Constellation Brands Beer Division delivered solid results, meeting or exceeding guidance, but once again there were other overhangs from Canopy and wine and spirits. And stock looks to be down slightly in pre-market trading. STZ beer revs jumped $201 mil, 11% in qtr. Its shipments jumped 7.5 mil cases, 7.5%. That was a couple of points faster than sales-to-retailers, which were up 5.5%. These numbers also show that STZ still getting 3.5% rev per bbl increase, far ahead of its 1-2% guidance and it was able to ship ahead of depletions as it builds towards summer.

Been this way for some years now, but craft beer just ain't attracting new consumers the way it did a decade ago. Whether it's the portion of craft drinkers who drink craft weekly, the segment's in-roads with women and non-white consumers, the traits that attract folks to craft, the flavors they seek or the frequency of their brewery visits, surveys suggest stasis, Brewers Assn economist Bart Watson showed during webinar presentation today, leaning on its annual Harris Poll conducted on org's behalf. The survey identified just over 2,000 21+ adults who drink craft at least several times per yr. Of that group, 47% drink craft weekly, not too far from where it's been since 2018.

JuneShine has plenty in the hopper this summer. And as co looks to build its bifurcating biz of hard kombucha and canned cocktails, it's "open to" strategic partnerships to help bolster distribution, CMO Forrest Dein noted in mid-yr update with CBN. Co now views its biz in 2 distinct pieces: hard kombucha on track to make up about 80% with sales in 27 states; RTDs will be ~20%, currently sold in just 14 mkts (not states). That mix is likely to shift significantly, as co plans to at least "double" RTD sales next yr while doubling their distribution too. But JuneShine's goal is to keep taking share of hard kombucha despite segment declines, and so far it's doing just that. Brand snagged an additional 5 share to 36 nationally, now up to 44 share in SoCal, according to Forrest, adding to its lead as #1 hard kombucha supplier. And while this yr is mainly about going "deeper" in existing kombucha mkts, JuneShine is "still only at 5% ACV" across total US with plenty of green grass ahead, Forrest believes.

The 2023 Beer Industry Update puts the US beer biz at your fingertips. No other resource compiles such a wide range of crucial beer industry stats and facts in a single source. Volume totals, brewer, brand and segment shipments, retail trends, price indexes, brand surveys, consumption data and more: it's all here in over 200 pages, 300 tables and charts featuring thousands of data points.

This week in 1984, AB paid a $2 mil offer in compromise to BATF to settle violation claims. That $2 mil payment was "almost 3X bigger than 1978 offer by Schlitz, and larger than $1.2 mil offer by Seagram's" the yr before, noted INSIGHTS. BATF had AB sign a consent decree too meaning agency could take co into court anytime it believed laws were being broken again. "In this case we felt the violations were flagrant enough and widespread enough that a dollar settlement wasn't enough," asst dir of BATF Bob Maxell told St Louis Post-Dispatch. BATF claimed AB "engaged in predatory trade practices," that caused competitors' products "to be thrown out or excluded," in venues across the US including stadiums, World's Fair and other event spaces. He told INSIGHTS: "some violations we've seen in this, and other cases make us wonder how the brewer makes money." Offer with no admission of guilt filed from AB said: "the conduct in question was attributable to instances of failure of field level employees to comply with company policy."

A trio of mainstream beer segments joined imports in expansion territory in this mo's Beer Purchasers' Index from NBWA. Index of distrib orders for premium lights crossed the 50-pt threshold to 52, while premium regular and below premium hit 53, org reported yesterday. (Recall over 50 indicates expanding orders, under 50 contracting.) These dynamics appear to be driven by ongoing upheaval and major share shift from some AB premium brands to others, benefiting some wholesalers and hitting others hard. So BPI increase not necessarily indicative of volume growth.

Monster Bev seems to have succeeded with motion it filed last night claiming that its $362 mil offer for assets of Bang Energy marketer VPX Sports should be accepted because there are no other valid bids on the table and liquidation is only alternative. But bid still must get past Federal Trade Commission investigation of potential anticompetitive impact of deal, and rival bidder Gary Smith responded with blistering statement that MNST continues its effort to stifle competition. At issue is bid from Monster that's valued at as much as $362 mil that would take out Truist Bank and other creditors vs more modest offer from Smith's group, operating as Providence, in amount of $135 mil in cash that would leave banks holding paper as brand seeks to get back on track. He termed it a placeholder bid above liquidation value that he said he was in negotiations with Truist to increase. When his group offered earlier bid in $335 mil range, bank had indicated it viewed Providence as backup bid, he said. (This article first appeared in sibling pub Beverage Business INSIGHTS.)

The beer biz continues to get a ton of focus in the mainstream media in the wake of the Bud Light controversy. Seemingly, the beer business has become everybody's business. (In fact, one Wall St Jnl article on Bud Light became the #1 most popular on its website.)

Pricing action seemingly settled into similar pattern as Memorial Day for next big upcoming holiday, July 4 weekend, across multiple mkts/chains INSIGHTS viewed. Where Bud Light, and often times Budweiser, $15 rebates are available, consumers can buy big packs for as low as $2.99 to $9.99 in mkts like Long Island, NY, Ann Arbor, MI, Cincy, OH, Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta, GA, and Portland, OR (after rebates). Competing brands' big packs are relatively cheap, but they ain't going down nearly as much as Bud Light and/or Bud.