Expanding on its newest line of hard sodas, Best Damn Brewing Co., a division of Anheuser-Busch, announced the launch of Best Damn Cherry Cola, the new brewery’s second offering.

Piggybacking off of last year’s positive performance, the U.S. beer market continues to post increases in both dollar and volume sales, according to experts in this year's beer market report.

Among the numerous beverage categories, the flavored malt beverage (FMB) segment, also known as progressive adult beverages (PABs), is resonating with consumers based on the convenience it offers, according to this year's beer market report.

Although hard cider stems from a smaller market share of the beer category, the hard cider segment continues to outpace the beer category as a whole, according to this year's beer market report.

It seems as though U.S. consumers are having a love affair with import beer, based on analysis in this year's beer market report. According to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc. (IRI), dollar sales for import beer were $5.4 billion — an 11.7 percent increase — for the 52 weeks ending Dec. 27, 2015, in U.S. supermarkets, drug stores, mass merchandisers, gas and convenience stores, military commissaries, and select club and dollar retail chains. Case sale gains were just shy of 10 percent during that time period.

Latitude Beverage Co., Boston, announced the national rollout of its Mija Sangria, a bottled Sangria made with 100percent unfiltered fruit juice. After selling out of 18,200 cases in its first six months across a dozen states last year, Latitude Beverage Co. says it expects to sell more than 50,000 cases this summer through its expanded distribution. In addition, a 1.5-liter Mija Sangria flip-top bottle also will roll out this summer, it adds.

I love baking, particularly making my late mother-in-law’s delicious chocolate-chip-oatmeal-walnut cookies. Although the handwriting on her recipe has faded through the years, the aroma of these cookies brings back wonderful memories of my German Oma.

As part of the Nielsen CGA joint venture, New York based-Nielsen and CGA Strategy, U.K., announced that Brand Index, a statistically robust, fully projected on-premise measurement for beverage alcohol clients, will be rolling out in two phases this year. 

The holidays are here, and time with family and friends spent over food and drinks is a big part of many gatherings. Beverage brands also hop on the holiday bandwagon by displaying festive flavors in brightly colored packaging to entice consumers.

In 2009, reality-TV celebrity Bethenny Frankel founded Skinnygirl Cocktails on the premise that women want low-calorie, great-tasting Margaritas. In 2011, Deerfield, Ill.-based Beam Suntory acquired the brand, which has since grown to include 21 low-calorie products in the vodka, wine and ready-to-drink categories, according to Brendan Lynch, senior marketing director at Beam Suntory.