Why startup beer brewers are skipping stores and selling directly to locals

Why startup beer brewers are skipping stores and selling directly to locals   Source: Quartz Ethan Fixell March 28, 2016   With over 4,000 breweries in the US today, shelf space in bodegas, supermarkets, and retail stores has become incredibly precious. Many small breweries are now even having trouble getting their hands on cans to […]

Market to GenX at your own Risk

Market to GenX at your own Risk   Source: SVB Wine Rob McMillan March 27th   Let’s talk about Millennials! How exciting is that conversation? Demographers and researchers are laser focused. It’s a feeding frenzy at times because that’s the growth opportunity of future retail. Boomers are old news, nothing to write home about and […]

Weaker drinks ‘to solve health problems’, say councils

Weaker drinks ‘to solve health problems’, say councils   Source: BBC News 26 March 2016   Weaker beers, ciders, wines and spirits are what is needed to tackle drink-related health problems, local councils have said.   The Local Government Association (LGA) has also called on ministers to extend tax breaks on lower-strength 2.8% beers to […]

Analysis: Alcohol is America’s biggest drug threat

Analysis: Alcohol is America’s biggest drug threat   Source: BDN By Christopher Ingraham, Washington Post March 28, 2016   America’s communities are besieged by a highly dangerous, addictive drug. Its users can become agitated and violent, harming themselves and family members. It’s incredibly toxic and even lethal at high doses. Many people who start abusing […]

Bartender accidentally sets customer on fire

Bartender accidentally sets customer on fire   Source: The Spirits Business by Annie Hayes 17th March, 2016   Footage of a bartender accidentally setting a patron alight while pouring alcohol onto a flaming cocktail has surfaced online.   In the video, which was filmed at a bar in Moscow, the barman is seen setting three […]

Tsingtao Earnings Fall 14% as China Slowdown Curbs Beer Drinking

Tsingtao Earnings Fall 14% as China Slowdown Curbs Beer Drinking   Source: Bloomberg Rachel Chang March 28, 2016   China’s second-largest brewer, Tsingtao Brewery Co., reported a 14 percent drop in 2015 earnings after an economic slowdown and a consumer shift to different types of alcoholic beverages hurt beer demand.   Net income was 1.71 […]

Oregon: Guest opinion – Why liquor privatization is wrong for Oregon

Oregon: Guest opinion – Why liquor privatization is wrong for Oregon   Hood River Distillers CEO Ron Dodge shares his view on a move towards private spirits sales in Oregon   Source: Portland Business Journal Mar 25, 2016   If you stopped by a Fred Meyer store in Vancouver, Wash., last weekend looking for your […]

Tennessee: As wine in grocery stores looms, Tennessee alcohol head resigns

Tennessee: As wine in grocery stores looms, Tennessee alcohol head resigns   Source: The Tennessean Dave Boucher March 25, 2016   The sudden resignation of Tennessee’s top alcohol regulator Thursday stunned lawmakers and industry leaders, raising new questions about the state’s contentious transition to legal wine sales in grocery stores.   Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission […]