Non-Alc Michelob Ultra Zero to Launch in January 2025
Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) is tapping into the equity of one of its biggest brands for its next adult non-alcoholic (NA) beer play: Michelob Ultra Zero.
Justin Kendall
Editor, Brewbound
Justin Kendall provides daily coverage of the beer industry on Brewbound.com, conducts live-streamed interviews during Brewbound’s events and co-produces the Brewbound podcast. Kendall is a nearly 20-year career journalist who led alt-weekly newspapers in Kansas City, Missouri, and Des Moines, Iowa.
Posts by Justin Kendall
JuneShine Adds Non-Alcoholic Kombucha to Portfolio
San Diego-headquartered JuneShine is adding another product line to its expanding portfolio of hard kombucha, spirits-based canned cocktails and light lagers, but the latest addition is outside of the beverage-alcohol realm.
Above Premium a Key Focus of Molson Coors’ 2025 US Growth Strategy; Company to Partner with Australia’s Naked Life Non-Alc Cocktail Brand
Molson Coors chief commercial officer Michelle St. Jacques laid out the company’s 2025 strategy in the U.S. as part of its “next chapter” as she opened the 2024 distributor convention in San Antonio Tuesday afternoon.
BeatBox National Sales Meeting: Shaquille O’Neal Invests, New Product Reveals and a $38M Marketing Spend for 2025
Party punch maker BeatBox hosted its first national sales meeting in Houston, which had the feel of a Meow Wolf, with a faux convenience store decked out in neon, a trippy giant mushroom-covered hard tea garden, a Las Vegas-themed area with casino games, a lab for new innovations with “scientists” that looked strikingly like Rick of Rick and Morty Adult Swim fame and the usual presentations about the coming year.
Ball Global Can Shipments +2.8%; CEO Calls for Light Beer Price Decreases
Ball Corporation’s global beverage can shipments increased +2.8% in the second quarter of 2024, the Denver-headquartered company shared in its Q2 2024 results.
THC-Infused Beverage Maker Climbing Kites Pushes Forward Amid Murky Iowa Law; Distribution Expansion On Tap
After being stuck in limbo for much of July following the passage of regulations on THC-infused beverages in Iowa, Iowa City-based Climbing Kites is pushing new products into retailers this week.
Athletic Brewing Closes On $50M Equity Financing Round, Led By PE Firm General Atlantic
Fast-rising non-alcoholic beer maker Athletic Brewing Company has closed a $50 million “equity financing round” led by private equity firm General Atlantic, with several key investors from previous fundraising rounds also participating.
Sazerac to Acquire BuzzBallz RTD Brand
Spirits giant Sazerac announced today plans to acquire Southern Champion’s ready-to-drink (RTD) portfolio, including BuzzBallz, the spherical wine-, spirit- and malt-based cocktail brand.
JuneShine Acquires Flying Embers in All-Stock Deal
San Diego-based hard kombucha and canned cocktail (RTD) maker JuneShine will acquire beyond beer brand Flying Embers in an all-stock transaction, the company announced today.
Hard MTN Dew Moves to Beer Network, Going to All 50 Markets as Blue Cloud Changes Course
Hard MTN Dew is transitioning to Boston Beer Company’s beer distributor network and will expand to all 50 states, outgoing Boston Beer CEO Dave Burwick said on Tuesday during the company’s full-year and Q4 earnings report.
Iowa’s Big Grove Acquires Majority Stake in Cannabis-Infused Sparkling Water Brand Climbing Kites
Big Grove Brewery has acquired a majority stake in Climbing Kites, an Iowa-based maker of Delta 9 THC- and CBD-infused, non-alcoholic sparkling water.
Matagrano to Acquire Bottomley, Add Around 1.8 Million Cases
Matagrano, an independent South San Francisco-based Anheuser-Busch distributor, has inked a deal to acquire Bottomley Distributing, which services Silicon Valley and the South Bay Area.
Brooklyn Brewery Takes Minority Stake in Hoplark, Forms Strategic Partnership
Brooklyn Brewery has taken a minority stake in Boulder, Colorado-based non-alcoholic (NA) hop tea maker Hoplark as part of a Series A funding round, the two companies announced today.
Anheuser-Busch To Sell Hiball, 8 Craft Beer Brands to Tilray
Tilray Brands is acquiring eight craft brands from Anheuser-Busch InBev in a blockbuster all cash deal announced today.