Smuttlabs, the creative and innovative subset of Smuttynose Brewing Company, makes its highly anticipated return to the local craft beer scene with Lady Stardust, a New England IPA brewed with New England backyard barbecues, beaches, and lazy Sundays in mind.

Less than one month after announcing plans to purchase Smuttynose Brewing Company from Provident Bank, New Hampshire’s Runnymede Investments has finalized its deal for the struggling Portsmouth-area craft brewery and launched a 90-day plan aimed at helping it return to growth.

Despite initially reaching a verbal agreement to sell Smuttynose Brewing to a New Hampshire entrepreneur, Provident Bank has found another buyer for the distressed craft brewery. Runnymede Investments, a North Hampton-based venture capital and investment firm, has agreed to purchase the struggling brewery and restaurant for an undisclosed sum. The deal for Smuttynose comes exactly one week after the Portsmouth-area beer company was sold at a public auction to Provident Bank, its lead lender, for $8.25 million.

How much is a distressed craft brewery worth in 2018? Somewhere north of $8.25 million, if the scene at New Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewing earlier today is any indication. An auction run by James R. St. Jean Auctioneers for Smuttynose ended with the company’s banker, Provident Bank, reclaiming the brewery for $8.25 million on Friday afternoon. Immediately after the auction concluded, Norman Rice, a local tech entrepreneur, approached the bank about purchasing the Portsmouth-based company.

The New Hampshire division of Pink Boots Society Boston chapter will release a collaborative brew with local women of the craft beer community for PBS’s 2018 Collaboration Brew Day.

In this week’s Last Call: Smuttynose’s owners comment on their brewery’s pending auction; the FBI investigates an Ohio equipment supplier accused of defrauding several breweries; Southern Tier announces plans for a downtown Cleveland brewery and taproom; and more.

New Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewing, citing overleveraging of investments and missed growth projections amidst increased competition from fellow craft brewers, is scheduled to be sold March 9 at a bank auction.

As a stopgap until it can identify a more permanent solution for capacity constraints, Massachusetts’ Night Shift Brewing will begin augmenting its production via a contract brewing agreement with Smuttynose Brewing Company in New Hampshire.

In this edition of Press Clips: Heineken reports earnings; Buffalo Wild Wings explores beer delivery; Indiana lawmakers review Prohibition-era laws; and more.

It’s a sour beer that no one will ever sour on, and it’s back by popular demand. Beginning April 15th, Brett & I will be available on draft exclusively at the Smuttynose Brewing Company tasting room and Hayseed Restaurant, and in bottles in the Smuttynose Brewing Company retail store.