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January results came in hot pretty much across the board in natl scan data, albeit with an extra jolt from storm-related stock-ups in the latest wk. Total beer $$ grew 3.5% with volume up more than 2% YTD thru Jan 25 vs yr ago in Circana multi-outlet + convenience data with virtually every segment posting at least slight $$ sales growth for period. That includes craft beer $$ up 2.3% with volume up 0.5% too. Segment still shed 0.1 share of total beer $$ to 10.3. Domestic premium (-0.8) and FMBs (-0.3) were the only other segments that lost share among those tracked by Circana. But keep in mind, Circana separates non-alc beer into its own segment, still up 18%, +0.2 share pts to 1.7 total. With craft making up a sizable portion of non-alc sales and growth, suggests total craft $$ trend up ~3% and share loss cut in half if you include non-alcs. Craft Up 5% in C-stores, Up 0.7% in Food Craft continues to outperform the beer category in c-stores, where it still under-indexes, while losing ground in more-established foodstore channel. Craft $$ grew 5.4% and gained 0.1 share of beer $$ in natl Circana c-stores, rising to 6.8 total. Yet craft remains one of the smallest segments in c-stores, now slightly smaller than hard seltzer, which grew nearly 8% and snagged 0.3 share pts to 6.9 total. In foodstores, craft beer $$ managed to grow 0.7%, but shed 0.7 share, marking the biggest share loss of any segment in the channel. Craft still has 18.5 share, remaining the 3d largest beer segment by $$ in foodstores. And again, with non-alc included it's a prettier picture. But any way you slice it, craft still struggling to shore up share losses in food.Several Top Craft Cos Posting Early Yr Growth Several top craft suppliers were growing and gaining share of craft too. Kirin-Lion craft portfolio grew nearly 8% with both New Belgium and Bell's gaining share of craft and total beer. AB acquired craft portfolio was up 6% with several top fams growing even faster, i.e. Goose up 15%, Elysian craft up 11% (1 pt faster with new Easy Dust non-alc), Wicked Weed up 27%. And gotta note, Karbach craft sales seem to be rebounding nicely after a few tuffer yrs, starting the yr up 4.5%. Sierra Nevada also up 6% YTD thru Jan 25, continuing to gain share of both craft and total beer.Then too, Lagunitas was up more than 4% with flagship IPA up 4% and Little Sumpin' leaping up 22%. Monster Brewing's CANarchy portfolio grew 8% with lead brand Cigar City Jai Alai IPA up closer to 9% to start the yr. Artisanal Brewing Ventures grew 4% (thanks to craft and hard cider growth). While not counted in craft segment, Athletic Brewing $$ sales grew 19%. Sapporo USA was up 2%, tho that's all from Sapporo Premium Draft brand leaping up 15% while Stone sales remain soft. And MC craft brands managed to eke out 0.3% $$ growth with Blue Moon craft flattish and Leinenkugel's craft up 5%, again slightly better with inclusion of Blue Moon NAs (up 8%).20 of Top 30 Craft Brands Grew $$ in MULC; Mostly Large Cos Plus Sierra, Georgetown, Gambrinus; Sierra Pale & Shiner Bock Gains Nice to see 2/3 of top 30 craft brands in growth mode in natl scans to start the year too. Many of 'em are from larger suppliers: 5 from Kirin-Lion (4 New Belgium, 1 Bell's); 5 from AB with 1 from each of Elysian, Goose, Wicked Weed, Kona and Golden Road; 2 from Lagunitas/Heineken; MC, Monster and Mahou San Miguel each had 1 with Leinie Shandy Seasonal, Cigar City Jai Alai and Founders All Day. Tho top indie craft co, Sierra Nevada, had 3 of the 20 growth brands to start the year in MULC. Hazy Little Thing led the way, up 11%, posting 3d largest $$ gain in craftland. Perhaps even more notable, flagship Sierra Pale was up 4%, a big deal if that can sustain. Big Little Thing grew nearly 2%. And in foodstores Sierra Seasonal grew more than 20% and Hazy IPA variety pk up 4%. Another indie brand, Georgetown Bodhizafa IPA, accelerated up 25% in MULC for period, and another key flagship started the year in growth mode with Shiner Bock up 2.6%.Fruit Force Up 100%; Shock Top Up Big in Foodstores at Low Price One of the more surprising names to top the list of growth brands was Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force, suddenly up 100%. It posted the 2d largest $$ gain of any craft brand YTD, only behind Voodoo Ranger Juice Force (+10%). Unclear what got into Fruit Force as it was down double digits all last yr, but part of the reason could be return of full production capacity at New Belgium's Asheville facility.Another surprise gainer was Tilray's Shock Top Belgian White, finding success at lower price points in foodstores, where the brand now ranks among top 30 nationally. Shock Top Belgian White $$ were up 28% and volume up 42% with avg price/case slashed nearly $3, 10% to just $26.31. Yet parent co Tilray's beer sales were still down ~13% in natl foodstores and -11% in MULC, suggesting many of its other craft fams remain soft in these channels.

Every Segment's Up in Jan Scans, Including Craft! $$ Sales Grew 2.3%, Still Shed 0.1 Share (Ex NAs)

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