Intriguing and detailed report this morn from Bernstein's Nadine Sarwat notes investors often ask "what could the next big beer deal be?" And so she explores possibility that Heineken could buy Boston Beer in next 12+ months (report does not suggest anything is in the works). There's "an attractive strategic rationale for both," according to Nadine, tho "we don't see a deal as imminent." Boston Beer stock up 2% this morn on "takeover speculation," said Seeking Alpha.

St Paddy's Day provided a big-time boost on premise. Draft volume was up 20.8% compared to the holiday in 2022 and +81.3% vs 2021, according to BeerBoard's analysis of same-store data. Draft volume was also up 45% vs the previous Fri (Mar 10), which report attributes to confluence of Paddy's Day celebrations and March Madness.

General counsel for the CA Alc Bev Control (ABC) Matt Botting has a fairly broad view of what can be considered a "thing of value" that tied house laws prohibit a supplier or wholesaler from providing to a retailer. "If you can think of it and want to give it to a retailer, it's a 'thing of value.' 'Cause why else are you doing it?" That quip, made at last wk's 30th NABCA Legal Symposium, clearly isn't any kind of specific guidance from the agency Matt's represented for many yrs. Instead, it helped frame up the complicated set of questions he and other regulators face when trying to figure out if 3rd party apps create tied house violations.

White Claw "upended the beer business - now it is coming for vodka," WSJ headlined after interviewing Mark Anthony founder Anthony von Mandl. Indeed, Anthony talked a big game about White Claw Premium Vodka bottles and Vodka Soda RTDs, again touting "new filtration process" to create "a smoother drink," as WSJ wrote. White Claw Premium Vodka targeting similar positioning to the #1 vodka (and #1 spirits brand) in the country, Tito's, priced "comparably" at ~$20 per 750 ml bottle. Four-pks of White Claw vodka soda RTDs go for "around $11," which is "about the same price as a six-pack of White Claw hard seltzer."

A few notable shifts stood out in recent weeks of tracked off-prem data as spring resets began to take shape and other new brand initiatives began to factor in.

Natural-channel mainstay Reed's Inc's usual expansive Expo booth seemed a bit like a bazaar this year. While its ceo Norm Snyder stayed back in Conn dealing with operating issues ahead of quarterly earnings call next week, staffers on one side sampled co's canned Hard line of ginger-based bevs while the other side devoted extensive square footage to small part of overall biz, the ginger candies that have lately come under aegis of longtime Reed's execs Neal and Lisa Cohane. Also in the mix was founder and former ceo Chris Reed, who operates Reed's former LA plant as a copacker for Reed's and other cos under name California Custom Beverage. The irrepressible Reed, exuberantly attired in brand's green-&-yellow palette, tie-dye and all, in turn had offered space at the Reed's booth to one of his clients, Besitos, a spicy fruit soda launched recently by a youthful entrepreneur named Dimitri Beshkov as alternative to pursuing a career in law. Tho Reed's boasts a varied product array on non-alc side under its Reed's and Virgil's brands, there wasn't much sign of most of them this year. The somewhat chaotic scene spoke to a co that's in some flux.

British entrepreneur Hugh Thomas likes his branding brash and in your face. He may not have succeeded with Ugly Drinks' canned seltzer line but he's found a way back into the mix by helping Irish YouTube creator Jacksepticeye revamp his Top of the Mornin' dry coffee and tea line with branding that's more in synch with his effervescent personality, retaining comic's trademark opening line as brand name. The effort by the YouTuber whose real name is Sean McLoughlin seems to blend the aggressive persona of a creator like Logan Paul - who's behind the explosively popular Prime Hydration - and the coffee passion of Emma Chamberlain, the YouTube star who just moved her Chamberlain Coffee into RTD space. Tea and hot cocoa also are in the mix. Thomas, a vet of Kraft Heinz and Vita Coco before launching his Ugly venture, was announced as ceo this past week, but his LinkedIn profile lists him as having helped out on contract basis since last May, meaning he would have been intimately involved in the rebrand.