cans.

Monster joins another non-alcoholic beverage juggernaut, AriZona, in launching a hard tea, and trying to chip away at industry leader Twisted Tea, from Boston Beer Company. 

AriZona’s hard tea entry, under the AriZona Premium Spiked Beverage name, is sold in 22 oz. single-serve cans (MSRP $3.49 per can) in three flavors – Lemon, Peach, and Green Tea with Ginseng flavor and honey – each with 5% ABV. 

Monster and AriZona are fighting an uphill battle. Twisted Tea dominates hard tea, accounting for 91% of subsegment’s sales in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels (through May 13), according to data shared by Bump Williams Consulting. 

Still, there’s a reason to get in. Hard tea is a high-growth segment within FMBs:

• Hard tea increased dollar sales +38.7% YTD, to nearly $385 million, now accounting for 2.3% share of total beer dollar sales in NIQ-tracked channels. 
• Across all outlets (on- and off-premise), dollar sales for hard tea have improved +31% YTD versus 2022, according to BWC.

Brewbound Insiders can go deeper into the story. 

Go even deeper into hard tea trends, via Zoe’s category closeup.

Sheehan Family Companies is divesting of another craft distributor, this time its Legends Distributing branch statewide in Maryland and Washington, D.C., to the Anheuser-Busch network, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights. 

Sheehan sheds around 1.2 million cases annually in the deal, and a portfolio of more than 110 craft and cider brands, 77 imports, 36 wine and spirits offerings and non-alc and progressive adult beverage brands, per the report.

Legends’ book includes craft brands Allagash, Brooklyn, CANarchy, DC Brau, Denizens, Firestone Walker, Flying Dog, Founders, Harpoon, Lagunitas, FX Matt, Artisanal Brewing Ventures, Stone Brewing, SweetWater, Union Craft Brewing, JuneShine, and Jiant, among several others.

The Maryland/D.C. deal follows divestitures in New Hampshire and Maine, also to the A-B network in those states. Sheehan maintains operations in Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Earlier this month, E. & J. Gallo acquired Bev, a canned wine and spritzes company. BevNET spirits editor Ferron Salniker spoke with Bev founder Alix Peabody about the transaction and what it means for the brand’s future.

From Peabody: 

“Gallo is gonna be able to take it to a level that we wouldn’t necessarily be able to do by ourselves. They’re the best in the business when it comes to execution, in my opinion.

“I think it’s a focus for them to really expand on RTDs and grow that section – and we’re in the middle because we’re obviously in a can, very accessible, easily transportable, but our core products are wine.”

The Bev transaction follows another RTD pick up for Gallo, Fishers Island Lemonade. Listen to Fishers Island founder Bronya Shillo dish on the deal on the Brewbound Podcast.

Read the full Bev story here.

Buffalo, New York-based Resurgence Brewing Company has acquired Barker, New York-based Blackbird Cider Works from Donovan Orchards.

Resurgence “does not plan to change anything” about Blackbird’s hard ciders and will continue to source the brand's pressed juice from Donovan Orchards. Blackbird’s ciders will continue to be packaged and served at Donovan’s Lake Ontario tasting room and Buffalo cider hall.

Donovan plans to launch a separate high-end artisanal cider brand under the newly minted Donovan Orchard’s Estate Ciders brand, which will be sold direct-to-consumer.

More details in a press release here.

Ireland’s Bevcraft Group, a “craft can specialist” company, is entering the U.S. with the acquisition of Tripod Canning, a New Jersey-based mobile canning company. 

With the acquisition, Bevcraft will be able to service craft beverage producers in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Connecticut. 

This is Bevcraft’s third mobile canning M&A deal in the past 18 months, following the acquisition of Them That Can in the UK and a strategic merger with Heidrun Tapperi AS in Norway. Financial details of the latest deal were not disclosed

More details here.

Andrea Starr, Total Wine & More’s director of beer merchandising, will join Brewbound's Brew Talks "State of the Industry" conversation on July 12.

Starr will join a conversation that includes: 

• Kristen Burke, Burke Distributing chief corporate growth officer;
• Dave Williams, Bump Williams Consulting VP of analytics and insights;
• Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head co-founder.

The program will also explore what’s next for the hazy IPA style with: 

• Dino Funari, Vitamin Sea founder;
• Kimberly Golinski, Wormtown Brewery president and GM.
• Megan Parisi, head brewer of the Samuel Adams downtown Boston taproom;
• Naveen Pawar, co-founder of Mighty Squirrel Brewing.

Castle Island co-founder Adam Romanow will also share an update from the Massachusetts Brewers Guild. 

Brew Talks takes place 3-6 p.m. ET at the Samuel Adams brewery in Jamaica Plain. Tickets are available now.

• Skagit Valley Malting permanently closed and is expected to file for bankruptcy;
• Brewing Union of Georgia updated its unfair labor practices claim against Creature Comforts to include employee retaliation firing, following the alleged firing of an employee for his union efforts;
• The Seltzerland hard seltzer festival evolves to meet changing consumer tastes.

Last week’s Brewbound Podcast featured the first appearance by BevNet spirits editor Ferron Salniker, who offered insights following the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States' annual conference. Plus, Zoe and Justin talk hard tea. 

Listen for free.

Look for a fresh Brewbound Podcast in your feeds this week as we discuss the Move Ukraine collaboration beer with Wisconsin Brewing Company’s Paul Verdu and Move Ukraine’s Ken Shearer. 

Plus, look for coverage on Brewbound.com of Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson’s webinar sharing 2023 Harris Poll results and providing a detailed look at the craft beer consumer.

And Constellation Brands reports Q1 fiscal year 2024 earnings on Friday morning.

Molson Coors’ latest swag deal is aimed at keeping your smartphone charged – and close to a can of Simply Spiked. The company is launching a sweepstakes to give away the “Juice Boost Charging Can Sleeve.” The koozie features a magnet that clips to the side of a phone.

Read more on the new tech here.