AlcBev in Five

Constellation Brands Tops Q2 Estimates, Adds SpikedAde. Constellation reported second-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations and announced a SpikedAde acquisition, the trade's first substantial read on fiscal-year demand. (EconoTimes, FinancialContent, The Wall Street Journal)

Craft Distillery Closures Outpace Openings, Volume Down 8%. The 2026 Craft Spirits Data Project reports U.S. craft distillery closures exceeding openings for the first time, giving operators a documented contraction benchmark. (Brewbound, BevNET)

NABCA Reports US Control-State Spirits Sales Down Over 5%. August spirits sales in U.S. control states fell more than 5%, per newly released NABCA figures, the earliest monthly depletion signal suppliers plan against. (Just Drinks)

Circana Scans Show Beer Losses, RTD Slowdown in Q3. Circana's off-premise report attributes accelerated third-quarter declines to deeper beer losses and cooling ready-to-drink cocktail sales. (Brewbound)

Also moving today:

Scotch distiller GlenWyvis enters administration (Just Drinks, The National)

Anora finalises Bacardi distribution deal in Sweden, Norway (Just Drinks)

Health Claims Pose Potential Regulatory Hurdle for Hard Sports Drink Makers (Brewbound)

Majestic: Tesco named among bidders competing to buy wine retailer (Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News)

John Distilleries surpasses Rs 10,000 crore revenue in FY26; Sazerac become majority shareholder (Economic Times)

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FTC, Southern Glazer's reach settlement terms. Southern Glazer's and the FTC have agreed terms to settle the agency's price-discrimination case, and the proposed order would set the first concrete reference point for how the largest U.S. distributor prices to independent versus chain retailers. (Shanken News Daily, Just Drinks, BevNET)

WSWA data shows on-premise outperforming overall trend. WSWA's SipSource depletion report points to on-premise and certain categories and price tiers holding up better than the wider wine and spirits trend, a channel-level input for allocation and portfolio planning. (Shanken News Daily)

Impact Databank forecasts sixth straight U.S. wine decline. The U.S. wine market is projected to fall for a sixth consecutive year in 2026, with total depletions dropping below 300 million cases, while wine-based cocktails are credited with slowing the decline. (Shanken News Daily)

Carlsberg buys bottlers to extend PepsiCo partnership. Carlsberg has acquired two regional bottling operations to carry its PepsiCo partnership into Georgia and Armenia, an example of buying route-to-market rather than licensing it in smaller emerging markets. (Just Drinks, interfax.com, Investing.com)

Also moving today:

Feds’ Southern Glazer’s Bribery Probe Could Serve as ‘Template’ For Future Investigations (Brewbound)

Is the tequila boom over? Sales of Don Julio and Casamigos plummet in the United States (Merca2.0 Magazine)

Diageo Prevails In NY Agave Class-Action Case (Shanken News Daily, Just Drinks)

Fall Chill Hits Beer Ordering in ‘Contractionary’ September Beer Purchasers’ Index (Brewbound)

William Grant & Sons details challenging 2025 after 13% profit decline (Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News)

Gallo’s Black Box Named Official Wine Of The NHL (Shanken News Daily)

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Martignetti Closes RNDC Control-State Deal, Adds 17 States. The companies say the purchase of RNDC's control state business has closed, giving suppliers and brokers in 17 states a new distributor counterparty. (BevNET, Brewbound, Shanken News Daily)

Scotch Prices Fall In India After UK Trade Pact. The Times of India reports Diageo and Pernod Ricard cut Scotch prices 10 to 15% in some states as the import tariff drops from 150% to 75%. (The Times of India)

NIQ Reports Value-Led US On-Premise Market In September. NIQ's quarterly update describes higher pricing offsetting continued volume pressure across major categories, the data operators use to set on-premise pricing and menu mix. (BevNet)

William Grant Reports 2025 Sales Of £1.76 Billion, Down 4%. The family-owned spirits house attributes the decline to geopolitical and trade pressures, per Shanken News Daily, a read on premium Scotch-led portfolios in the current cycle. (Shanken News Daily)

Also moving today:

Wales increases minimum alcohol price by 30% (BBC)

Molson Coors in distribution battle with owners of Corona and White Claw (The Denver Post)

Diageo to Shut Down Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore (Brewbound)

IPO Bound: Carlsberg India Gets SEBI Approval Months After Confidential Filing (NDTV Profit)

Duckhorn Announces Three New EVPs (Shanken News Daily, The Duckhorn Portfolio)

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Impact Databank: RTDs Lift Spirits Volume As Core Softens. Shanken's Impact Databank projects a 31st straight annual rise in U.S. spirits volume, but ready-to-drinks are carrying it while core categories weaken, a mix problem for volume and pricing plans. (Shanken News Daily)

