Vol 6, No 47 Nov 24, 2025

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Ready-to-Drink Wine & Spirits Up to 7.4 Share of Beer + RTD $$; Including RTDs Cuts Dollar Decline in Half EXPRESS - Nov 17 Ready-to-drink wine and spirits continue to gain ground within bev alc, and when counted as part of beer, they markedly improve the picture — particularly by dollars. Ready-to-drink wine and spirits collectively grew to about 7.4 share of beer + RTD dollar sales in yr-to-date NIQ scans thru Oct 25 across Total US xAOC + convenience + liquor. Counting RTDs as part of beer cuts the category's dollar declines by more than half: beer/FMB/seltzer/cider $$ sales dropped 3.2% YTD, whereas total beer + RTD dollar sales slipped just 1.5%. Together, wine & spirits RTDs grew 25.5% to $3.7 bil in tracked yr-to-date scans, adding over $750 mil in total.


Rogue Production Facility & Taprooms Abruptly Shuttered as Declines and Unpaid Fees Mounted CRAFT - Nov 17 Rogue Ales & Spirits suddenly shuttered its operations across its 47K sq-ft facility in Newport, OR as well as all of its taproom outposts, The Lincoln Chronicle reported among many other local news outlets. On the Newport facility alone, the company reportedly owes $545K in rent to the Port of Newport and up to $30K in taxes to Lincoln County, and abruptly announced the closure after meeting with Port of Newport officials Nov 14. Rogue had quietly shuttered its 4,800 sq-ft distillery operation recently too, and "the Port agreed last month to re-lease a portion of" the building to a seafood processor called West Coast Seafood. Its taprooms in Newport, Portland, Astoria and West Salem, OR have also "closed until further notice." Rogue's monthly rent on the main building is reportedly $37K. "All they told us is that they will keep three staff members to help properly shut down the brewery" in Newport, Port of Newport executive director Paula Miranda told Lincoln Chronicle.


ABI Nearing Deal to Buy BeatBox for Around $700 Mil, WSJ Reports EXPRESS - Nov 18 World's biggest brewer could soon strike a deal to purchase BeatBox for "around $700 million," the Wall St Jnl reported Nov 18, citing "people familiar with the matter." Deal "could come together soon" assuming talks don't fall apart, per report. So AB could be adding another big RTD brand to the mix. Tho this time it'd be on the wine side after already amassing a sizable ready-to-drink spirits portfolio with Cutwater and Nutrl. Austin-based BeatBox has been on fire in recent yrs, with expectations to surpass $240 mil in revenue and ~610K bbl equivalents in 2025. That implies nearly a 3x revenue multiple and much more on profit. The popular party punch maker has primarily made its mark with high-ABV wine-based RTDs, still up 33% on that side of the biz in NIQ tracked off-premise scans this yr. Its newer malt-based versions are adding significant growth too, making BeatBox the #1 growth co in beer/malt by $$ in scans this yr.


BellRing Brands Scores Solid Q4 Volume Growth but Temporarily Spooks Investors with Tepid Q1 Outlook; Coffee House Enters 'Proffee' Space; More Indulgent Offerings on Way BEV INSIGHTS - Nov 18 Premier Protein marketer BellRing Brands delivered strong volume-driven fiscal Q4 2025 while warning that the new fiscal year will get off to a slower start, in part due to one-time events, before strong growth resumes for rest of year. Along the way prexy/CEO Darcy Davenport sketched out robust innovation slate that includes pending launch of Coffee House protein coffee line and further explorations of altmilk entries after its first, using almondmilk, got off to a good start. BRBR also continues to take steps to move beyond multipack sales in the pharma aisle, winning more impulse placements with single bottles, tho DSD does not seem to be a consideration yet. Here's what the numbers looked like. Net sales in fiscal Q4 rose 16.6% to $648.2 mil on 19.2% volume gain slightly offset by 2.6% decline in price/mix as volume-generating promos took a bite. Core Premier Protein line enjoyed 14.9% sales boost on 18.4% volume lift offset by 3.5% decrease in price/mix.


Liquid Death "Strengthens" Distribution; Moves From 3 More AB One Branches on West Coast EXPRESS - Nov 19 About one month after Liquid Death moved from AB One branch in NYC (just prior to AB One NYC sale to Southern Glazer's), co announced move from several other branches too, including AB One in Seattle, Eugene and LA. Liquid Death reportedly staying with AB One in OK. Liquid Death said it has signed agreements with 4 new distribs, Sunset Dist in LA metro (Hand Family Cos), Odom Corp in Seattle, Bigfoot Bev in Eugene, OR and Summit in rural Phoenix, OR (pop. 4400). Those distribs reportedly taking on brand before year-end. Liquid Death called these moves an "upgrade" that "strengthen Liquid Death's presence along the West Coast as it scales to meet rapidly growing consumer demand." Liquid Death founder/ceo Mike Cessario added: "These best-in-class distribution partners will bring us the highest level of execution and deep local expertise in these key markets."


More Severe Strokes Linked to Heavy, But Not Moderate Drinking, Study Shows ALCOHOL ISSUES - Nov 19 Heavy drinkers, but not light or moderate drinkers, may experience more severe strokes or brain bleeds at younger ages compared to all others, a new paper published this month suggests. Both the study itself and the modest news coverage it received emphasized the increased stroke risk linked to "excessive" or "heavy alcohol use" (HAU), categorized here as an average of 3 or more drinks per day. Indeed, though they looked for it, researchers found no significant increase in risk, nor any consistent pattern to outcomes, among patients reporting lower levels of alcohol consumption. Yet one of the study's lead authors still chose to caution patients that "limiting alcohol consumption to no more than three drinks per week may be an effective measure to protect against all types of stroke."


More Fun than a Barrel of Monkeys: Barrel One Aims for Curation of Complex Biz; 2026 to Bring Harpoon Refresh & So Much More CRAFT - Nov 19 Closing in on a year after the merger of two New England craft-focused portfolios into Barrel One Collective, it's "amazing how good it feels," Harpoon co-founder and Barrel One prexy Dan Kenary told Craft Brew News of the complex integration process during a recent visit to co's HQ and longtime Harpoon location in Boston. Positivity in the ailing craft beer and broader beer biz isn't easy to come by and Barrel One faces considerable challenges of its own with many of its brands still in decline. But looking back at effort to stitch together this sprawling set of brands and bizzes, "it's gone awfully well," CEO Nathaniel Davis agreed, citing "very little left" to do to integrate the biz that now sells well over a dozen different brand fams and operates breweries and taprooms in 4 different states.


States Suits, Health Claims, "Alcohol Bashing" Hurt Fed Hemp Efforts, Bev Coalition Warns, Urging Unity EXPRESS - Nov 20 In week since fed lawmakers passed bill to reopen govt that also put strict limits on intoxicating hemp, advocates for that industry are scrambling to come together, set prior differences aside and find more allies, Diana Eberlein, chair of the Coalition for Adult Beverage Alternatives (CABA) explained during monthly call last Thur. "Lack of collaboration" and alignment among various pieces of hemp biz was key hindrance, she shared. So "the key meetings are happening," with "calls being scheduled with groups who lobbied against us," trying to find the compromises necessary to turn them into allies, she explained.


NEW PRODUCTS: Pepsi Prebiotic Cola to Make Splash on Black Friday; Danone Intensifies Protein Level of Silk Offerings BEV INSIGHTS - Nov 20 PepsiCo will use Black Friday consumer frenzy to tee up its new Pepsi Prebiotic Cola, styled modestly as "the boldest evolution in cola in more than two decades," ahead of its formal debut at retail early next year. The hoopla will include brand's first TV ad aired on Amazon broadcast of Friday night football, with ability to purchase item directly off TV screen. Pitched reassuringly as being "unbelievably Pepsi," new line will bring modest prebiotic content of 3 g with just 5 g of sugar to sweeten, making for 30 calories per 12-oz can. That's about in line with its acquired portfolio mate Poppi tho without the apple cider vinegar that's also key part of Poppi recipe. Soda giant is claiming that it's managed to retain "iconic Pepsi taste" while offering bit of a health fillip to sate function-seeking shoppers. In words of Pepsi trademark marketing vp Gustavo Reyna, that makes it a "breakthrough innovation" that "upholds the iconic taste of Pepsi that people love, now with no artificial sweeteners, lower sugar and functional ingredients."


Very Challenging Year; Down Near 30 Mil Bbls Last 4 Yrs; Lowest Volume Since the 80s BEER INSIGHTS - Nov 21 The beer biz has hit a rough patch in last few years, to put it mildly. With US beer shipments down 7 mil bbls, 4.7% thru Sep 2025, US biz will probably end this yr no higher than 186 mil bbls (taxpaid + imports), even in unlikely event biz flat in Q4. So shipments will have dropped at least 28 mil bbls, 13% since 2021, and more like 30 mil bbls, 14% if industry declines at similar rate in Q4 as it did Jan-Sep (as Oct-Nov retail data suggests). Recall, 2021 was somewhat inflated post-pandemic (industry up in 2020-21). So one slight silver lining is that if you go back to 2019, the last "normal year," then beer down only a little more than 10% (21 mil bbls) in 6 yrs. Still, any way you cut it, 2025 US beer shipments shaping up to be lower than 1986, when US biz at 188 mil bbls. Yikes!


Power of AB/BeatBox Combo in NIQ Analysis by BWC: #3 In Flavor YTD, #1 High ABV Flavor for 13 Weeks EXPRESS - Nov 21 Total flavored alc bev sales (malt bev, wine, spirits, cider) up 3.2% yr-to-date thru 11/8 in NIQ data shared by Dan Wandel, veep and chief strategy officer of Bump Williams Consulting. Dan's old co, Mark Anthony, is still #1 in flavor, tho it's off slightly (-1.3%). MAB got 24 share of flavor, down 1.1 share. Boston Beer is #2, down 3.5% and 1.2 share to 17. And yr-to-date, Gallo is #3, up 4.4% and 0.1 share to 7.2. Those 3 players are almost half of the flavor segment. But potential ABI/BeatBox deal (in works for $700 mil, wrote WSJ) would create powerful new #3 player. AB is currently #5 at 6.4 share, up 20%. And it gained 0.9 share. BeatBox, currently #8 at 2.6 share, up 36% and gained 0.6 share. Combined ABI + BeatBox would be up 24% and 1.5 share, jumping ahead of Gallo and Sazerac to #3 in flavor with 9 share of segment.


Athletic On Pace to Surpass 500K Bbls of Non-Alc Beer in 2025; Bill's Bullish as Ever on Oppys Ahead; More Innovation & 50% Mktg Increase in '26 CRAFT - Nov 21 Athletic Brewing maintained 28% depletions growth for running 12 mos with growth staying relatively consistent each quarter, CEO/founder Bill Shufelt shared with CBN. That puts co on track to surpass 500K bbls in 2025, up from just under 400K bbls produced in 2024. In the course of just ~7 yrs, selling nothin' but non-alc, Athletic suddenly ranks among top 6 craft beer portfolios and top 5 craft brand fams in the US all-channel, we estimate; only Kirin-Lion, AB, Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada and Tilray are bigger craft cos. New Belgium, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas and Goose Island are bigger brand fams by volume.

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