Another brewery reached the end in RiNo. Mockery Brewing will shut its doors for good next mo after helping "solidify the River North Art District as a brewery-focused neighborhood" when it opened in 2014, Denver Post wrote. Closure came as culmination of factors, including rising costs "and my spinal integrity, among other things," co-owner Zach Rabun quipped. Mockery's announcement also fittingly wrote ""We did it! We reached the finish line! After 9 solid years… we have decided to raise our arms in victory and ride off into the sunset." It joins AB's 10 Barrel Brewing and Epic Brewing among recent RiNo closures, both of which left late last yr.

With Anchor Brewing closure and liquidation imminent, there are lotsa inquiries and interest swirling around the industry and beyond about potentially buying Anchor Brewing brand and/or more. That includes "more than two dozen different investors" that "have expressed" interest including "around half" based in Bay Area, and three outspoken SF-based parties, reported local SFist and KTVU following SF Chronicle. "Venture capitalist Mike Walsh," who "has ties to Narragansett," started his own website raisingtheanchor.com, and has already received "15 inquiries from people he 'never guessed would be interested.'" Kyle Whithycombe, who sold his juice co Vive Organic to Suja last yr, has also put his name out there as an interested potential buyer. And local tech investor Steve Matthews shared that "he and a group of friends are contemplating an offer" based around a reality TV series "centered" around Anchor Brewing's revival.

Many familiar names among top growth brand families in scans, per BWC report. New Belgium (+21.5%) and Athletic (+89%) continue fueling growth most of all in Nielsen channels with NBB pulling away as #1 craft family and Athletic up to #15 overall. Some familiar established craft names are keepin' up top-tier $$ growth too, including Goose Island (+17%), Sierra Nevada (+3%), Kona (+5%), Southern Tier (+15%) and Stone (+5%). But growth from VT's Fiddlehead (+36%) continues to stand out as the lone new-wave craft brand among top-10 gainers, posting 5th largest gain overall in the segment. And Georgetown continues to post low-double-digit growth in scans. Now several yrs into their packaged beer launches, both Fiddlehead and Georgetown are interesting examples of craft brewers that built their brands exclusively in the on- and own-premise for yrs before debuting packaged brews.

New Realm is slated to double its owned locations in the next yr or so, but co continues to prioritize a methodical buildout of its biz, co-founder and CEO Carey Falcone emphasized in chat with CBN. The Atlanta-based brewer's been a Southeast standout over the last several yrs, climbing from ~6K bbls in 2018 to around 31K bbls in 2022. And its total beer volume is up 24% yr-to-date, Carey added, despite distribution in just a handful of states.

Chain retailers continue to cut back on craft segment in stores this yr even as trends are improving in recent periods (see above). Number of craft brands tracked in Nielsen channels declined 3% to 17,697 YTD thru Jul 1, Bump Williams Consulting shared in craft 1st half review deck. If decline continues, 2023 would mark the first yr of craft brand reduction in Nielsen channels, according to BWC tally. Brands rose from 18,665 in calendar 2020 to 19,359 in 2021 and 20,180 in 2022. So far this yr, net declines in number of seasonals, hazy IPAs, pale ales, 6 pks and bottled brands wiped out increases in Assorted packs, lagers, hazy double IPAs, 12pks and 19.2oz single cans, BWC added. Brand reductions are sharper in grocery channel; avg # of craft items per store is increasing in convenience stores this yr. But craft's "per-item efficiency" per store ranks among the lowest of any individual segment" at $287 per item YTD. Other key high-end segments are well ahead in this measure including imports ($859/item), superpremium ($754), hard seltzer ($458), FMBs ($384), hard cider ($327) and NA beer ($299).

Pair of Univ of Louisville (Ky) Biz School friends have been deliberately building what they describe as "the world's first superfood cocktail and mocktail mix" under Modica brand name.

Glow Beverages said it's entering 900 Albertsons locations throughout Texas, including retailer's Market Street, Randall's, Thom Thumb and United Supermarkets banners. They're picking up co's Glow Sparkling Hydration, Glow Sparkling Energy and Glow Ultra Smooth Alkaline Water entries. It was assisted in effort by incubation partner Cascadia Managing Brands . . . Bizzy Cold Brew organic line has cracked Earth Fare chain . . . Tomorrow Farms has landed Fresh Thyme Market stores in Midwest for its Bored Cow altmilk using precision-fermented whey from Perfect Farms. Retailer is picking up brand's Original, Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry versions . . . Dandy Blend, an herbal bev that mimics coffee without caffeine, has entered Natural Grocers' 164 US stores. Based in Valley City, Ohio, Dandy Blend is made from roasted extracts of barley, rye, chicory root and dandelion root.

Once the largest publicly traded cannabis co, drawing multi-billion-dollar investment from Constellation, Canopy Growth is now threatened with being delisted from Nasdaq as co scrambles to right the ship. Co received notice from Nasdaq Stock Market on July 11 that it's currently not in compliance with Nasdaq's minimum listing requirements for not maintain $1 per share value for 30 consecutive business days, co announced late last week. Canopy quickly put together a "series of agreements" with top shareholders and certain lenders that are expected to reduce debt by C$437 mil (US$330 mil) over next 2 qtrs and save C$20-30 mil in interest expenses, co shared.

"The secret we've been keeping," Better Booch has been teasing its fans lately, promising Jul 19 debut of new entry called Cha. That turns out to be sparkling prebiotic tea that departs from co's core 16-oz offerings via conventional 12-oz cans. New line launched presale to members yesterday and was touted by cofounder/ceo Trey Lockerbie at NY Stock Exchange event this morning: using Chinese word for tea, it will debut in entries like Cha Tropical Green Tea, which augments sencha tea with pineapple fruit and rind, elderflower and cordyceps mushrooms, per posting we saw. With sweetener blend of agave, agave inulin and stevia, it has 2 g of sugar and comes in at 10 calories. Details on other flavors should go up tomorrow, we presume. It's a cold-chain item. Core 16-oz line, in entries like Morning Glory, Guava Cooler and Cherry Retreat, just entered all New Seasons Market stores in Pac NW.