One of the first brewpubs in America, as well as arguably the first to brew a pumpkin ale, shut its doors for good after nearly 40 yrs in biz. "Sadly, Buffalo Bill's Brewery is officially closed until the next passing of the mash paddle of this historic and special place," owner Geoff Harries wrote on co's Instagram. Founded in 1983 by home brewer Bill Owens, Hayward, CA-based Buffalo Bill's was dubbed "the most historic brewpub in America" by the Smithsonian American History Museum, according to post. "I heard California law was changing to allow beer that you brewed yourself to be sold commercially. The law passed in January, in 1983, and I opened in September," Bill, now 84, told the SF Chronicle. He worked as both brewmaster and bartender, serving beer directly from the tank. Owens claimed to be "the first to brew pumpkin ale," and "always had an amber, a lager and a porter on tap."

After acquisition by an unidentified buyer last month, new owner of Cincinnati Beverage Co (CinBev) and its portfolio of legacy beer brands is ready to come forward, laying out big plans to boot. John Richardson is chairman of the board for SugarCreek, a food manufacturer and one of the largest private cos in Cincy, reports Cincinnati Biz Courier. And while CinBev - home to beer brands like Christian Moerlein and Little Kings - is operated separately from SugarCreek, Richardson is gearing up for a $30 mil renovation of 3 historic brewery buildings in Cincy's Over-the-Rhine nabe. Buildings will "likely include a brewing component," tho restoration could take 2 yrs and Richardson is still weighing ideas for their use.

Untitled Arts is takin' multiple steps toward next phase of growth both inside and out as it paves way as a new-age beverage co no longer beholden to craft beer-only or even specific brands/styles. Impressively, with very little marketing and sales structure internally, co built its biz to an estimated 45K bbls in 2021 after launching in 2016, per Brewers Assn stats. Up 29%, 10K bbls vs 2020. Yet it's no longer reliant on craft beer, transforming biz since 2018, and recently hiring industry vet Mark Hegedus as new CCO to help guide co thru next phase, Mark and co-founder Levi Funk shared with CBN. Hiring Mark is part of co's decision to start allocating significant $$ towards marketing and sales, "putting on our big boy pants" to an extent, Levi quipped. Recall, Mark's long and winding journey thru the beer biz started with Coors as natl accounts manager, then shifting to Red Bull before joining Deschutes in 2008, running AB's Goose Island and/or Blue Point from 2012-2015, FIFCO craft from 2015-2019 and Founders as CSO from late 2019 thru late 2021, per LinkedIn. "If anything, my path has proven I'm a life-long learner" of "the path less travelled," he said, adding he's set up to "provide guidance" for Untitled Arts.

7-Eleven continues to expand its Evolution Stores, opening its fifth unit in Dallas-Fort Worth area where retailer is based and ninth in US. Among the bells & whistles of new-concept location are Laredo Taco Company menu, premium cigar humidor, "Wine Cellar" and "customizable beverage options," as Specialty Food Assn reported. Store features a second self-serve espresso machine where 7-E will test specialty items including Cold Foam, Caramel Macchiato, Dirty Chai (Chai Tea Latte plus espresso double shot), White Mocha and Horchata Latte. Also available are cold brew coffee, organic smoothies and shakes, and vitamin-infused sparkling water. And not to worry, visiting gourmets can also get Slurpees and Big Gulp fountain bevs . . . In period that's seeing lotsa ceo and cfo departures from companies in various kinds of transitions, copacker TreeHouse Foods said William Kelley will step down as evp/cfo "to pursue another professional opportunity." He'll stay on the job thru Jun 30 to insure

Continuing its effort to make its kombucha as approachable as possible, Health-Ade has enlisted Broad City animator Mike Berry for campaign dubbed "Get That Good Gut Feeling" that enlists brand's little cartoon critters "to show how the secret to a happier gut is just one sip away," per creative brief. Working with agency Zambezi, Perry has created unique "gut world" in which introduction of Health-Ade galvanizes gut into jumping to life. And those guts aren't just ingesting kale. "From enjoying a plate of nachos, to kicking back at a BBQ, to recovering the morning after a party, the illustrations capture just a few ways Health-Ade Kombucha can pair with just about anything - while boosting happiness along the way," per co's announcement. Idea was to make messages about brand's efficacy "fun, uplifting and easily digestible (pun intended)," said marketing vp Charlotte Mostaed. The media buy includes digital video, streaming commercial ads on major platforms and national out-of-home ads.

More than a decade after Nielsen's initial investment in 2009, NielsenIQ announced outright acquisition of CGA this morn. Together, they'll strive to deliver "the first complete view of on- and off-premise data in the expanding BevAl market," spokesperson shared with INSIGHTS. And with addition of CGA, combined cos aim to "accelerate coverage - closing client blind spots" to offer "the most innovative and granular" alc bev measurement solution.

Tho Molson Coors continues to perform somewhat better in the marketplace (see above), it continues to have other difficulties. The latest: "A quality issue has been identified on select Coors Light and Keystone Light 12-ounce can packages," wrote Molson Coors to distribs in some states last Saturday. But "no health risk" and issue now "resolved," said MC today (details below). This issue reportedly affects distribs in close to 10 mostly midwestern states, with some getting lotsa product from Trenton, OH brewery. "The impacted product was produced between April 18 and June 02, 2022 at the Trenton Brewery," Molson Coors said. "These specific packages do not meet our quality standards. The issue was identified and corrected before the next production run." Molson Coors asks distribs to "hold all impacted product identified below" (list spans several pages), and "set aside for destruction" at distrib warehouses. Also asks distribs to "pull impacted" product sitting at retail. Timing: "Immediately." If distribs choose to destroy product themselves, MC "will cover the destruction costs up to $2.50 per case. Retrieving product from retail very labor intensive, said one distrib, who had 10s of thousands of affected cases. In some areas, for some distribs, this affected lotsa volume.

Key domestic premium and (especially) below premium brands continued to improve significantly in May scans, fueling notable share improvements for both AB and MC. In fact, below premium segment $$ grew 1% for 4 wks thru May 28 in NielsenIQ, gaining 0.1 share for period. Among top-6 subpremium brand fams, only Keystone lost a bit of share, -0.1 for 4 wks. Busch family sales surged 9%, +0.3 share, while Natty, Miller High Life, Bud Ice and Pabst all held flattish share. Other MC subpremium brands like Steel Reserve and Icehouse grew significantly too. So subpremiums doing a lot better. More signs of trade down starting?