Scotch Distillers Pause Production Amid Supply Glut. The Guardian reports Scottish distilleries are halting production to avoid adding to a "whisky loch" of unsold stock, near-term surplus for buyers, a possible mature-stock gap later. (supplychainbrain.com)

Keg 1 Signs Agreement To Buy RNDC's Kentucky Assets. Keg 1 River City and K1 Management Services have converted August's letter of intent into a signed purchase agreement for RNDC's Kentucky business, putting the distributor's state exit under contract. (Shanken News Daily)

Circana: Large Beer Suppliers' Losses Outweigh Gains Into Labor Day. Circana's latest monthly report has top-heavy declines still exceeding gains among the biggest beer vendors in August and early September, with New Belgium and Sazerac cited as exceptions. (Brewbound)

Also moving today:

Breakthru CCO Talks Backing Out of RNDC Deal, Priority Categories (BevNET, Brewbound)

Why mid-strength spirits offer new threat to wine industry (Just Drinks)

Molson Coors finalises Sharp’s production plans (Just Drinks, Cornwall Live)

Scotch whisky gets cheaper? Johnnie Walker, J&B prices fall 10-15% after India-UK trade agreement, says report | Company Business News (mint)

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U.S. Ban On Canadian-Bottled Spirits Takes Effect. The previously announced U.S. import ban on spirits and wine bottled in Canada begins today, shifting cost onto brand owners whose bottling lines sit north of the border. (Shanken News Daily, The Trent)

Coors Distributor Sues Constellation And Mark Anthony. Molson Coors-owned Coors Distributing has filed two lawsuits to block terminations by two of its largest suppliers, a test of franchise-law protection over route-to-market. (Brewbound)

Scotch Distilleries Pause Production As Stocks Build. The Guardian reports demand for Scotch has slumped, with distilleries pausing output and the industry facing job cuts, a supply-side correction after the premiumization build-out. (The Guardian)

Japan Unifies Alcohol Tax On Beer-Like Drinks. From October 1 Japan levels liquor tax rates across beer and happoshu, cutting tax on regular beer and raising it on cheaper alternatives. (News On Japan)

Also moving today:

Happy Hours! UK trade pact brings scotch prices down in India (Economic Times)

Post-Labor Day Momentum Dissipates for Bev-Alc; Beer Takes Largest Dive in Circana Weekly Scans (Brewbound)

Molson Coors bets on nonalcoholic drinks with national expansion (Food Dive)

Rising fuel costs drive up brewing costs in Asia, Heineken says (Moneyweb, Bloomberg Business)

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Canadian alcohol ban takes effect, with exemptions. A U.S. ban on Canadian alcoholic products starts Tuesday, but several well-known labels are made stateside, so the exposure question is production country, not brand. (Morningstar, Global News)

Cognac producers report trade-war pressure on growers. Euronews reports French Cognac makers face falling sales amid disputes with China and the U.S., with growers seeking EU support, a pattern other export-heavy categories may watch. (Euronews English)

Campari says U.S. spritz launch is its largest ever. Campari Group reports its biggest-ever U.S. launch investment behind an Italian aperitif, per CNN, supplier money aimed at occasion-building while reported U.S. volumes stay soft. (CNN International, Yahoo! Finance)

Coors distributor says it will contest supplier exits. Brewbound reports Coors Distributing Company plans to fight terminations by Mark Anthony and Constellation, a dispute that could slow how the portfolios move to new wholesalers. (Brewbound)

Also moving today:

Whisky, gin offer silver lining as UK food-and-drink exports slide (Just Drinks)

DRINKStuff SA | AB InBev targets value packs, functional beer and adjacent categories (drinkstuff-sa.co.za)

Beer and RTDs Make Largest Improvement in Latest NIQ Weekly Scans (Brewbound)

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Diageo Names WPP's Joanne Wilson As CFO. Diageo has appointed WPP finance chief Joanne Wilson as CFO effective next year, putting an outside hire on the books of the world's largest spirits group mid-turnaround. (Shanken News Daily, Just Drinks, Drinks International)

Reported U.S. Ban Would Halt Canadian Alcohol Imports. FreightWaves reports the U.S. announced on September 8 that it would ban imports of Canadian alcohol, dairy and large-displacement motorcycles, a step beyond tariffs that is not yet confirmed as implemented. (FreightWaves)

Circana: Beer Declines Persist Through Early September. Circana's latest monthly report finds beer declines continuing across most segments, with convenience flagged as the channel showing potential, the current read for category managers. (Brewbound)

