The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery

Breweries in the Mecklenburgs both old and new are uniting to deliver a black beer for Black Friday. Charlotte-based Olde Mecklenburg Brewery (OMB) today announced its first-ever international collaboration with Störtebeker Braumanufaktur, a craft brewery in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

21st Amendment Brewery has “reimagined” its 120,000 sq. ft. production facility in San Leandro, California, into a canned beverage co-packing facility capable of producing beer, non-alcoholic beer, FMBs, seltzers, canned cocktails, energy drinks, juices, sodas and more, the company announced this week.

The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery (OMB), the elder statesman of Charlotte’s burgeoning craft beer industry, is rolling into 2023 with a new look, new distributor partners and a new IPA.

Bent Water Brewing Company has promoted Joe Companion to VP of sales, after fewer than eight months with the Lynn, Massachusetts-based brewery.

Orpheus Brewing’s Jason Pellett announced Thursday that he will step down as CEO of the Atlanta, Georgia-based brewery to focus on his role as brewmaster.

Spoetzl Brewery’s Shiner Beer launched its first new brand platform in five years last week, with a campaign to make Shiner a part of modern Texas culture, according to AdWeek.

The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery (OMB) has teamed up with Tryon Distributing to bring its award-winning line of pure, fresh, traditionally brewed lagers and ales to the Triangle and surrounding counties for the first time this fall.

North Carolina craft brewers and wholesalers have reached a compromise in a contentious years-long dispute over the state’s self-distribution and franchise laws. After filing a lawsuit two years ago challenging the constitutionality of a state law requiring brewers who sell more than 25,000 barrels to forfeit self-distribution rights and sign with a wholesaler, Craft Freedom LLC — a trade group consisting of Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and NoDa Brewing Co. — has struck a deal with the North Carolina Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association that could create an additional brewer classification for “mid-sized independent breweries” selling fewer than 100,000 barrels annually.

A lawsuit brought by two North Carolina breweries that challenges the constitutionality of the state’s distribution laws is inching toward a trial. Last Thursday, Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour denied the state’s motions to dismiss the case or send it to a three-judge panel. A trial date has not been set.

In the latest Legislative Update: Maryland’s Reform on Tap Act dies in committee; the Massachusetts Senate revives franchise law reform bill; and more state news.

Following last year’s sale of Asheville’s Wicked Weed to Anheuser-Busch InBev, 23 North Carolina breweries have banded together to form the Charlotte Independent Brewers Alliance (CIBA), a non-profit membership group aimed at distinguishing local beer and cider makers from their competitors.

The North Carolina Craft Brewers Guild has hired Andrew Lemley as the organization’s new executive director. Lemley comes to the Guild from New Belgium Brewing Company, where he most recently served for the last four years as the Fort Collins-headquartered brewery’s government affairs representative.

In this week’s Legislative Update: Delaware increases the state tax on alcohol; North Carolina approves the so-called ‘Brunch Bill’; 48 breweries oppose Clean Water Rule changes; and more.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: North Carolina brewers claim Anheuser-Busch receives favoritism from the state’s wholesalers; Fiddlehead opens a new production facility; the Brewers Association announces committee assignments; and more.