Sales & Marketing

Top Beers from 2017

For the last round this year of our national retailer beer panels, we asked panelists to recall the best beers they drank in 2017. These reviews include brief tasting notes and a rating. If you’re a...

Top Wines from 2017

To close out another year of our National Retailer Wine Panel reviews, we asked panelists to recollect the top wines they drank in 2017. These reviews include brief tasting notes and a rating. If...

Why Seasonal Beers Remain Popular and Profitable

Brewers have always tailored their beer recipes to suit the season, our changing menus, the availability of ingredients and the behavior of the brewing process at different ambient temperatures. In another century, it wasn’t...

What’s the Future of Barrel Aging?

Wood aging has reached new levels. Whiskey now matures in ex-beer barrels, beer in former mezcal casks, bourbon barrels are holding cab sauv, and everything in between. Has it gone too far? Do some barrel-aged...

No End In Sight for American Whiskey Growth

“Anyone who says he can predict what’s going to happen in the whiskey industry 20 years from now is crazy,” says Wesley Henderson, co-founder/chief innovation officer of Angel’s Envy. Being able to guess how...

American Wines Forecast Continued Growth

The coming year’s forecast looks rosy for American wine retailers and American vintners alike. Stability in the U.S. economy and favorable demographic trends are currently pointing toward continued growth in wine sales in 2017, so...

American Vodka Continues to Grow

When the vodka boom exploded at the turn of the century, the race to create the most elegant and refined brand image and package, using elaborate distillation and filtration processes as well as a...

American Whiskey Faces Supply and Demand Issues

“The whiskey category is growing and growing; we’re loving it,” says Elizabeth Gregg, general manager of Applejack Wine & Spirits. For the Denver area retailer, American whiskey is the fastest growing section of the...

Craft Beer Showed Signs of Slowdown in 2016

Is craft beer slowing down? Technically the category remained in growth mode in 2016, expanding 6% to 295.723 million 2.25-gallon cases, according to the forthcoming 2017 Beer Handbook from the Beverage Information Group. That makes craft...

Last Year’s Fastest Growing Beer Brands

It’s no secret that the overall beer industry has been lagging, as the macro brands continue to lose ground and the craft sector feels the pain of oversaturation and increasing competition. New brands, styles...