Kate Bernot
@kbernot.bsky.social
1.9K followers 400 following 350 posts
Food and beverage reporter Lead analyst at sightlines.news Bylines in The Washington Post, Craft Beer & Brewing, Bon Appetit, Imbibe, elsewhere Immediate past director of @nagbw.bsky.social 📍Missoula, MT
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kbernot.bsky.social
Oh, *for dogs*, right right right
A shelf display of PB & Chill “calming peanut butter for dogs” packets
kbernot.bsky.social
Fun assignment for @saveur.com, looking into the modern side of mead. With new producers, new formats, and a diminished focus on the ren faire set, mead is proving surprisingly versatile.

Find it in the latest issue!
A cover of the fall/winter 2025 issue of SAVEUR shows a vertical photo of Chinese noodles on a yellow table An interior page from the SAVEUR issue shows text as well as a large, center photo of a bottle of dark purple mead from Superstition Meadery
Reposted by Kate Bernot
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
blipstress.bsky.social
An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.
kbernot.bsky.social
Affluent Americans have carried water for much of the economy, but they can’t do it forever—particularly not in general CPG.

My latest Sightlines report looks at what's happening to premiumization as even wealthy shoppers slow their spending: www.sightlines.news/analysis/whe...
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dlknowles.bsky.social
Good reporting on the South Shore raid from South Side weekly here.

Confirms one thing I was told but didn't put in my own piece because I didn't have a second source and it seemed too insane: border agents segregated arrested residents by race

southsideweekly.com/federal-agen...
Federal Agents Storm South Shore Building, Detaining Families and Children
Families were woken by flashbangs and helicopters as hundreds of federal agents raided their homes. Days later, neighbors are still searching for the missing.
southsideweekly.com
kbernot.bsky.social
Paul Grey didn’t open his distillery in order to host Taylor Swift-themed trivia, yet such events have become critical to keeping the business’ doors open.

For Craft Spirits Magazine, I report on how small distilleries are using events to drive visitation: issuu.com/americancraf...
Craft Spirits September/October 2025
issuu.com
Reposted by Kate Bernot
wineecon.bsky.social
Composition of U.S. Wine Consumption, 1967-2023.
Note:
(1) Gradual decline in dessert wine, with the steady rise of table wine over the decades.
(2) Stark decline in table wine from 2021-2023, much smaller drop in sparkling wine.
(3) Growth of wine-based RTDs as successor to the 1980s wine coolers
Reposted by Kate Bernot
thetriibe.com
NEW — Video posted to social media shows Unraveled Press co-founder Steve Held being detained by federal agents outside the Broadview immigration facility earlier this evening.

A collection of Chicago newsrooms is calling for his immediate release.

thetriibe.com/2025/09/chic...
Chicago journalist detained while covering protest outside Broadview immigration facility • The TRiiBE
Video posted to social media shows Unraveled Press co-founder Steve Held being detained by federal agents earlier this evening.
thetriibe.com
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dinfontay.com
you are about to see the nation’s beer distributors—aka “the toughest lobby you’ve never heard of”—lose their fucking minds
carlquintanilla.bsky.social
* TRUMP ADMINISTRATION RESTRICTING COMMERCIAL DRIVER LICENSES FOR NON-U.S. CITIZENS, USDOT SAYS

@reuters.com
kbernot.bsky.social
Functional beverage MadLibs
Three products on a grocery store shelf: Energy strips, “tropical sauce,” and a bottle of pickle juice
Reposted by Kate Bernot
dinfontay.com
College and pro football have returned. Beer sales have not. In my column this week at @vinepair.com, I broke down the short- and long-term trends dragging the beleaguered industry down during what had been one of its most dominant occasions.
Beer Is Losing Its Grasp On Football. Here's Why.
Late last month, I received a comment from a reader about my column on the American brewing industry’s collective overcapacity problem. Well, more of a request, really. “Dave can you put out a piece t...
vinepair.com
kbernot.bsky.social
Additional data from the federal SAMSHA survey shows that declines in late high school and college-age (sub-21 yo) drinking rates are what's notable in recent years.

Teens really are waiting until they're 21—or slightly beyond that—to begin drinking.
A chart titled "Past-Month Alcohol Use Trends 2021-2024" shows no statistically significant change in rates for most groups, except for a decrease among those ages 18 to 25.
kbernot.bsky.social
It’s partially a COVID ripple effect: With kids more isolated, teens’ reported use of almost all measured substances decreased dramatically between 2020 and 2021.

Notable: Teen drinking and drug use have remained low—or continued to decrease—since the pandemic, even as public spaces have reopened.
www.sightlines.news
kbernot.bsky.social
In today’s Sightlines newsletter: The kids are alright.

New federal data shows young people ages 12-18 showed statistically significant decreases in alcohol use, cannabis use, major depressive episodes, and suicidality compared to four years ago.

Why? Changes to the way kids socialize.
Reposted by Kate Bernot
kbernot.bsky.social
Beer's long been king at convenience stores, but spirits—led by RTDs—are making inroads.

For NACS Magazine, I report on why they're succeeding, and how stores are expanding their selections to meet the moment. www.nacsmagazine.com/Issues/Augus...
Raise a Can to Spirits
The #1 trusted source of information for decision makers in the convenience industry.
www.nacsmagazine.com
kbernot.bsky.social
As the hazy New England and bright West Coast styles drift toward opposite poles, Midwest IPA—like the region from which it hails—has proudly held the middle. I wrote about where it stands today for Craft Beer & Brewing: beerandbrewing.com/midwest-ipa/
Why Midwest IPA Is... Nice
Ope! Midwest IPA is just gonna sneak right past the two coastal substyles as a unique approach all its own, rooted in modern tradition while evolving for the future.
beerandbrewing.com
kbernot.bsky.social
I didn’t read hardly any of the dating books covered by this podcast at the time but they seeped into the zeitgeist in ways I didn’t even realize. (I was today years old when I found out the author of HJNTIY was a SATC writer…)
kbernot.bsky.social
What struck me during this otherwise very romping episode: There was almost no critical engagement with this book/movie at the time (fair) and it went on to sell 1m+ copies and influence the way a generation of women think about themselves, and dating, and relationships generally !!