Beer volume has been declining in scans for yrs now after immense channel shifting during 2020 pandemic led to over-inflated sales in off-prem chains. July 2023 is the first mo since 2020 (other than Jan 2023 going against extra easy comps) where beer volume was flattish in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data. Indeed, beer volume was flat and $$ sales jumped 5% with avg price/case still up ~5% for 4 wks thru Jul 30 in Circana MULC. So beer volume down just 2% YTD thru Jul 30 in these channels. Recall, beer shipments much softer this yr thru 1st half, down ~5% thru May, but STRs a bit healthier and off-prem sales-to-consumers have been steadier thruout, down 2-3%.

Molson Coors is getting more serious about spirits. It bought Georgetown, KY-based Blue Run Spirits, "a visionary and award-winning producer of finely crafted bourbon and rye whiskies," marking MC's first ever spirits acquisition, co announced this morn. Tho price wasn't disclosed, acquisition cost over $120 mil, said financial source. But move will add to MC's spirits footprint and "premiumize its portfolio" as co bolsters its beyond beer biz.

In financially more austere times for startups, whether or not to enter a new market can be daunting dilemma. Aiming to help with decision-making process is Pop Up Grocer, which counts most of its suppliers as not necessarily new to retail but new to retail in that particular market. Over the past coupla years, it's operated 9 popups in 7 cities and this past Mar opened its first permanent location, in NY's Greenwich Village area. In recent q&a for New Hope Network, the co that puts on the Expo West and Expo East trade shows, founder Emily Schildt said concept sprang from 8-year run as consultant operating as Sourdough helping new brands navigate retail space. "During my consultancy, I got a peek behind the curtain at the challenges brands face when first trying to enter retail. For mass retailers, it could be anywhere from one to two years or more from the point of first talking with the retailer to getting on shelf. We wanted to create an efficient path to market for these brands, a physical space where people could experience their product, and particularly influential people: early-adopter consumers, press, buyers, retailers and investors."

Premier Protein marketer BellRing Brands has named Shawn Conway as its seventh board member. Conway, currently ceo of Ste Michelle Wine Estates, had earlier had fruitful runs at Skyy Spirits for nearly a decade and then Peet's Coffee for 12 years culminating as ceo. Among his other board involvements is Sambazon, the leading acai purveyor . . . Bev journeyman Reuben Rios has signed on as dir of national accts for western region for 100 Coconuts after coupla years in similar role at LifeAid Beverage. Las Vegas-based exec's career had previously included stops at Miller distributor Bonanza Beverage, Xyience energy drink and Southern Glazer wine & spirits distrib. He's putting the alcohol experience to use with launch of 100 Coconuts' +Tequila RTD extension.

Tilray, the rollup of cannabis, beer, hempmilk and other stuff, now has an energy drink too. Hiball Energy brand was among slew of craft beer brands that Anheuser-Busch sloughed off to Tilray in transaction that included beer brands Shock Top, Breckenridge, Blue Point, 10 Barrel, Redhook and Widmer Bros along with cider brand Square Mile. Hiball can be presumed to rep inconsequential proportion of deal price. Deal continues Tilray's strategy of adding diversifying brands that might also serve as platform for cannabis plays once regulatory environment is right. It had previously acquired Breckenridge Distillery and SweetWater, Montauk, Alpine and Green Flash beers on alc side and Manitoba Hemp on NA side. So deal "both solidifies our national leadership position and share in the US craft brewing market and marks a major step forward in our diversification strategy," per Tilray chmn/ceo Irwin Simon. Nothing specific said about Hiball in announcement but brand was early organic play in energy that was acquired in 2017 by A-B's Zx venture arm, tho it never garnered much focus or momentum and arguably may have been too far ahead of its time. So sale to Tilray adds new lease on life for brand that otherwise might have been headed to oblivion.

As one hybrid cannabis/bev company ascends to new heights, another one fizzled out. Two Roots Brewing Co announced it would cease operations late last week. Indeed, Two Roots, which started as a THC-infused non-alc beer subsidiary of Cannabiniers and Lighthouse Strategies, had big eyes for beer acquisitions well before Tilray was even in the game. At one point, co claimed it had an LOI to form a JV with a top-10 craft brewer, planning to acquire 500K bbls/yr of brewing capacity. Two Roots bought smaller microbreweries including CA's Helm Brewing, CO's Dad & Dudes Breweria and MI's Rochester Mills, but came nowhere near that mark. Meanwhile, its THC-infused non-alc beers fell by the wayside, and co attempted to pivot to non-alc beer sales. Two Roots was a pioneer in THC bevs that took a chance on the category as it was just getting going. Yet THC bevs remains small shakes in the broader legal cannabiz landscape, which continues to struggle in established mkts.

A new leader will helm the ship at one of OR's OG craft brands as it navigates craft's choppy waters. After 4 yrs as prexy of Rogue Ales and Spirits and 7 yrs at the co, Dharma Tamm will step down from leadership role at end of Sep, moving over to the co's board. In his place, current mktg/creative veep Steven Garrett will take on prexy role on Oct 1. He's been with co 12 yrs, also previously acting as biz development veep. Steven's "led our diversification efforts, marketing/design teams and sales over that time," Dharma said, sharing his confidence that the "thoughtful leader, innovator and…passionate brand advocate…is the right person to lead Rogue going forward." Recall, Rogue reached well beyond craft beer biz yrs ago, expanding early into spirits, then beyond vertical integrations like its pubs, farms and barrel-production into a wide array of other bevs including hard seltzers, spirits-based RTDs and CBD drinks.

After yrs of declines since segment peaked in 2014, hard cider $$ are growin' solid mid-single-digits and gaining slight share of total beer in scans this yr as segment continues to shift toward regional players. Hard cider $$ grew 4.5% with volume still down 1% YTD thru Jul 22 in NielsenIQ channels. Outpacing total beer's 2.5% $$ gain and 2.7%, holding steady at 1.1 share of $$ and 0.7 share of volume. That's as cider's avg price remains highest in the biz by far with the gap vs other segments continuing to widen; up 6% to $47.85 per case YTD.