🦌 The Pennsylvania Brewery That's Bucking Craft Trends

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If craft beer had a Bizarro World, a place where everything was the opposite of its current state, it would be Williamsport, Pennsylvania, home of New Trail Brewing.

Co-founder Dave Hertwig told the wholesalers gathered for the brewery’s inaugural distributor summit last week: “We've all heard the headlines: There’s blood in the streets, craft’s in trouble, down -2% – not us. Month-over-month through the first seven months [of 2024], we've had growth. We're actually 75 and 0, never had a down month yet.”

New Trail’s output increased +33% in 2023, to 39,147 barrels of beer, according to the May/June issue of the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer Magazine. This made New Trail the 66th largest regional craft brewery in the country by volume, the fourth-largest Pennsylvania-headquartered brewery, and marked its third consecutive year of growth. 

Insiders can read more about New Trail’s month-by-month performance and its package strategy. Look for future Brewbound coverage of New Trail’s 2025 brand plan later this week.

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Music festival season is in full swing, and the industry is nothing if not eager to tap into youth trends. 

In this case, it’s the rising popularity of non-alcoholic (NA) beverages from across categories that’s manifesting at concert venues nationwide. Live Nation made headlines by investing in Liquid Death in 2021, but more activity followed: Goldenvoice, the promoter behind influencer-laden festival Coachella, has partnered with Los Angeles-based non-alcoholic retailer New Bar for two years in a row and has shown the revenue potential of innovative NA options in these settings.

Millard said: “[Non-alc] picked up quite a bit of steam and there’s no denying it. Beer is declining but non-alc is up.”

Among legal-drinking age consumers, 75% of Gen Z and 70% of Millennials were moderating their alcohol consumption in 2023, according to IWSR analysis.

Insiders can read more about NA gaining steam at live events.

The consumer price index (CPI) for beer both at home and away in July continued to outpace overall inflation and the CPI for the rest of the beverage-alcohol industry, according to the most recent report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The CPI for beer at home increased +4% year-over-year (YoY) unadjusted, double the rate of total bev-alc at home (+2%) and more than the CPI increase for all goods (+2.9%). 

Insiders can read more about other bev-alc categories' CPI changes, month-over-month CPI changes and price increases at retail.

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Tilray Brands announced “a definitive agreement” with Molson Coors Beverage Company to acquire four craft beer brands in its Tenth & Blake division. 

As part of the transaction, Tilray will add:

• Hop Valley Brewing Company in Eugene, Oregon;
• Terrapin Beer Co. in Athens, Georgia;
• Revolver Brewing in Granbury, Texas;
• And Atwater Brewery in Detroit, Michigan. 

Financial details were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close later this month.

Just over a year ago, Tilray acquired eight brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B): Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point, Red Hook, Widmer Brothers, 10 Barrel, Square Mile Cider and Hi-Ball Energy. The deal marked a significant culling of A-B’s craft portfolio and vaulted Tilray into the No. 6 spot among top U.S. craft brewers by volume, according to the Brewers Association (BA). 

Tilray Brands chairman and CEO Irwin D. Simon said when the transaction closes later this month, the growing brewery platform will add six brewhouses, taking its total to 20 breweries across the country, with production of more than 1 million barrels of beer – 15 million case equivalents  – annually.

This would land Tilray firmly in the No. 4 spot among BA-defined craft breweries, nudging out Gambrinus (Shiner, Trumer), which produced 483,929 barrels in 2023, according to the BA.

Insiders can read more about the deal, the performance of the Molson Coors brands, Tilray's integration plans and what Molson Coors is saying to wholesalers. 

At Brewbound Live in Marina del Rey on December 11 + 12, beer and beverage-alcohol companies can participate in retailer One-to-One meetings with ExtraMile Convenience. The buyer will be available for private, pre-scheduled meetings, and brands will be selected at the retailer’s discretion.

ExtraMile Convenience is a successful, industry-recognized c-store brand with more than 1,000 franchised convenience stores in California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Alabama, and Mississippi. The growing ExtraMile network leverages experience and efficiency of scale to deliver “extra” value.

Meet with Michelle Abdollah, the Category Manager of Alcoholic Beverages, during Brewbound Live. Michelle is a seasoned retail expert with over 15 years of experience in merchandising and operations. With a proven track record of driving growth and profitability, Michelle has honed her skills through various leadership roles at 7-Eleven and Target. Her expertise has earned her recognition as one of the Top Women In Convenience by Convenience Store News in 2024.

Beer and beverage-alcohol professionals attending Brewbound Live can also meet with Whole Foods beer category buyers, with additional retailers to be added soon!

You must be registered for Brewbound Live to be considered for a retailer meeting. Once you register for the event, you will receive an email with instructions for signing up.

Register for Brewbound Live 2024.