This week’s beer goes out to Oktoberfest beers for kicking pumpkin beers’ a**es during this fall seasonal uh, season. Lester Jones shared this nice chart here from the folks at FINTECH in a webinar last week illustrating the dominance (well done on the Beerfest addition there – who says data nerds don’t have fun?).

The Kroger Company and Albertsons Companies this week terminated the proposed $24.6 billion merger agreement that was initially announced more than two years ago, after a federal judge sided with the Federal Trade Commission suing to block the deal and Washington and Oregon state courts put permanent injunctions in place to halt the transaction.

Hollywood’s cannabis king is pouring up something new. Houseplant, the Los Angeles-based cannabis and lifestyle brand co-founded by actor and producer Seth Rogen, is moving into beverages with the U.S. launch of a four-SKU line of hemp-derived THC-infused flavored sparkling waters, available now in select markets and online.

Six finalists emerged from a field of 11 contestants to secure a spot in tomorrow’s final round of the Brewbound Live Pitch Slam.

Brewbound unveiled the trade publication’s 2024 industry Award Winners and Rising Stars today during the 2024 Brewbound Live business conference in Marina del Rey, California. The Brewbound Awards serve as an appreciation of industry members, trend setters, breakout brands, change agents and up-and-coming entrepreneurs, celebrating their achievements in the last year.

Brewbound revealed the winners of its 2024 awards during the Brewbound Live business conference this week in Marina del Rey, California. This week’s Brewbound Podcast features interviews with three of those award winners: The 2024 Craft Brewery of the Year, Coronado Brewing Company; the 2024 Large Brewery of the Year, Narragansett Beer; and the 2024 Beyond Beer Company of the Year, Surfside.

Global spirits giant Suntory Holdings revealed today the creation of a new business unit, Suntory RTD Company North America, focused on malt-based, ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings with the first release expected to hit U.S. retailers in mid-January 2025.

The proposed $24.6 billion Kroger/Albertsons mega-merger was temporarily blocked today by a federal judge, who ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) suing to block the deal.

A second straight year of production declines appears likely, with the full-year craft volume number likely to be “weaker than the midyear estimate” of down -2%, the Brewers Association (BA) shared in the trade organization’s 2024 Year in Beer recap.

Chicago-based Funkytown Brewery’s mission is to bring more people into craft beer. Now it’s creating a physical space to be the homestead of that mission. Funkytown has made a deal to acquire a building near the United Center that the Black-owned craft brewery plans to transform into a taproom and beer garden.

Ninety-five percent of bev-alc brand launches fail, according to Gustavo Aguirre, VP of brand innovation at investment firm InvestBev. Aguirre spoke during BevNET’s Spirits Sunday event in Marina del Rey, California. Aguirre was joined by GHJ advisory partner Maria Pearman and 5:30 Somewhere founder Dale LeFlam.

In Japan, some of the country’s oldest sake brewers are eagerly awaiting a decision next month on their bid for the rice wine to win recognition as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, a commendation reflecting the depth to which the beverage is tied to national pride and tradition. Other ambitious brewers, meanwhile, are just as eager to buck tradition altogether.

A-B Believes in the Strength of Total Portfolio; A Round With PR Expert Kevin York; BI: October Beer Supply Nearly Flat; Massachusetts’ Redemption Rock to Close; CinBev to Acquire Taft’s Brewing; Yuengling Adds Illinois; and Craft Gains Share of On-Premise Dollars.

There are four “winds of change” impacting consumers’ bev-alc purchasing decisions, and Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) believes it has the brands to speak to all four of those trends, according to A-B U.S. chief commercial officer Kyle Norrington.