Nation's largest alc bev contract producer is getting bigger. Just a year after signing 5-yr lease for 255K sq-ft space at industrial complex in Westmoreland County, PA, City Brewing is tacking on another 111,500 sq ft and extending its initial lease to 2033. It'll be used for warehousing and distribution ops, supplementing co's contract brewing in nearby Latrobe. Expansion will begin next month, with City set to add more than 20 new jobs (on top of 50-60 announced when it moved in last yr). City has over 1,800 employees nationwide, with additional facilities in La Crosse, WI, Memphis, TN, and Irwindale, CA.

With state legislative sessions underway, plenty of alcohol-related proposals popped this wk. While many industry members remain focused on issues relating to regulating spirits-based RTDs, lots of the usual topics are on the table, including small brewer carve outs, drunk driving laws and retailer liability issues.

Not long ago viewed as sleepy and perhaps complacent leader of kefir segment, Lifeway Foods has turned into a veritable marketing machine in past few years, building massive social media presence, sponsoring yoga events within Immersive Van Gogh exhibit, tying to celebs like The Bachelor's Joe Amble and even opening a pop-up in trendy part of Miami in what seems so far to be highly successful effort to bring in legion of younger consumers.

Brave new world of expanded portfolios and blurred category lines comes with lotsa watchouts, advisors at Ippolito Christon & Co wrote to malt bev distribs yesterday, opining on provisions of Monster's Beast Unleashed contract. Some of terms behind energy brand's alc extension "set a bad precedent for future malt products and alter the beer distributor's risk profile negatively," prexy Andy Christon wrote with help from atty Keith Hochheiser, as our sibling letter Insights Express reported yesterday. Like some other recent contracts for non-traditional bevs or new supplier partners, this one is "weak on traditional exclusivity and perpetuity provisions," creating potential for "eroding the value of your total business over time," Andy warns. Combo of that risk and $2.50/case mktg contribution means distribs must weigh pros/cons carefully, he sez.

Longbottom Virgin Mary, elegantly crafted canned entry that seems to have enjoyed quick momentum in UK since its launch last Jun, is hitting US shores starting in Chicago, where it's entering some Binny's wine & spirits stores and, soon, Fresh Market grocery chain. Named for cofounder Ed Bathgate's great-great-grandparents, Longbottom & Co is well-established tomato juice player in UK that's seeking to further elevate canned mixer segment by employing for Virgin Mary the not-from-concentrate juice of fresh-pressed Pear and Canary Spanish tomato varieties, blended with vegan Worcestershire sauce and garnish that includes olives, horseradish, capers, lemon, black pepper, chill, celery salt, onion and peppers. It goes out at SRP of $13.99 per 4-pk of 250-ml cans, which are adorned with "mischievous portrait of Mary Queen of Scots," per announcement. US launch is being overseen by brand & marketing gm Diana Mora and int'l sales dir Sam Gummer. Explaining painstaking production behind new line, co indicated that tomatoes are grown via drip irrigation method less than 2 hrs away from juicing facility in southern Spain, where they're pressed at a lower temperature to retain freshness and taste and avoid soupy cooked-tomato consistency . . . Hint Water's anticipated Hint + Vitamin extension has gone live on drinkhint.com DTC site, offering vitamin C boost in Clementine, Coconut, Blackberry Cherry and Tropical flavors. New entry, which we'd noticed pop up at Sam's Club last fall (BBI, Nov 18), maintains unsweetened commitment of core essence water brand but adds 100% daily value of Vitamin C (90 mcg) along with zinc, Vitamin B12 and Vitamin A. It's going out at $23.99 per 12-pk to one-time buyers, $19.99 to subscribers.

The Milo's iced tea juggernaut is about to max out the Alabama co's capacity once more, necessitating construction of a 110K-sq-ft plant on 48-acre campus in Spartanburg, SC, at a cost exceeding $130 mil, the co announced today. And it's moving fast: it will break ground in mid-Mar in anticipation of going live in fall 2024, adding to network of two plants around its Bessemer, Ala, base and another built in Tulsa, Okla, a coupla years ago to support brand's western push. Tho its generally well-sweetened teas and lemonades would seem to run counter to what consumers say they want in their bevs these days, the refrigerated brand has been on a growth tear in recent years, with latest Nielsen scanners (story above) indicating that it grew by 42.8% to $448.3 mil in sales over past 52 wks.

Join us Wed, Feb 1 at 1PM Eastern for the 2022 Year in Beer webinar to get an in-depth look at the news and numbers that moved the needle in the US beer biz. In just over 1 wk, Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS editors will unpack the year that was and gear up for what's to come. Register today for this 90-minute review (including Q&A) of essential beer biz stats and facts. Or watch the presentation on-demand: a recording of the presentation and a copy of the deck will be available to all registrants.

The name of Pabst's cfo is Tim Tulfer.