Colorado-based Prost Brewing Co is putting its expansion plans in motion. After opening its new 60K sq-ft brewery headquarters late last yr, the brewer is adding Utah to its distribution footprint in partnership with General Distributing Company. Starting this summer, it'll distribute 6 brews to retailers across the state, including 2023 GABF silver medal winner Prost Pilsner and a Utah-exclusive variety pk.

As San Antonio-based Weathered Souls battles its own landlord dispute over its now-closed Charlotte location, co-founder and head brewer Marcus Baskerville is no longer with the company. "Woke up yesterday morning feeling like a huge weight has been lifted," he posted on LinkedIn last week, adding that "I am no longer an employee of Weathered Souls Brewing co." Among other accomplishments, the former James Beard Award nominee was instrumental in spearheading the Black Is Beautiful beer initiative and continues to serve on the board of the Natl Black Brewers Assn. No word yet on his next endeavors.

Ensnared in a series of landlord lawsuits as well as allegations of money laundering and embezzlement, Big Storm Brewing Co is suddenly down to just one location. The previously fast-expanding Florida-based craft co closed its taproom attached to downtown Orlando's Kia Center (home of the NBA's Orlando Magic) over the weekend, leaving co's Clearwater HQ as its only remaining space after abruptly shuttering other spots. The brewer originally opened the Orlando space in Apr 2021 after signing a 10-yr lease in 2020 with potential for an additional 5-yr term on the backend, the city's Biz Jnl notes.

Another craft brewer tangled up in legal troubles. St Louis-based Urban Chestnut Brewing Co allegedly failed to make payments on a pair of loans dating back to 2013 and now owes 2 creditors more than $400K, according to a 2 separate lawsuits filed in May and first reported in St Louis Post Dispatch.

Another large and perhaps unexpected craft brewer is wading into FMB waters. Wisconsin's New Glarus Brewing Co launched all new "Splash Malt Beverage" this month, a fruit-flavored offering made with all-natural fruit juice that comes in on lighter side of segment at 105 calories and 4.0% ABV per serving.

As hop growers adjust for new mkt realities, US hop acreage is forecast at 44,543 acres in 2024, down 18% vs last year, US Dept of Agriculture recently shared. WA, the largest acreage state, is expected to slip 15% to just under 33K acres. Idaho is bracing for the steepest decline rate, down 31% to just under 6K acres. And OR growers have 5.6K acres, down 18% vs year ago. USDA organic hops dropping 25% to just 476 acres.

It's a little over a month since BrewDog co-founder James Watt stepped down from his role as CEO to pursue "a few new ventures of my own" to "help nurture fantastic start-ups," among other things. The first of those new endeavors has been revealed. James will launch a new company called "Social Tip, a platform that allows users to become 'influencers' and earn money for promoting brands," reported City A.M. James is already putting his BrewDog Punk fundraising skills to work as Social Tip "secured" about $760K in seed funding from Haatch investment fund along with other angel investors.

Brooklyn Brewery hired industry vet Robert Hodson as its new VP of Sales, co announced this week, marking "a homecoming for Robert" as he returns to Brooklyn "after more than 20 years." Robert started his career with Brooklyn running NYC-based distrib operation, Craft Brewers Guild, initially established and operated by Brooklyn Brewery before it was sold to Sheehan in the early 2000s. Robert's worked at Sheehan Family Cos ever since, transitioning to Union where he "started their craft division as Sales Director," before moving up to corporate brand manager of L. Knife and Son, a position he held for the last 12 yrs. His "extensive experience at CBG, Union Beer, and his corporate role with The Sheehan Family Companies has equipped him with an unparalleled level of knowledge and expertise," wrote Brooklyn in the announcement. "He brings tremendous knowledge and experience to help us navigate the opportunities provided by today's rapidly evolving marketplace," said prexy Robin Ottaway.

Seasonal trends for onsite brewery sales remained relatively consistent since Jan 2021, but they're down slightly in real terms when accounting for inflation and dropped 6% for the first qtr of 2024. So wrote the Brewers Assn's recently hired staff economist Matt Gacioch (who joined team led by BA's Bart Watson in Feb) in first of a 3-part series deep diving into onsite trends via Arryved data. Yet even as gross sales are down, draft beer is gaining share of onsite sales.