Alcohol brands including Bacardi, Jackson Family Wines and Francis Ford Coppola Winery are partnering with digital meal planning service eMeals, Birmingham, Ala., to build online and digitally influenced grocery revenues. Strategies include menu pairings that place branded wine, beer and spirits recommendations as options on the weekly eMeals shopping list.

Birra Moretti, a brand of White Plains N.Y.-based Heineken USA, announced that the brand’s What’s More Italian summer program includes a partnership with former "Check, Please!" Host Cat De Orio and Barilla Pasta Executive Chef Lorenzo Boni to encourage legal-drinking-age consumers to enjoy Birra Moretti and Italian cuisine with friends and family at home or at other social get-togethers this summer.

In honor of the darkest day of the year — Dec. 21 — Dunkin' Donuts, Canton, Mass., and Wormtown Brewery, Worcester, Mass., announced a partnership to launch DDark Roasted Brew, the first beer to be brewed with Dunkin' Donuts Dark Roast coffee beans. This decadent, stout-style beer features full-roasted coffee flavor reminiscent of freshly ground beans with a creamy mouthfeel, the companies say. 

New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, Colo., and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews, Greenwood, Colo., announced their latest partnership venture: Grilled Pineapple Golden Ale.

When it comes to food and beverage pairings, many often think of wine, but as beer sales continue to grow and craft beer gains an even firmer foundation, consumers have gained interest in matching their beers with food.

The majority of sports fans agree that eating and drinking is a big part of watching sports (60 percent), according to Chicago-based Mintel. Nearly all sports fans consume beverages while watching sports at home with at least half reaching for water, soda or beer. 

To celebrate National Pretzel Day on April 26, St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch’s Shock Top brand blended the taste of a cold beer with the taste and smell of a warm, fresh pretzel in its newest limited-edition beer: Shock Top Twisted Pretzel Wheat. The brand will serve the Belgian-style unfiltered wheat at special events nationwide and on draft at select locations for a limited time.

Although craft beer case and dollar sales came in at a distant third to domestics and imports during the 52 weeks ending Dec. 29, 2013, in Information Resources Inc. (IRI)-measured channels, the burgeoning segment is making strides to garner more of that market share.

Choosing a craft beer from the wide range of brands and styles available can be difficult for the uninitiated consumer, experts note.