Portland, Oregon-based Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider will cease operations on September 24 after 12 years in business, according to the Oregonian. 

The closure comes just six months after Rev. Nat’s opened a new taproom in Southeast Portland. 

Rev. Nat’s founder Nat West wrote on social media: “After 12 great years, it’s time to move on. September will be our last month in business.”

The company will go out on with three final “Tent Show” releases, including Swan Song 8.5% ABV) and a pair of non-alcoholic ciders. 

West started the business as a hobby when he was a stay-at-home dad. 

West wrote on social media: “I opened Rev Nat’s in my basement in 2011, expanded into my garage in 2012, and opened at our first location off N.E. Broadway in 2013. We grew a lot during the seven years in that building, and were able to play a huge role in the growth of cider in Portland, in the U.S. and around the world. 

“Please don’t be sad! We’ve had an incredible run and I met so many amazing people and shared so many wonderful experiences. It’s been the best job I’ve ever had.”

Although “there is not a single reason” for Rev. Nat’s closing, West cited “a combination of factors,” mentioning “COVID closures, changing consumer preferences, the sputtering of craft beer overall and the decline of Portland as a worldwide tourism destination.”

Rev. Nat’s was producing around 8,000 barrels of cider annually in 2019, the Oregonian reported. The cidery employed around two dozen people and was planning “massive grocery store distribution across multiple states.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic scuttled on-premise sales along with Rev. Nat’s expansion plans. The business pivoted to a smaller taproom and production facility in March, but traffic didn’t return to pre-pandemic levels.

Mighty Swell CEO Jeana Harrington is feeling good about the future of the hard seltzer brand under new ownership.

The sale of Mighty Swell has seen it spun off into a new alcoholic beverage business called Lemonati, which Harrington is leading as president. 

The July 28 acquisition of Mighty Swell Spiked Seltzer by a family-owned, global fruit and flavor company ended an admittedly “rough” period in which the company lacked funding to produce its products for the summer selling period. 

The issues for Mighty Swell began earlier this year when a round of funding expected to come through by December fell through. This led Mighty Swell to explore merger-and-acquisition options while it was gearing up to brew the bulk of its production for the summer selling season. 

Future production won’t be an issue with new ownership backing Mighty Swell and Lemonati, Harrington said. 

Harrington said: “It's gonna give us the opportunity and the resources to not have to fundraise again, which is a big plus for me and the leadership because that can take up a lot of time.” 

Brewbound Insiders can go deeper into Lemonati and Mighty Swell's path forward, including going beyond hard seltzer.

Eleven stockholders from Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company have filed a lawsuit against former CEO William McLucas and former directors, allegeding McLucas attempted to purchase the company with his own investment company, WPM Capital Partners, but failed to be transparent with financial terms and to pay company shares, Law360 reported. 

McLucas – who was named CEO in September 2022 – allegedly put in an offer to settle Buffalo Bayou’s debts and merge the company with his investment firm in September 2021, but delayed signing a merger agreement until July 2022 “so that the company could burn through its lifeline capital,” the lawsuit states. 

"The merger agreement did not contain the customary representations regarding buyer's sources of funding or solvency," the complaint says. "McLucas also was not required to deliver — either as a contractual obligation or otherwise — customary equity and debt commitment letters or to satisfy any covenant to obtain the financing between the signing and closing."

Shareholders’ four-count complaint was filed in Delaware Chancery Court this week, seeking damages, litigation costs and the appointment of a receiver for Buffalo Bayou (ala the process Modern Times went through in 2022). The complaints include:

• Breach of fiduciary duty and fraud by McLucas;
• Breach of contract by WPM Capital Partners and two companies formed to complete the deal;
• Breach of fiduciary duty by former directors Pablo Henning, Chris Walls and Jeffrey Scott, all members of the special committee that reviewed the deal, according to Law360.

The lawsuit also alleges that McLucas used the information and influence he had as a board member to negatively impact the company’s financial health and deter other offers or assessments. 

Additionally, the lawsuit also accuses McLucas of “subordinating plaintiffs’ interests to his own” by closing the deal while allegedly knowing there was not enough cash to pay shareholders. 

Not Buffalo’s First Rodeo: Buffalo leadership found itself in legal hot water last fall, when Pimuro Capital Partners, a financial services company brought on to reduce Buffalo Bayou’s costs and increase revenue, filed a lawsuit alleging nonpayment of more than $94,000.

