IL's Solemn Oath Brewery is crossin' state lines for its third taproom, reports Milwaukee Mag. The brewery will take over the site of Milwaukee's 1840 Brewing, which closed in June after 8 yrs. Naperville, IL-based Solemn Oath, which also has a Chicago taproom, is aiming to hold a December pop-up event at the space and open for good in mid-2026. Solemn Oath was founded in 2012 and produced 8.5K bbls in 2024 per BA estimates. Co will continue to brew its beers in IL but will barrel-age its beers in WI, from which founder John Barley (not a bad name, that) hails.

Livonia, MI's Benchmark Beverage Co, owner of Brew Detroit, continues to scoop up local brands, this time nabbing Altes Beer from Detroit Natl Brewing Co, reports Crain's Detroit Biz. The Altes brand was founded in 1910 and changed hands several times before landing with Detroit Natl in 2016. Now it's movin' to Benchmark, which got into the beer biz last yr with acquisition of Brew Detroit, Roak and Dark Horse (see Feb 18 issue) and purchased a share of Blake's Hard Cider this spring (see Jun 18 issue). Altes sales not huge by vol but up ~50% YTD in NIQ $$ and vol thru Sep 6.

Bizarre situation outta Denver, where the Hispanic Restaurant Assn has been unable to retrieve its contract-produced beer from the premises of Raices Brewing Co, which was seized by the city for nonpayment of taxes, reports 9 News. The assn paid approximately $10K for Raices to create "Vertigo Beer," which it developed over six to eight months and planned to sell to raise funds for the org, but the city will not allow it to be retrieved. "It was a week away from being finished and put into a keg," said John Jaramillo, a member of the org's board of directors: "I'm just asking for a little bit of goodwill and grace because of the community stuff we've done for the city."

In this year where protein rules, an alarming, weighty report in Consumer Reports last week found that many protein supplements contain potentially dangerous levels of lead. The mag tested 23 powders and shakes and found that two-thirds of them "contained more lead than CR's food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day-some by more than 10 times." CR used baseline of 0.5 micrograms per day, based on California's Prop 65 maximum dose level, "which has a wide safety margin built in" and with which several producers took issue, separating out products into several categories: Products to Avoid, Recommend Limiting to Once a Week, Okay to Eat Occasionally and Better Choices for Daily Consumption. The report, which was updated a coupla days ago, details the various ways lead can make its way into products as a result of using vegetable-based protein, usually pea protein, production of which has several potential points of entry. Several producers disputed CR's methodology and told the mag that they believed their products were safe.

Delayed inflation report from Bureau of Labor Statistics brought mixed news this morning: prices still are rising at about 3% annual rate, but not as badly as some economists have feared given realities of Trump tariffs and other recent factors. Broad Consumer Price Index "held stubbornly around 3%" in Sep, as Yahoo Finance assessed, "but came in slightly cooler than analysts expected across the board as investors continue to assess the Federal Reserve's path toward its 2% target."

In crowded and brutally competitive sports hydration segment, word on the street from multiple contacts in space has been that two well-funded insurgents, Congo Brands' Prime Hydration and Mark Anthony Brands' Mas+ by Messi, haven't made the cut for continued presence at Kroger grocery giant. Rival Lance Collins, building Recover 180 brand in Kroger and other mainstream banners, was latest to report this to us today but we'd been hearing it from several others in recent weeks. Prime, of course, stands as one of most explosively successful hydration launches in bev annals on notoriety of frontmen Logan Paul and KSI - until novelty wore off and it moved into precipitous decline, which co is trying to rectify by improving product formulation and starting to act nice to its wholesalers. Meanwhile, Messi-branded item has benefited from adept marketing surrounding global soccer icon, who just reupped with MLS team Inter Miami after another sterling season, but hasn't shown great pull off the shelf to date and several key leaders, including gm Rishi Daing, have moved on to greener pastures. It's restaging, including via decision to rely on can format going forward after missing 5-mil-case first-year sales target by selling only 1.5 mil cases (BBI, Oct 3).

Join industry thought leaders for the Beer Insights Seminar, coming right up Nov 9-10 at the New York Athletic Club in New York City. The meeting agenda is now available, including an up-tempo presentation by Alcohol Issues Insights editor Christopher Shepard, "The Issue with Alcohol." Execs from Constellation Brands, Molson Coors, Diageo, Gallo, Stateside and more will offer timely talks and discussions about the latest trends and developments. Register now to attend this premier industry event and network with top industry movers, shakers and decision makers. We hope to see you there.