Watch the Growth Rate, Not the Growth: What the Ade Rush Means for Distributors

Non-alc beer was growing 18% a year ago. Now it's closer to 6. The growth didn't stop. It turned, and the ade rush is next. We're back with a news episode. Bud, Ross, and Mike dig into six weeks of beer business headlines and what they actually mean for the distributor sitting across from the supplier. 🍺 Colorado: Constellation, Mark Anthony, and Sierra Nevada all terminate Coors Distributing Co. What's a franchise worth when performance doesn't protect you? 💰 Brand rights on GP multiples: why 2X in a contract looks thin next to the 6 to 7X brands trade for 📉 Constellation buys SpikedAde for $75M plus earnout: are momentum brands back? 📈 Beware the turn: why the growth RATE is the number to watch, not the growth 🎯 PFP plans and incentives shifting toward ades, and what gets left behind ⛽ The consumer squeeze: real wages, gas prices, and competing for a smaller dollar 🍻 The NBWA distributor panel: "grow beer" isn't a strategy, so what is? ⏱️ Chapters 0:00 Intro 0:24 News is back 1:17 Colorado: suppliers walk away from Coors Distributing 10:44 What brand rights are actually worth 14:49 Franchise protection and your state legislators 16:58 When Monster walked: living the CDC scenario 17:53 The ade rush: Constellation buys SpikedAde 20:13 Beware the turn: watch the growth rate 24:59 PFP plans shifting, incentives shifting 30:14 Carbliss vs. Cutwater: high-ABV cocktails 33:26 Gallo's malt-based ade 36:33 The scoreboard: beer down 4 to 5% 37:33 Ross's economy rundown 46:54 The NBWA distributor panel 49:24 "Grow beer" isn't a strategy 50:16 Twenty taps, no pumpkin beer 51:23 Budget season: expectations vs. reality 53:29 Wrap Catch up on the ade wave from earlier episodes: Ep 124 (the vodka ade category) and Ep 126 (Beer Marketers Insights grades the first half of 2026). 🎧 Listen, learn, and enjoy what you do. Share with a friend if you love it. 🍎 Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🎙️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1AuQiKj... 🌐 VXP: https://vxptech.com 📧 Questions for the show: info@vxptech.com Tapped In Sales is the podcast for beer distributors, by beer distributors. Sales strategy, comp plans, and the real stuff that moves cases and GP. #beerdistributor #tappedinsales #beerindustry