Grocery chains Kroger and Albertsons announced a $1.9 billion divestiture plan today that would see the sale of 413 stores and eight distribution centers across 17 states and Washington, D.C., as well as five private label brands and three banners in an effort to appease federal regulators and receive approval of their merger.

C&S Wholesale Grocers would acquire the stores and centers, along with the QFC, Mariano’s and Carrs brand names, as well as licensing rights to the Albertsons brand name in Arizona, California, Colorado and Wyoming. The impacted stores are primarily located in Western states such as Washington, California, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada and Idaho. According to the announcement, no stores will close as result of the sale and frontline associates will remain employed.

C&S operates the Grand Union, Piggly Wiggly and corporate stores across the Midwest and the Carolinas.

During Kroger’s Q2 2023 earnings call today, executives said the Kroger-Albertsons merger, which has received mounting scrutiny from consumers, union members, brands and federal organizations alike, remains on track to close in early 2024. The deal was first announced in October 2022.

More details about the divestiture in the release.

Domestic tax paid shipments for July were down -8.4% versus July 2022, to 12.8 million barrels, according to the Beer Institute (BI) in its latest round of economic reports.

July marks the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year (YoY) shipment declines. However, declines have slightly decelerated over the past two months, after peaking in May with a -12.2% YoY decline. 

Year-to-date (YTD), domestic tax paids are down -6.8%, or more than 6.4 million barrels. The accelerated YTD decline versus June reports (then -5.9%) is due to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) adjusting shipment numbers for June, from -6.4% YoY to -9.7%. 

📊 State Shipments -4.1% in July Led by Large State Declines

State shipments were down -4.1.% YoY in July, to 17.2 million barrels. Shipments YTD are now down -3% YoY, to 113.8 million barrels – an improvement over the -3.8% decline recorded through June.

Five states contributed 51% of the overall declines in July:

• California (-7% YoY)
• Texas (-4.3%)
• North Carolina (-13.5%)
• Florida (-5%)
• Pennsylvania (-7.4%)

The two largest states by beer shipments – Texas and California – are also heavy contributors to YTD declines. Combined, YTD shipment losses for both states accounted for a loss of nearly 1.5 million barrels versus the same seven-month period in 2022: California -8.1%, Texas -3.7%. 

Insiders can read the full report, including what states are in the green and how imports performed in July.

Boston Beer founder Jim Koch seems to have little fear of new hard teas cutting into Twisted Tea’s dominating share of the segment. 

He expressed his thoughts on competitors Thursday during the Barclays Consumer Staples Conference:

“It's been a tsunami of new tea entrants. Two weeks ago it almost got comical: We have Dunkin’ Donuts hard tea and I'm waiting for Jiffy Lube to come out with a hard tea.

“There must have been 50 entrants, new hard teas, this year. And so far, it hasn't really slowed down Twisted Tea. My reading is none of them have a reason for being; they're me-toos to Twisted Tea.”

Look out for more coverage from Koch’s fireside chat early next week.

Before the Great American Beer Festival, Brewbound’s Brew Talks meetup in Denver will explore draft beer trends in Colorado, one of the most mature craft beer markets in the U.S.

Brew Talks will take place Thursday, September 21, from noon to 3 p.m. MT at Cervantes Masterpiece (2637 Welton St., Denver, CO, 80205). Tickets are available now.

Leaders from all three tiers of the beer business will discuss Centennial State draft trends, including:

• Hops & Pie owner and chief beer buyer Drew Watson;
• Ska Brewing president and co-founder David Thibodeau;
• Holidaily Brewing founder Karen Hertz;
• And Elite Brands of Colorado account manager Katie Nierling

Brew Talks will take place from noon to 3 p.m. MT at Cervantes Masterpiece (2637 Welton St., Denver, CO, 80205) prior to the start of the first session of the Great American Beer Festival. Tickets are available now, and include two beer tickets and light appetizers.

Brew Talks will also explore national draft trends, as draft has s not returned to pre-pandemic levels,

Panelists will discuss the challenges facing draft beer and strategies for improving draft trends. They include:

• Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione
• Buffalo Wild Wings director of beverage strategy & innovation Jason Murphy
• Tamarron Consulting co-founder and president Lori Scheiffler. 

Tickets are available now.