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kbernot.bsky.social
Kate Bernot
@kbernot.bsky.social
2K followers 410 following 370 posts
Food and beverage reporter

Lead analyst at Feel Goods Insights

Bylines in The Washington Post, Craft Beer & Brewing, Bon Appetit, Imbibe, elsewhere

@nagbw.bsky.social’s Writer of the Year 2025

📍Missoula, MT
Posts Replies Media Videos
kbernot.bsky.social
Dream team!

Such a pleasure to recap last year's biggest bev-alc stories and share what we're watching in 2026 with David Steinman + @brewbound.com's @jessicainfante.bsky.social, and Zoe Licata.
brewbound.com Brewbound.com @brewbound.com · 27d
Brewbound Podcast 🎧📉: Kate Bernot & David Steinman on 2025’s bev‑alc news — middle‑tier consolidation, consumer pressure and projected low‑to‑mid single‑digit declines in beer.
Brewbound Podcast: The Year in Booze News
A new year means it’s Brewbound’s annual roundtable conversation with our peers in beer industry journalism. This year, the Brewbound team is joined by Kate Bernot, lead analyst for Feel Goods Insights,...
www.brewbound.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:50 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
So it’s purely for the brand aesthetics?

[looks at the aesthetics]

😬👀
dinfontay.com Dave Infante @dinfontay.com · 21d
UPDATE: Jack Daniel’s parent co. Brown-Forman tells me it has nothing to do with CBS’ “Whiskey Friday” concept. “Jack Daniel’s is not involved in any such segment, nor do we have any awareness of the segment and any potential partnerships or sponsorships.”
premthakker.bsky.social Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 21d
Update — Here is what the new apparent CBS News segment "Whiskey Fridays with Tony Dokoupil" may look like:
January 14, 2026 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com
costco should be allowed to sell weed. i want the Kirkland Select Kush. a 300-count fish oil pill sized bottle of 5mg gummies would fix this country
January 12, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dinfontay.com
"'Gatorade with alcohol' is a lot easier to understand than 'hard refresher.' As a result, brands across malt- and spirits-based products seem more eager to get in on this second wave." @kbernot.bsky.social

feelgoodsinsights.com/analysis/alc...
Say It Loud — Alcoholic Sports Drinks Chase Success With More Explicit Positioning
January 9, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
brewbound.com
Brewbound Podcast 🎧📉: Kate Bernot & David Steinman on 2025’s bev‑alc news — middle‑tier consolidation, consumer pressure and projected low‑to‑mid single‑digit declines in beer.
Brewbound Podcast: The Year in Booze News
A new year means it’s Brewbound’s annual roundtable conversation with our peers in beer industry journalism. This year, the Brewbound team is joined by Kate Bernot, lead analyst for Feel Goods Insights,...
www.brewbound.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dinfontay.com
NEW: On Thursday morning, the country's second-largest distributor told its employees that its largest remaining liquor supplier was pulling its business in all markets. It's another body blow for RNDC, which has emerged as the sick man of the middle tier over the past 18 months.
January 8, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dinfontay.com
This is the entirety of the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans' content about alcohol consumption: cdn.realfood.gov/DGA.pdf
Limit Alcoholic Beverages Consume less alcohol for better overall health. + People who should completely avoid alcohol include pregnant women, people who are recovering from alcohol use disorder or are unable to control the amount they drink, and people taking medications or with medical conditions that can interact with alcohol. For those with a family history of alcoholism, be mindful of alcohol consumption and associated addictive behaviors.
January 7, 2026 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
brewbound.com
Modelo, the top-selling U.S. beer brand, launches its first non-alcoholic beer: Modelo Chelada Limón y Sal Non-Alcoholic, rolling out nationally with 60 calories per 12 oz can and priced in line with Corona Non-Alcoholic
Big Flavor, Zero Compromise: Modelo Debuts First-Ever Non-Alcoholic Option
Modelo launches new Chelada® Limón y Sal Non-Alcoholic – bold and zesty flavor meets moderation j...
zpr.io
January 7, 2026 at 5:09 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
"For every MPACT MAX, there are countless others popping unbidden into alcohol’s growing slopverse that’ll never be seen by an appellate judge—only a slew of overstimulated shoppers unable to distinguish the Surfsides from the Skimmers, the BuzzBallz from the Bombtails." vinepair.com/articles/alc...
Welcome to Alcohol’s Slop Era
Over the past two years, BuzzBallz has been beset by imposters. The Texas-based canned cocktail company was one of beverage-alcohol’s last true innovators, coming up with its signature vacuum-sealed s...
vinepair.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
nagbw.bsky.social
🍷 Best Other Beverage Reporting

