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More than a yr after closing, the owner of the Armed Forces Brewing Co is suing several people associated with Craft Beer Professionals for $50 mil in Circuit Court, alleging a "coordinated campaign to destroy" the Norfolk, VA-based biz. CEO Alan Beal said the defendants - Michael and Stacie Coplon, Robert "Butch" Bracknell, Craft Beer Professionals, Citizens for a Better Norfolk and Zach Roberts - "worked together to pressure our customers, vendors, sponsors, charitable partners, event operators, and business associates to sever ties with our company." Recall, Armed Forces took over O'Conner Brewing in 2023 after being lured with an incentive pkg and raised ~$8.5 mil from more than 10K investors who paid a minimum of $200, but closed last spring after being padlocked by the city for failure to pay property taxes and under threat of lawsuits from several creditors. At the time, Alan blamed the "woke mob" for his problems, and the lawsuit expands on the theme, alleging Craft Beer Professionals illegally worked together to submarine the co by creating and spreading fabricated documents, spreading false and/or threatening information and pressuring co's business and charitable partners to divest from Armed Forces. One of the lawsuit's highlighted complaints in press release were the responses to a social media post by Zach mentioning Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, and "taking out a CEO," which led to several commenters being banned "after commenting that AFBC CEO Alan Beal should be "'Luigi'd'&mdash;a death threat&mdash;targeting AFBC's leadership team."Several items in the lawsuit concern alleged events that emerged from ostensibly separate culture clashes. The lawsuit denies "alleged intolerance for and hostility towards the LGBTQ community, and other unethical conduct" and cites the defendants for "accusing him of a stolen valor felony." Despite running the Armed Forces Brewing Co, Alan did not serve in the military. This seems to be a particular sticking point, as his LinkedIn bio begins, without preamble: "I did not serve in the US Military. I am not a Veteran. I am a Veteran supporter and advocate." Additionally, the co hired controversial former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, who claims to have killed Osama bin Laden, as a brand ambassador, reports the Daily Pour.At least one of the tentpoles of the complaint already seems wobbly, however. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants "often met at Afterglow Brewing, a few blocks from the AFBC taproom, to strategize and discuss 'what they were going to do to AFBC' next, according to Afterglow owner Josh Evans," but Josh has denied that the meetings took place or that he told Alan about them to 13 News Now.Was Scrambling for $2 Mil; All Non-Beal Board Members Quit All of this happened against the backdrop of Armed Forces losing $1.76 mil in the first 6 mos of 2024 and $2.4 mil in 2023 while staring down $321K in debts to AFBC Properties, its landlord, and $27K to the VA Debt of Labor, among other liens filed against the co. SEC filings showed the co ran thru more than $8.5 mil from investors in just a few yrs and "still went deeply into debt," reported The VA Mercury at the time (see Apr 14, 2025 issue). Before shuttering the biz, Alan was "begging" investors for $2 mil to stay afloat, per the report, and the other 3 members of the co's 4-member board had quit.

Armed Forces Brewing Sues Craft Beer Professionals, 5 Individuals for $50 Mil, Alleging "Coordinated Campaign to Destroy" Co

Publishing Info

Armed Forces Brewing Sues Craft Beer Professionals, 5 Individuals for $50 Mil, Alleging "Coordinated Campaign to Destroy&quot; Co

Publishing Info

Armed Forces Brewing Sues Craft Beer Professionals, 5 Individuals for $50 Mil, Alleging "Coordinated Campaign to Destroy" Co