The rapid expansion of “beyond beer” beverages — from RTDs and spirits to hemp-derived THC drinks — is forcing brewery owners to confront a complicated strategic question: diversification may help keep the lights on, but it also introduces new risks that aren’t always obvious upfront.
For the Brewers Association, the starting point remains deliberately narrow. CEO Bart Watson made clear in a recent interview with Brewer Magazine that the organization’s lens is still rooted in its core constituency.
“We’re the Brewers Association. We represent brewers,” Watson said. “So that’s kind of the first point of view when we set out and think about this — what is good for brewers?”
That framing becomes particularly important as hemp-derived THC beverages move from fringe curiosity to active policy debate. Watson emphasized there is no clean consensus within the industry, noting brewers themselves are split between viewing these products as opportunities and as competitive threats.
“I don’t think there’s a single answer right now,” Watson said. “Brewers are in these beverages… and at the same time, these products… I think some people view them as competitors for shelf space.”
Rather than take an aggressive advocacy posture, the BA has intentionally positioned itself in the middle of the conversation. Watson said the group declined to join some producer organizations that pushed to close the federal hemp loophole, instead prioritizing member education and optional engagement.
“We’ve stayed more in the middle,” he said. “We’re trying to find that middle ground where we can educate our members… and create opportunities for them to lobby on behalf of their business.”
The association’s current work centers on developing policy principles rather than picking winners. Chief among them is regulatory parity, a theme Watson returned to repeatedly.
“One thing we believe strongly is that if they are going to be legal, they shouldn’t have advantages,” he said. “Some intoxicating products shouldn’t have advantages that other products don’t.”
At the same time, the BA is drawing a firm line on market access. If THC beverages remain legal, Watson argued, breweries should not be structurally excluded.
“If there’s a legal market, breweries should be able to participate,” he said.
That position reflects a broader reality Watson sees reshaping the craft landscape: the definition of a brewery business model is expanding whether traditionalists like it or not. The rise of RTDs, non-alcohol offerings and other adjacent categories has shifted the survival calculus for many.
“Beer is kind of at the top of what’s most important for brewers,” Watson said. “But these other things have become more important to keep that brewery alive. You don’t make beer if you don’t have a brewery.”
Still, Watson pushed back on what he described as a growing misconception among some owners and the belief that simply becoming a broader beverage company will solve structural challenges.
“I think the misconception for brewers [is] that these are a panacea, right? That just becoming a beverage company solves all your problems,” he said. “Obviously… it can create new challenges as well.”
Those challenges range from regulatory complexity to brand coherence. The BA’s recent expansion of its legal database is designed to help members understand what they can produce in each state and what compliance hurdles exist before they invest capital.
The more nuanced risk, however, may be strategic drift. Watson cautioned that product adjacency only works when it aligns with brand DNA, not when it’s pursued reactively.
READ MORE: “You Have to Understand Where You Sit in the Ecosystem,” BA’s Bart Watson Tells CiderCon Crowd
“If you’re a German Lager brewery, suddenly rolling out a line of wacky RTDs probably doesn’t fit,” he said. “If you’re going to do it, you need to do it totally different brands.” Conversely, he pointed to breweries whose identities were always built around experimentation rather than a single liquid category. In those cases, diversification can feel organic rather than opportunistic.
“There may be places where the brand is such that a lot of this makes sense, and it fits with your brand and your ethos,” Watson said.
For the Brewers Association, the near-term strategy is less about steering members toward or away from beyond-beer categories and more about equipping them to make clear-eyed decisions. That means continued policy engagement in Washington, coordination with state guilds and, perhaps most critically, helping brewers help understand any guesswork.
“We want to provide resources to members that should they choose to enter one of these product spaces, that we’re setting them up in the way that makes them the most successful possible,” Watson said. “And we’re helping members understand whether they should go into these spaces in the first place.”