The world of beer overlaps with cider, wine, spirits, THC, and more. The Best Other Beverage Reporting winners explored those intersections with nuance and curiosity. Congratulations!

https://bit.ly/4ij2Pc9

#BeyondBeer #BeverageMedia #NAGBWAwards2025
December 23, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
brewedculture.org
I'm almost done publishing some casual links between German and American beer riots in the mid-1800s.

I helped a journalist contextualize oral histories from small-scale mezcaleros in Oaxaca

And now I'm working to pick apart the knotty cultural histories behind American Oktoberfest beers.
cjfrieman.bsky.social Catherine Frieman @cjfrieman.bsky.social · Dec 22
Academics: what's the best bit of knowledge you created this year?

I co-authored a new model of the Irish Neolithic, effectively rewriting social structure and the role of large funerary monuments for the creation of community identities
erinbartram.bsky.social Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · Dec 21
What historians (and other scholars do) is create knowledge. We should use that phrase more and talk about what it means. I think we don't, and it's part of why AI enthusiasts are confused when we don't readily agree that our work can be replicated/replaced by their products.
December 22, 2025 at 1:12 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
discontinuedfoods.bsky.social
30 years ago this month, the New York Daily News ran this article bemoaning how complicated coffee had become, bemused by Dalton's introduction of pumpkin spice coffee and Starbucks' eggnog lattes, noting that specialty coffee "is a fad--like breweries. It's already peaked."
A black and white newspaper clipping about how "complicated" coffee in NYC has become
December 17, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dinfontay.com
Today is a big day for buying shit online. Consider a subscription to Fingers! I’m offering one of my biggest discounts of the year to new subscribers. It expires at midnight, don't miss it: www.fingers.email/upgrade?offe...
💸 40% off Fingers until it's gone The only and best sale on the internet today Today is a big day for buying shit online. Consider a subscription to Fingers! I’m offering one of my biggest discounts of the year today only: 40% off for 1 year
December 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
nagbw.bsky.social
The first 2025 Diversity in Beer Writing Grant story is live:
“Michigan Hops: The Women Behind the Bines” by Brenda Marshall on CraftBeer.com

Thanks to Hollie Stephens, Beth Demmon, @kbernot.bsky.social, Adam Dulye & @allagashbrewing.bsky.social for the support!

