Bubble NBA basketball is finally here — and two craft breweries are creating beers branded for their respective home teams. Deschutes Brewery will launch Rip City Lager in partnership with the Portland Trail Blazers. Also today, Framingham, Massachusetts-based Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers announced a four-year partnership with the Boston Celtics.

Leaders of four popular Massachusetts craft breweries will join Brewbound Frontlines this week to discuss their companies’ growth in 2019 and how they’re faring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Executives from Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, Wormtown Brewery, Castle Island Brewing and Vitamin Sea Brewing will be featured on the panel, which will be live-streamed at 3 p.m. EST.

The seasonal beer segment hasn’t received the same double-digit bump that skyrocketing off-premise sales have delivered for the overall craft beer segment, according to market research firm Nielsen.

Brew Pipeline, a direct-access platform between craft brewers and new markets, announced today it’s launching an Oktoberfest collection with Framingham’s Jack’s Abby Brewing and Minneapolis’ Surly Brewing Company.

After being shut out of receiving loans from the coronavirus relief bill’s Paycheck Protection Program, small business owners have filed class action lawsuits against some of the country’s biggest banks, alleging unfair business practices and fraud.

Many craft breweries are applying for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), a pillar of the $2 trillion CARES Act relief package that rolled out last week, but several say they have concerns with the bumpiness of its introduction.

In 2019, we worked especially hard to support our local community. We formed partnerships with local non-profits, hosted fundraisers almost weekly, and supported through regular financial and in-kind donations. Overall, we raised a total of $212,911 for local initiatives.

Newly named Massachusetts Brewers Guild’s president Sam Hendler wants to finally resolve the contentious franchise reform debate with the state’s wholesalers. Hendler, a co-founder and co-owner of Framingham, Massachusetts-based craft breweries Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers and the Springdale Beer Company, acknowledged that the franchise law reform effort has been dragging on long before he was of legal drinking age. “I was a high school senior when it started,” he told Brewbound.

The Jack’s Abby Beer Hall is excited to announce that Ian Maschal joined the team as executive chef in June 2019.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Deschutes tells Roanoke city officials it is unlikely to build a production facility by a 2021 deadline; Trillium spends $13 million to acquire Canton real estate; Deschutes hires ex-Dogfish Head VP of marketing; BrewDog shares Q1 highlights; and more industry news.

Framingham-based Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers and TD Garden have collaborated to bring a fully-branded taproom for commuters and event-goers alike. Jack’s Abby will occupy the space for at least 2 years.