In an effort to lift a controversial rule imposed by the state’s Department of Revenue, Georgia craft brewers this week cut a deal with beer wholesalers and recaptured the right to sell beer directly to consumers as a “souvenir” for brewery tour-goers. The agreement, which is still pending an official DOR policy bulletin, will allow beermakers to once again charge variable rates for brewery tours — something craft brewers gained when SB 63, the so-called “beer jobs bill,” was signed into law last July.

Congressional leaders in Alabama have nearly finished writing a bill that will change many of the state’s Prohibition-era laws, advancing the cause of craft brewers in the state. Particularly notable, leaders say, is that Alabama lawmakers managed to bring together representatives from all three tiers to propose the changes. While craft brewers in Georgia and Mississippi appeal to local officials for updated industry regulations, the state’s example is one that some hope will serve the rest of the South.

Founders Expands Warehouse Operations, Adds Second Brewery; Schlafly Bottleworks Plans to Double Capacity at Maplewood Facility; New Delivery Service Aims to Become “Pandora” for Craft Beer Enthusiasts; India’s Bira 91 Gets Venture Backing from Sequoia Capital; ABI Pares Down Bidder List for Peroni and Grolsch

New York craft beverage producers could have an easier time getting their products in the hands of consumers if Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets his way this year. Noting the success of New York’s growing craft beverage industry in his annual State of the State address last Wednesday, Gov. Cuomo listed the need for new regulations as a top priority in 2016.

Seven months after separating from the brewery he helped to start, former Knee Deep Brewing co-owner Jeremy Warren is getting back in the game with Revision Brewing, a brewery founded on creative versatility and a name fraught with meaning. In an interview with Brewbound, Warren described the new venture as his second attempt to build a company where he can experiment with the unique styles and production methods that excite him.

Oskar Blues Brewery released a year-end review of its growth in 2015 this week, one that boasted of double-digit increases in sales and production for the company. Oskar Blues, the nation’s 24th largest beer maker, saw a 30 percent increase in sales last year, producing some 192,000 barrels of beer by the end of 2015.

Alabama Moves to Let Brewers Sell Direct to Consumers; Pyramid Shutters Walnut Creek Outpost; What 2016 Looks Like for Green Flash’s New Brewmaster; Asahi, S.A. Damm Among Final Bidders for Peroni and Grolsch; Yuengling Begins Distributing in Mississippi

Malteurop, a global provider of malt to brewers and distillers, has filed a lawsuit against three former employees and their company, Proximity Malt, a craft beer industry-focused startup that was founded in February 2015. In the suit, filed Dec. 17, 2015 in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Malteurop North America claimed that Proximity Malt and a member of its team stole confidential information that was used to help launch the new company.

Craft beer is back on the 2016 legislative agenda in Georgia. A forthcoming bill, drafted by Rep. Ron Stephens (R-Savannah), could be introduced as early as next week and include favorable changes to the way small beer and spirits producers operate. Though unfinished, the bill is expected to address brewery tours, retail allowances and food service permits, according to Stephens, who was reached by Brewbound.

Boston Beer Company has hired former Campbell’s Soup executive Quincy Troupe as its new vice president of supply chain, the beer maker announced last Friday. In a filing, Boston Beer said Troupe will report to CEO Martin Roper and have primary responsibility for overseeing the company’s supply chain — including brewery management, engineering, safety, production quality, and scheduling.

Olde Mecklenburg to Pull Distribution from “Triad”; Yards Brewing Searching for More Space; Asheville Citizen Times Examines Rumored New Belgium Sale; Sale of London’s Camden Town Brewery Questioned; Original Gravity Brewing Sues Final Gravity Brewing

Only eight days into 2016 and already there’s an onslaught of brewery expansions to report. On the heels of a year in which craft volume sales grew more than 18 percent, according to research firm IRI Worldwide, at least eight notable U.S. breweries have announced plans to scale their operations, in some cases making large multi-million dollar bets on the rising consumer demand for craft beer.

After three years with Golden Road Brewing, brewmaster Jesse Houck has departed the company and accepted a new position as Maui Brewing Company’s director of brewery operations, Brewbound has learned. The news comes less than four months after it was announced that Anheuser-Busch InBev would purchase the fast-growing Los Angeles craft brewery.

What a year for craft litigation. Whether it was an attempt to define “craft beer” or efforts to own IPA, 2015 sure had its fair share of notable legal spats. So what do craft-minded attorneys think about the increasing amount of trademark disputes? Brewbound reached out to four of the industry’s leading experts in trademark and copyright law to get their thoughts on 2015.