#beerwriting #diversityinbeer
Michigan Hops: The Women Behind the Bines
Explore the stories of the women driving Michigan's hop industry, from field to greenhouse to lab, and defining what makes Michigan hops special.
www.craftbeer.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
jayasaxena.com
For @bloomberg.com, I wrote the legal loophole around THC the government just closed, and what it means for the Four Loko of THC drinks www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Weed Drinks That Get You Very, Very High Could Be Gone Soon
Cannabis beverages with up to 100mg of THC are increasingly popular. A ban on hemp is threatening their survival.
www.bloomberg.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dinfontay.com
NEW: ~50 beer/wine/spirits wholesalers have sent Democratic and Republican Congressional leaders a letter calling on them "to oppose efforts to close the so-called 'hemp loophole' through any spending package or Farm Bill." This is the biggest move yet on THC drinks' behalf from the middle tier.
November 5th, 2025 Honorable Michael Johnson Speaker United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Honorable John Thune Majority Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Hakeem Jeffries Minority Leader United States House of Representatives Washington, DC 20515 Honorable Charles Schumer Minority Leader United States Senate Washington, DC 20515 Dear Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Jeffries, Majority Leader Thune, Minority Leader Schumer On behalf of beer, wine, and spirits wholesalers across the United States, we respectfully urge Congress to avoid language that would create a prohibition on intoxicating hemp consumable products. Instead, we offer our support to help Congress effectively regulate and tax these products like alcohol. We applaud the 2018 Farm Bill for unlocking new opportunities for American farmers, entrepreneurs, manufacturers, and wholesalers, like ourselves. Many of us are 3rd, 4th, and even 5th-generation American family businesses that have responsibly sold alcohol since the repeal of prohibition with the 21st Amendment in 1933. Our collective operations represent over $13 Billion in revenue, 20,000 employees, and span 26 States. As demand for alcohol has shifted downwards in recent years, hemp products have created jobs, driven new investment, and helped us meet changing consumer demand. If prohibition is enacted, that demand will not disappear—it will simply move into unregulated channels, undermining both public health, safety and legitimate businesses. The debate on hemp derived products is very analogous to the debate our forefathers endured at the beginning of the 20th Century. The 18th Amendment banned alcohol in 1919, but the ensuing 14 years of prohibition only created a thriving illicit market and a significant number of bad actors. Our forefathers realized the only way to eliminate these bad actors was to establish a robust regulatory framework where each State was given the authority to regulate produc… We fully appreciate concerns regarding product integrity, underage access, and public safety. We offer nearly 100 years’ experience of safely bringing regulated beverages to market and keeping illicit products out. Adulterated and illicit alcohol is not an issue in America thanks to strong state-based regulations, trade practice rules, and laws that support wholesaler independence. With a century of alcohol experience, we welcome the opportunity to help educate Congress on how best to regulate intoxicating consumable hemp products. We respectfully urge you to oppose efforts to close the so-called “hemp loophole” through any spending package or Farm Bill. Instead, we urge you to work with our industry to create comprehensive rules that protect communities, ensure product safety, and give responsible companies the certainty we need to operate safely and successfully. We stand ready to partner with you in this process. Thank you for your consideration. A.B. Beverage Company Inc Georgia, South Carolina Bill’s Distributing Wisconsin Eagle Rock Distributing Company Colorado, Georgia Adams Beverages Alabama, North Carolina Budweiser of Spartanburg, Inc. South Carolina F.E.B. Distributing Co., Inc. Mississippi Ajax Turner Company Tennessee Burke Distributing Corporation Massachusetts Frank Beer Distributors, La Crosse Beverage, Beer Capitol Distributing & Frank Liquor Co. Wisconsin Allied Beverage Group, LLC New Jersey C&C Distributors, Inc. Rhode Island Gasko & Meyer, Inc. New York Atlanta Beverage Company Georgia C.J.W., Inc. Wisconsin Girardi Distributors LLC Massachusetts Atlantic Beverage Distributors Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut Capital City Beverages, Inc. Mississippi Great Bay Distributors, Inc. Florida Atlas Distributing, Inc. Massachusetts Champion Brands, Inc Florida, Georgia Gulf Distributing Holdings, LLC Alabama, Florida, Mississippi B&B Distributors South Carolina Chesapeake Beverage Maryland Hand Family Companies California, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee Bernie Little Distributors Florida Colorado Craft Distributors Colorado Hoffman Beverage Virginia Best Brands Tennessee Commercial Distributing Company, Inc. Massachusetts Kay Distributing Wisconsin Beverage South (GA/SC) Georgia, South Carolina Craft Collective Homegrown Massachusetts, Rhode Island Kentucky Eagle, Inc Kentucky Bibb Distributing Company Georgia Dahlheimer Beverage Minnesota Konrad Beverage Company New Jersey LaGrange Grocery Company Georgia Shore Point Distributing, Inc. New Jersey Lee Beverage of Wisconsin LLC Wisconsin Southern Crown Partners LLC Georgia, South Carolina Martignetti Beverage Company LLC, DBA Quality Beverage Massachusetts Stein Distributing Company Inc Idaho, Oregon Merrimack Valley Distributing Company Inc. Massachusetts Try-It Distributing Co., Inc. New York Mitchell Distributing Mississippi Uncorked Louisiana North Florida Sales Florida United Distributors, Inc. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi P. A. Short Distributing Company, INC. Virginia Virginia Beverage Company Virginia R.H. Barringer Distributing Co., Inc. / American Premium Beverage, Inc. North Carolina Romano Beverage Illinois Sarene Craft Beer Distributors Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut Sheehan Family Companies Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Virginia, Kentucky
November 5, 2025 at 6:53 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
Good morning Seattle!
A photo of a yellow and blue sign that reads “Washington Craft Beer Summit”
November 3, 2025 at 2:49 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
Bon Appetite has a big THC package out this week and I’m thrilled to contribute two drinks pieces!

