Bell's, via its Upper Hand Brewery subsidiary, and local coffee co, Buck Baits, LLC, are tangled up in local battle over trademark dispute. Bell's "denied any wrongdoing and simultaneously filed a counterclaim of their own" in response to trademark infringement lawsuit filed on Jan 20 by Michigan based co Buck Baits LLC, reports mlive. Buck Baits, makers of Deer Camp Coffee, sued over Upper Hand Brewery's use of the name "Deer Camp," which it began using for one of its beers in 2018. Buck Baits "had the Deer Camp name registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office in 2016 for a wide range of coffee-related products," but Bell's countered that Buck Baits had no plans to make beer nor do they "own a trademark registration for the words 'Deer Camp' in connection with beer." Buck Baits allegedly did acquire the domain www.deercampbeer.com back in 2015 (claiming intent to eventually sell beer), and co asserts that Bell's applied twice for "Deer Camp" TM in 2017 and 2018, but was denied both times "because it causes a likelihood of confusion" with Buck Baits' registered TM.

Just as soon as states started issuing regulatory accommodations to keep alc bev bizzes, including small brewers, in biz amid COVID-19 pandemic, questions nagged industry members and advocates about the lasting impacts of these short-term changes. Almost 4 wks after the early on-premise shutdowns, more states continue to issue new guidance. For instance, CT, WV, MA, CO and IL all allowing home deliveries, for now, some via executive actions, others via legislative movement. Most of those issued in just the last wk. Over the weekend, SC joined in allowing curbside pick-up of sealed alc bevs from on- and off-premise permit holders, the Times and Democrat wrote in roundup of new guidance from state's Dept of Revenue. But agency didn't go as far as allowing home delivery. AL cleared curbside pick-up from on-premise licensees earlier, but with tight limits: just 1 6-pk of beer or 1 bottle of wine per customer. The AL Brewers Guild seeks removal of those limits among other economic relief measures. Delivery would be great too, in org's view. But state bars all forms of alc bev home delivery, the Montgomery Advertiser pointed out.

After lengthy process, contract-brewed Founders All Day IPA from Avery's facility outside of Boulder, CO is all set to begin shipping mid-April, co announced. Recall that Founders and Avery, both majority-owned by Mahou San Miguel, initially announced plans for this project in Dec 2018. So nailing recipe and matching flavors seemingly took longer than expected. But now that it's ready to go, co touts ability to "bring the freshest beer possible to our customers on the west coast…in a way that's much more manageable from a shipping perspective." All cans brewed by Avery facility will say "brewed in Boulder, CO."

"When it rains, it pours," as Brewers Assn chief economist Bart Watson tweeted while sharing latest BA blog post: "Notice: Potential Shortfall in Available CO2." Indeed, as "industrial manufacturers have already idled their plants…leading to a decrease in CO2 access for industrial gas suppliers" and some gas cos "forced to ration available CO2 products amongst essential business users," altogether that could lead to a 50% reduction in CO2 production by mid-Apr, sez BA citing experts. Production already down 20%. And shortage of CO2 would certainly impact US beer production along with availability of other fresh food and preserved food and bevs.

No brewer is immune to impacts of COVID-19, including the select few cos still growing their biz overall. Boston Beer on-prem sales have dropped "more than 90% in just three weeks" since states began shelter in place initiatives, founder and chairman Jim Koch told Cincy Business Courier. And while Boston remains committed to holding onto all 130 full-time staffers at the Cincy production facility, co did furlough about a dozen workers at its Over the Rhine taproom in Cincy, paper reported. As it's increasingly difficult to judge when folks can return to on-prem activity of any kind, seems almost inevitable that most (if not all) breweries will go thru some level of staff cuts. Tho Boston (and many others) implementing extensive new safety protocols to ensure safety and health of its staff, including: all employees have temps taken as they report in for work; workers are given masks and shifts are staggered; extra break rooms are set up and work stations moved around to promote social distancing; two hours every day are devoted to cleaning the brewery.

A lot has happened in the last month that has entirely upended the craft beer landscape and beyond. With Part II of our Craft Update 2020 webinar series coming in just 4 weeks, you will get an up-to-the-minute overview and in-depth analysis of where US craft beer stands amid COVID-19 outbreak, and much more. We'll also provide a collection of state and market-level 2019 data and analysis you can't get anywhere else, including top craft brewer shipments in select states, off-premise craft trends in key cities and states, on-premise highlights, and much more!

Great Lakes feels it's in "a pretty strong position" to weather the COVID-19 induced storm, CEO Mark King expressed to CBN following tuff decision to furlough over half of its employees. In all, Great Lakes furloughed around 125 employees, including mostly brewpub/retail workers as well as "retail-facing" sales reps. "You gotta have a business to come back to," Mark expressed. But co's "confident that we'll be able to bring them back." And as long as US breweries remain "essential," co anticipates it will be able to hold onto remaining 115 employees.

While most of the largest brewers and top craft brewers have communicated their plans to comp distrib partners for out-of-code kegs (and in some cases packaged beers), keg retrieval remains a complex issue that involves multiple facets of the supply chain. Full, untapped kegs that go out of code are being accounted for and partially reimbursed by brewers, but how to properly dispose of those kegs remains an issue, Microstar VP of Marketing Dan Vorlage explained to CBN following Beer Biz Daily report. And empty kegs are a whole 'nother story.

Much like other top craft cos, AB and MC acquired craft each posted faster off-premise growth thruout the latest weeks of pantry loading. Both continue to expand their positions in craft in a big way this yr. Yet AB and MC craft share gains aren't as hefty lately as other large craft brewers ramped up growth too.