Beyond Beer

Read the latest beyond beer news relating to companies involved with RTD cocktails, hard cider, hard seltzer, hard kombucha, spirits, cannabis, and non-alcoholic products. Take a comprehensive look at developments in these evolving sectors, offering valuable insights into the innovations, trends, and market forces shaping the world of beer and beyond.

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Featured Beyond Beer Content

Ryan Burk Joins Blake’s Beverage as VP of Quality & Innovation

Ryan Burk Joins Blake’s Beverage as VP of Quality & Innovation

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.

Allagash Launches First Adult Non-Alc Offering with Hop Water

Allagash Launches First Adult Non-Alc Offering with Hop Water

Allagash Brewing is launching its first non-alcoholic (NA) offering this week with the release of Allagash Hop Water. Hop Water will exclusively be sold in 12 oz. can 6-packs at the brewery’s tasting room in Portland, Maine, starting later this week.

Bump Williams Consulting: FMB, Spirits-Based RTD Volume Gains Slowing; Imports Remain ‘Beacon of Consistent Volume’ Growth

Bump Williams Consulting: FMB, Spirits-Based RTD Volume Gains Slowing; Imports Remain ‘Beacon of Consistent Volume’ Growth

The once-booming flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment is “showing some concerning declarations over recent weeks,” Bump Williams Consulting (BWC) founder Bump Williams noted in a recent report. FMB volume gains dropped by half – from +2.2%, to +1.1% – from the four-week period to the one-week period ending May 18, according to NIQ retail measurement data cited by BWC.

Additional Content

Vita Coco, Diageo Collaborate on Captain Morgan RTD Canned Cocktail

Vita Coco, Diageo Collaborate on Captain Morgan RTD Canned Cocktail

Vita Coco is the latest non-alcoholic beverage giant to dip its toes into the RTD cocktail space, announcing today a collaboration with spirits conglomerate Diageo to release a line of coconut water spiked with Captain Morgan white rum.

Industry Veterans InvestBev Look for Spirits for the Masses

Industry Veterans InvestBev Look for Spirits for the Masses

Brian Rosen doesn’t want to invest in your vodka flavored with sriracha or lemon peel and cumin. The lifelong beverage entrepreneur and advisor is channeling his experience into growing spirit brands that instead have wide appeal, and he’s adding strategic capital through InvestBev, an investment firm focused on adult-beverage brands, raw distillate, beverage technology and cannabis.

Out of the Box: How Grisa Soba Built Flaviar Into A Digital Spirits Hub

Out of the Box: How Grisa Soba Built Flaviar Into A Digital Spirits Hub

In his own words, Grisa Soba has “always been a contrarian and tried to do things differently.” That approach has taken Flaviar, the spirits enthusiast membership club Soba launched in 2012 from a simple tasting box format to one of the largest clubs of its kind serving the U.S. and EU. Before moving into digital… Read more »

Here Come the Mezcal RTDs, But Not So Fast

Here Come the Mezcal RTDs, But Not So Fast

With more drinkers reaching for tequila-based ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktails, mezcal versions could seem like a natural next step considering the spirit’s recent rise. Madre Mezcal, a brand with a foothold in the mezcal market is the most recent to launch their version, a 5% ABV can called Desert Water that comes in four flavors. Meanwhile, Elenita, which launched as the first mezcal RTD in 2020, has been steadily growing their distribution. But unlike other agave spirit RTDs, they might not get much competition for a while – the supply chain challenges are just that big

Diversity in Spirits: Black Spirit Owners Look to the Past and the Future to Build Legacy Businesses

Diversity in Spirits: Black Spirit Owners Look to the Past and the Future to Build Legacy Businesses

Last week, premium whiskey Uncle Nearest announced its third in a series of investments designed to create a tangible shift in the funding inequities for BIPOC-owned businesses. It comes at a time when other Black founders and business leaders are also making strides to celebrate Black people’s historical contributions to spirits and build more Black-owned legacy beverage businesses.

Diversity in Spirits: Suppliers Commit to Equalize Representation of Black Community Working in Spirits

Diversity in Spirits: Suppliers Commit to Equalize Representation of Black Community Working in Spirits

The pronghorn is the second-fastest land mammal in the world, second only to the cheetah. But the pronghorn can sustain its speed for longer than a cheetah, according to Dia Simms, a co-founder of Pronghorn, an initiative focused on cultivating the next generation of Black entrepreneurs, executive leaders, and founders within the spirits business. Simms,… Read more »

Star Power: What Makes Celebrity Booze Brands Fly or Fail

Star Power: What Makes Celebrity Booze Brands Fly or Fail

From actors to musicians to the world’s richest man, high profile figures have built their own category within the alcohol industry: celebrity spirits. But as celebrity-owned or endorsed brands become the norm, what makes them succeed or fail?