A coupla recent landlord lawsuits show lingering aftermath of expansions gone wrong. While Weathered Souls shuttered its Charlotte outpost in early Apr, co's saga in the city ain't over yet. The San Antonio-based brewer is being sued in Mecklenburg Superior Court, with its former South End landlord alleging breach of contract and guaranty as well as unjust enrichment, the Charlotte Biz Jnl reported. Suit was filed in mid-May, with co-owner and lease guarantor Michael Holt also named as a defendant by landlord Gateway Investments Inc.

Just as Deschutes built out NA brewing capabilities/capacity and began expanding nationally (see Mar 19 issue), it struck a new partnership with Patagonia Provisions to launch two new "certified organic beers" with its proprietary Kernza grain, including the "first-ever" certified organic NA beer, cos announced yesterday.

With international sales now making up the majority of Brooklyn Brewery's mix, a new multi-million-dollar global campaign will seek to keep that growth engine going. Developed in collaboration with Spike Lee's agency, Spike DDB, campaign features a 60-second short film with cameos from Spike himself and Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver, following the escapades of native Brooklyn actress Lake Escobosa. It "champions the heart and soul" of the brewery's iconic and eclectic home borough, Carlsberg said in release on Mon, with ads premiering this wk in the UK and then rolling out across "most of Carlsberg Group's markets in Europe."

One of the bigger and most consistently growing regional craft brewers to open in the last decade is making a key change to its leadership among co-founders. Creature Comforts' co-founder, brewmaster and COO Adam Beauchamp was elevated to CEO as co-founder Chris Herron stepped down from the role, a position he's held since the co was founded in 2014.

Sierra Nevada's trajectory improved in the latest 4 wks thru May 25 in separate NIQ off-prem dataset. Sierra $$ grew 3.4% for 4 wks, outpacing New Belgium (+3.2%) to become the fastest growing top-5 craft family for the period. Tho NBB still grew more $$ and gained more share, with Voodoo Ranger Juice Force still among top-10 growth brands in total beer. Sierra Nevada improved most of all in NIQ foodstores, where $$ grew 6.5%. New Belgium craft family was down in foodstores for a second consecutive 4-wk period, tho its $$ still grew 10% in c-stores.

Budweiser is once again an official beer of the National Hockey League (NHL) in Canada, reported Sports Business Journal. Bud has a new multiyear sponsorship deal thru Labatt Breweries of Canada, "restoring a designation the brand last held during the 2021-22 season," noted SBJ. Bud's deal isn't exclusive tho, as Molson Canadian is also an official beer of NHL in Canada. Also, Moosehead Breweries, which distributes Truly Hard Seltzer and Twisted Tea north of the border, has mktg rights for hard-seltzer (semi-exclusive) and RTD vodka (exclusive).

Just about 1 mo since becoming a top-25 vendor in foodstores (see May 3 issue), Happy Dad became a top-25 beer vendor in Circana c-stores nationally too. Its sales surged 129% to $8.5 mil YTD thru May 19 in c-stores, knocking out Sapporo USA to become #25 beer vendor by $$ overall in the channel. That's as Sapporo USA total sales are nearly double the size of Happy Dad in Circana MULC with much bigger presence in foodstores. Yet Happy Dad remained #25 beer vendor by $$ in foodstores too with $$ up 61% to $8.1 mil YTD. Even as trend "slowed" to +42% in foodstores for last 4 wks, Happy Dad $$ were still bigger than Monster FMBs for period and bigger than Vizzy hard seltzer. In c-stores, Happy Dad grew 85% for 4 wks with sales not far behind Mahou USA (Founders, Avery, Mahou imports) and Artisanal Brewing Ventures (Victory, Southern Tier, Bold Rock, Sixpoint).

This morning, Boston Beer founder and chairman Jim Koch put out a note to employees sounding off about recent press reports and rampant speculation about deal possibilities involving Boston Beer. "These types of articles come up from time to time, and it's easy to understand why," said Jim. "We're an amazing company with a portfolio of powerful brands, industry-leading innovation and best-in-class people, so it's not surprising others recognize our value," he added. "Plus, journalists love stories about potential corporate mergers or acquisitions, even if they are purely imaginary because they can attract more attention to their articles." Jim continued: "Many of these stories are based on loosely attributed information that often turns into a big nothing, and other potential transactions mentioned in the media are not even feasible."

The parallel tracks of federal antitrust enforcement and private claims against largest US wine & spirits distrib Southern Glazer's inched closer in the last week. The FTC could file suit against Southern before the end of the mo, Politico reported yesterday. The agency has been investigating the co for alleged violations of the Robinson-Patman Act for well over a year.