Deal maker Townsend Ziebold has joined Arlington Capital Advisors as of July 1. Ziebold announced the move to business contacts, and Arlington leaders confirmed.

Molson Coors-owned Leinenkugel’s is making its flagship Summer Shandy a year-round offering. Leinenkugel’s president Tony Bugher and John Leinenkugel discuss why the move represents the company getting out of its own way, how big the brand is for its business and how they plan to support the brand in the colder months.

The state-by-state battle to expand sales of ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails continues as spirits advocates celebrated a win in North Carolina this week.

New Belgium will take over production of Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Light in the U.S. when the Japanese lager brand’s contract brewing agreement with Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) expires later this year, New Belgium announced today. New Belgium is a subsidiary of Kirin-owned, Australian-based Lion.

OK everyone, look classy and put on your nice flannels (and button them all the way up please, Donn) – Margot Robbie is entering our world. Yes, Barbie herself is joining the celebrity spirits gold(schlager) rush with her new PAPA SALT gin brand.

Suntory Global Spirits is continuing to bet big on ready-to-drink (RTD), announcing today Carol Robert, previously COO of Suntory Beverage and Food Great Britain & Ireland (SBF GB&I), as its new managing director of U.S. RTD.

Beer buyers believe the category will still be king for this year’s July 4 holiday, according to the latest Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) from the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).

Former Angry Orchard head cider maker Ryan Burk has joined Blake’s Beverage Company as VP of quality and innovation. Burk has been advising Blake’s and its portfolio of brands – Blake’s Hard Cider, Austin Eastciders and AVID Cider Co. – for a couple years, including through the launch of its most recent innovations.

Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) has laid off about two dozen employees, Brewbound has learned. The craft rollup – which includes Victory Brewing, Southern Tier, Sixpoint Brewery and Bold Rock Cider – primarily eliminated jobs in sales, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation.

The latest installment of Brewbound’s A Round With – a weekly Insider-exclusive Q&A series with industry leaders – features Caitlin Braam, founder and owner of Yonder Cider and The Source.

The average U.S. consumer will spend $99 on a 10-person barbecue this summer, with a significant portion of that cost coming from bev-alc and soda, according to analysts from Rabobank, a financial services company.

Beer is at the top of most Independence Day revelers’ shopping lists, according to market research firm Numerator.

Glass bottle manufacturer Ardagh will close its Houston plant in July and lay off 220 workers, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The beverage-alcohol industry is undergoing a transformative shift driven by the explosive growth of ready-to-drink (RTD) products.