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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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 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.
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.
Bold Rock is pleased to announce the June 2019 release of Bold Rock Hard Seltzer, a new all-natural line of hard seltzer products crafted from real fruit and fresh Blue Ridge Mountain water. Bold Rock Hard Seltzer will initially launch with two handcrafted styles – Grapefruit and Cucumber Melon.
Lift Bridge Brewing Company, Stillwater’s first craft brewery since Prohibition, announces the launch of their hard seltzer product in 12-oz. cans, available now in variety six-packs at liquor stores throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin and Eastern North Dakota. Variety 12-packs of Lift Bridge Hard Seltzer will hit shelves later this month.
Alter Ego Cider, a small-batch, artisanal cidery owned and operated by winemakers in Portland, Oregon, has launched two ciders in cans: The Brut and The Guardian Angel. A third cider, The Dark Royale, will follow in the coming months.
One month after formally establishing its pH Experiment, a growth unit tasked with developing innovative products that play on the fringes of the beer category, Craft Brew Alliance today announced the launch of a new low-proof seltzer line called Pacer.
Colorado-headquartered Ceria Beverages plans to begin selling its THC-infused, non-alcoholic beers in Southern California within the next 90 days, according to co-founder Keith Villa.
Boston’s Harpoon Brewery is latest craft brewery jumping into the hard seltzer space. The new product line, a collaborative effort with Worcester, Massachusetts’ Polar Beverages, is called Arctic Summer.
Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced the purchase of fast-growing Cutwater Spirits, a craft distilling venture that was originally born inside of Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. Specific financial terms of the deal – A-B InBev’s first in the spirits space — were not disclosed.
Startup hard kombucha producer Juneshine today announced the closing of a seed funding round that has enabled the company to acquire brewing equipment at Ballast Point’s Scripps Ranch facility in San Diego and take over the property.
Canada’s Collective Arts Brewing is venturing into the cannabis sector. The Hamilton, Ontario-based craft brewery, located about 50 miles from the New York border, has established a sister company called Collective Project Limited that will develop and sell cannabis-infused beverages.
Pending approval from the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission, Flying Dog Brewery and Green Leaf Medical Cannabis plan to release Hop Chronic IPA, the state of Maryland’s first THC-infused non-alcoholic beer.
C Squared Ciders, a Denver, CO-based independent craft cidery announced the release of Drake, the second offering from their high end and barrel-aged Sailor Series. Drake is an English-American Hybrid Cider made with heritage Chisel Jersey apples.
In an effort to attract a growing number of drinkers who are moderating alcohol consumption, several beer companies are looking toward non-alcoholic brews as a way to boost sales and court the 30 percent of U.S. adults who don’t imbibe. Among major producers, both Heineken and Pabst have recently announced plans to roll out non-alc offerings nationwide in the first quarter of 2019. There’s also an emerging group of startups focused exclusively on crafting alcohol-free libations.
Common Cider Company, an Auburn, California company, is excited to announce the release of Ginger Pear, their Fall/Winter Seasonal. It is a true pear cider, made with fresh pear juice from Bartlett and D’Anjou varieties grown in Oregon and Washington.
Keith Villa, the legendary brewmaster who retired from MillerCoors earlier this year and launched Ceria, Inc., a cannabis company, is most known for creating the iconic Blue Moon Belgian-style wheat ale. So it’s only fitting that his first play in the cannabis-infused beverage space would be a de-alcoholized version of his popular brew. Called Grainwave, Villa’s first THC-infused non-alcoholic craft beer, a Belgian-style white ale, will hit Colorado dispensaries in mid-December.