First up: What are weed drinks doing to change the perception of THC socially?

www.bonappetit.com/story/the-fu...
The Future of Weed Is Liquid
Weed's true breakthrough won't come from smoking, vaping, or even eating, but from beverages analogous to booze.
www.bonappetit.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
douglasmack.bsky.social
I am here to reveal the truth about pumpkin spice lattes, by way of *deep* archival research (and 3,600 words)

snackstack.net/2025/10/21/t...
The curious, contentious history of pumpkin spice lattes
Starbucks didn’t invent them. But it’s possible that Tori Amos or a Midwest grandma did.
snackstack.net
October 21, 2025 at 8:00 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
I have two bev-alc stories in the latest issue of NACS Magazine! First up: how c-stores can merchandise the so-called "fourth category" of RTDs, FMBs, flavored wines, malt-based cocktails, etc.

www.nacsmagazine.com/Issues/Octob...
Merchandising Beverage-Alcohol’s White-Hot Fourth Category
The #1 trusted source of information for decision makers in the convenience industry.
www.nacsmagazine.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:10 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
College papers forever ✊
gabriellehecht.bsky.social Gabrielle Hecht 🇵🇷 • she/elle/ella @gabriellehecht.bsky.social · Oct 18
Purdue to the rescue of IU student newspaper, whose institution was attempting censorship. Details in alt!
Sara Whitmer • • • 1h • 8 I'm sure many of you have heard by now that earlier this week, IU k*lled the print edition of its student paper, the IDS. The issue that was supposed to print this week contained criticism of the Whitten regime and IUs further slide into scist control, and they couldn't allow that to happen during Homecoming, when all the rich alumni are in town. Enter Purdue! The Purdue student paper, The Exponent, owns its own presses. Yesterday, in an act of tremendous solidarity with their biggest rival school, they printed the forbidden issue of the IDS. They then drove it to Bloomington overnight and stocked all of the IDS boxes on campus, just in time for Homecoming. Solidarity is what makes us stronger, and solidarity will be what ultimately allows us to triumph, if we can ever truly get it together. I hope everyone has a fun, safe day if they're going out today, and I hope we can think about what acts of solidarity we can begin taking to really make this movement MOVE - beyond a permitted expression of upset into more active resistance. 75 12 comments
October 18, 2025 at 10:25 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
From Missoula today 💌
A man holds a poster of the Chicago flag with the words “SENDING LOVE” at the No Kings rally
October 18, 2025 at 9:08 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
It was an honor to win Writer of the Year at the @nagbw.bsky.social annual awards yesterday.

With entries from around the world, this year’s winners represent the breadth and depth of what beer means in society. Congratulations to all the other winners! reportersnotebook.org/uncategorize...
North American Guild of Beer Writers Announces 2025 Awards Winners, Honoring the Best in Beer Media
The North American Guild of Beer Writers (NAGBW) held its 11th annual awards ceremony October 12, celebrating the best in beer media. This year’s awards were generously sponsored by Athletic Brewin…
reportersnotebook.org
October 13, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Kate Bernot
roguenoaa.altgov.info
“NOAA is taxpayer-funded, so it is a public good—its services provide safety and security for everyone, not just those who can pay for it.”

www.wired.com/story/noaas-...
For-Profit Companies Can’t Easily Replace NOAA’s Weather-Forecasting Prowess
Replicating the abilities of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fleet of weather satellites would take time and a lot of money—and expose private companies to a large amount of risk...
www.wired.com
October 11, 2025 at 5:42 PM
kbernot.bsky.social
Oh, *for dogs*, right right right
A shelf display of PB & Chill “calming peanut butter for dogs” packets
October 11, 2025 at 6:01 PM