Danish multinational brewer Carlsberg has acquired a 20% stake in Mikkeller from New York-based private equity firm Orkila Capital, the Denmark-based craft brewery announced.

Another Heineken executive is moving over to the Lagunitas team. The Heineken-owned, Petaluma, California-based craft brewery announced today the appointment of Peter Green as head of sales. Green will officially take over the role on March 1.

A former server has filed a lawsuit against Artisanal Brewing Ventures (ABV) alleging the craft brewery platform violated federal and state labor laws by undercompensating tipped employees and requiring them to do untipped and unpaid tasks, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina.

Off-premise dollar sales of beer topped $47.9 billion in 2023, according to market research firm NIQ. Beer accounts for half of total alcohol off-premise dollar sales, which reached $89.8 billion last year, a +1.1% increase compared to 2022. Although dollar sales increased for beer (+1.4%), volume declined -3% compared to a year ago. Beer was… Read more »

Longtime Allagash Brewing sales director Naomi Neville will depart the Portland, Maine-headquartered craft brewery in early February after more than 14 years. With Neville’s impending exit, Allagash has promoted Josh Fruchtman to sales director.

Matagrano, an independent South San Francisco-based Anheuser-Busch distributor, has inked a deal to acquire Bottomley Distributing, which services Silicon Valley and the South Bay Area.

The deal environment within the craft brewing industry is “a bit slow” with “a lot of volatility, a lot of uncertainty,” which isn’t very conducive to dealmaking, Arlington Capital Advisors managing director Ryan Lake shared during the 2023 Brewbound Live business conference earlier this month.

Amid a sea change of top positions within craft this year, leadership at Rhinegeist Brewery explored the transition at the top of the Cincinnati, Ohio-headquartered craft brewery at the 2023 Brewbound Live business conference in Marina del Rey, California.

The Brewbound Podcast this year featured conversations with industry leaders on hot topics to strategies for navigating craft brewing’s mature era. The Brewbound team of Justin Kendall, Jess Infante and Zoe Licata discussed the closure of Anchor Brewing, data trends in craft and non-alc, leadership changes and refocused strategies. Those stories and more were reflected in the most listened to Brewbound Podcast episodes of 2023.

The fallout surrounding the conservative-led boycott of Anheuser-Busch’s (A-B) Bud Light brand and the accelerated declines that ensued accounted for three of Brewbound’s top stories of 2023. The internal machinations at A-B, including a reshuffling of its craft division, also piqued Brewbound readers’ interests. As we close out the year, here’s a look back at the 10 most-read stories of 2023.

As another Dry January approaches, the non-alcoholic (NA) category has posted “its largest year of absolute dollar growth in five years,” Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA) CEO Marcos Salazar shared during the trade association’s webinar earlier this month.

Year-to-date (YTD) craft beer sales in off-premise retailers have inched closer to flat with one month to go, according to market research firm Circana. Through December 3, craft beer sales in multi-outlet and convenience stores are down -0.9%, an improvement compared to the last four- (-1.6%), 12- (-3.9%) and 52-week (-1%) periods. Craft dollar sales… Read more »

Ty Gilmore, president of Tilray Brands’ U.S. beer division, estimated that he receives around two to three calls a day from potential sellers looking to join the Canadian cannabis firm’s craft brewery platform.

Stowe, Vermont-based von Trapp Brewing will launch refreshed branding in the first quarter of 2024, including a reimagining of its ibex logo and updated packaging. The new look packaging will begin shipping to distributors in February and is expected to be on shelves throughout von Trapp’s 13-state footprint by the end of March.