Boston Hasn’t “Fully Participated” in Improved Category Trends Yet, But  “Encouraged” Ahead of Summer

Dear Client: Boston Beer chief Jim Koch is “encouraged” by “modest industry progress” led by beyond beer in Q1, but acknowledged on their earnings call yesterday that as one of category leaders, Boston has “not yet fully participated in the improvement in category trends.” Still, Boston reported some slight improvement, with depletions down 4% in Q1 vs. a 6% decline in Q4 ‘25 (and cycling a -1% comp YA). The trend has held, with the company estimating  that YTD depletions