California's Oldest Family Winery Files For Bankruptcy. Sonoma Valley's Gundlach Bundschu, California's oldest continuously family-owned winery, advanced a bankruptcy restructuring this week that the Press Democrat reports would end that distinction. (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)

Also moving today:

González Byass promotes Murillo to top job (Just Drinks, Drinks International, Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News)

NZ wine export volumes rise, but value sales flat (Just Drinks, Harpers Wine & Spirit Trade News)

California’s Lost Coast for Sale (Brewbound)

Columbia, Hayden Seal Partnership In Idaho (Shanken News Daily)

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AB InBev to add smaller packs, functional beers. Executives told Reuters the brewer will shift pack sizes and formulation to chase growth, setting terms for shelf resets and beyond-beer assortments. (Investing.com, Reuters, Global Banking & Finance Review)

Sazerac agrees to acquire Germany's Berentzen Group. The Fireball owner is buying a German spirits producer, extending cross-border consolidation as operators weigh European route-to-market. (Food Dive, Yahoo! Finance, esmmagazine.com)

California growers struggle to sell grapes as wine demand falls. Associated Press reports unsold fruit at harvest in Lodi, an early grower-level signal that feeds bulk pricing and acreage decisions. (AccessWDUN)

Mark Anthony moves Denver distribution to Reyes unit. White Claw's parent is leaving Coors Distributing for a Reyes Beverage Group subsidiary, a route-to-market change distributors watch for precedent. (Brewbound)

Also moving today:

Hoplark Files for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Liquidation; Signals Potential Lawsuit Against Brooklyn Brewery (Brewbound, BevNet)

Toasts Not Tariffs Urges U.S.-Canada Deal To Remove Bev-Alc Bans (Shanken News Daily)

Bev-Alc Bounces Back Better Than Expected Post-Labor Day, per Weekly Circana Report (Brewbound)

Master of Malt cyber breach exposes customer data (Just Drinks)

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Sazerac signs deal to acquire Germany's Berentzen-Gruppe. Sazerac has agreed to buy the German schnapps producer it was reported to be pursuing last week, pointing to smaller European assets as its route to international volume. (Brewbound, BevNET, Just Drinks)

Treasury Wine Estates sells Seppelt to Stonier owner. Treasury has agreed to offload the heritage Australian wine brand months after announcing a portfolio simplification plan, per Just Drinks. (Just Drinks)

South Australia pledges over A$100m to wine industry. The state government says it will fund support for local winemakers facing oversupply and softer sales, though the package's terms are not yet detailed. (Just Drinks)

Aged rum pushed at higher prices as volumes fall. US rum volume fell from about 23 million cases in 2021 to 18.2 million last year per Impact Databank, and producers are leaning on aged expressions. (Shanken News Daily)

Also moving today:

Anheuser-Busch Invests $23 Million in Fort Collins, CO Brewery to Drive Local Economic Growth, Expands Local Manufacturing Skills Training (CNHI News)

Heineken, Stonegate coy on report of pubs deal (Just Drinks)

Circana: Craft Beer Declines Accelerate Thru Early September; 11 Top Brands Improve Trends vs. August (Brewbound)

Royal Swinkels jobs at risk in bottling move (Just Drinks)

Stateside, A-B Agree to Dismiss Surfside-Skimmers Lawsuit (Brewbound)

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Scottish minister urges reversal of English whisky protection. Scotland's Economy Secretary is pressing the UK Government to undo protected status for English whisky, a category-boundary call the trade will watch for labelling and export effects. (Diss Express)

South Australia announces $109m wine industry support package. The state Premier announced a reported $109 million package for grape and wine at the industry's annual dinner, a government intervention aimed at one of Australia's largest producing regions. (Winetitles)

Diageo builds mid-strength spirits range in the UK. Diageo is extending core brands into mid-strength versions in the UK, indicating where the company sees moderation demand sitting between full-strength and zero-proof. (Brewbound, BevNET, Drinks International)

VIP acquires Encompass, merging two beverage tech platforms. Vermont Information Processing has acquired Encompass Technologies, placing two of the largest distributor back-office systems in US beverage alcohol under one owner. (Brewbound)

Also moving today:

Deutsche Bank upgrades Anheuser-Busch InBev, Campari on beer, soft drinks outlook By Investing.com (Investing.com)

Champagne eases rules on alcohol content (Just Drinks)

Summit Brewing Faces Bank Foreclosure as 40th Anniversary Approaches (Brewbound)

HiteJinro to close soju plant (Just Drinks)

Pernod Extends The Glenlivet With New Provence Edition (Shanken News Daily, The Montreal Gazette, mykxlg.com)

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