Boston Beer Company executives believe Truly Punch could be the next big thing in hard seltzer, rivaling the brand’s Lemonade and Iced Tea offshoots.

When Hoplark HopTea took the stage during BevNET Live’s New Beverage Showdown 16 in December 2018, founder and CEO Dean Eberhardt said he believed he was helping to found a new category for non-alcoholic hops-infused beverages. Three years later, the industry seems to finally be catching up.

A consortium of investors has reached a deal to acquire 100% ownership of City Brewing, the largest beverage alcohol co-packer in the U.S., and also acquire the former Molson Coors production brewery in Irwindale, California, from Pabst Brewing Company.

Irish cider and beer maker C&C Group has sold Woodchuck Cider maker Vermont Cider Company (VCC) to Northeast Drinks Group, a privately owned holding company.

Stone Brewing Company has agreed to pay a more than $1.8 million offer in compromise to the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for alleged violations related to tax reporting and payments.

BrewDog has apologized to the four LGBTQ employees it terminated last week from its Indianapolis taproom, but said an external HR investigation found “no evidence of discrimination” in their firings, according to a statment from BrewDog USA CEO Jason Block.

Spindrift is going hard. The Newton, Massachusetts-based premium sparkling water brand announced today the launch of Spindrift Spiked, a hard seltzer line rolling out to stores next month. Similar to the brand’s core non-alcoholic products, the new line is made with real fruit juice and contains alcohol fermented from cane sugar with a 4% ABV.

The launch of Dogfish Head’s ready-to-drink canned cocktails into near national distribution marks the culmination of what brewery founder Sam Calagione described as “the single longest R&D project” of his career.

Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers is attempting to sever its relationship with Atlantic Beverage Distributors, its Massachusetts wholesaler. The Framingham, Massachusetts-based craft brewery provided Atlantic with notice on January 14, two days after franchise law reform was enacted in the state.

Boulevard Brewing Company has terminated three additional employees following the conclusion of a month-long independent external investigation into the Kansas City, Missouri-headquartered craft brewery’s operations following allegations that its culture was poisoned by harassment.

3 Tier Beverages founders Donn Bichsel Jr. and Joe Sepka and Brager Beverage Alcohol Consulting owner Danny Brager discuss the forthcoming “March Mountain” that the industry will begin cycling as the anniversary of the COVID-19 stock-up phase approaches. They also share advice on portfolio management, how to remain in the good graces of retailers and wholesalers that are cutting back on their product selections, product pricing and much more.

After terminating four workers from its Indianapolis taproom earlier this week, BrewDog has also let go of the employee who approved the firings and hired an external human relations firm to investigate. All four of the workers who were terminated on Monday, March 8, are members of the LGBTQ community; two are women and two are non-binary.

Congress passed the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which now advances to President Joe Biden for an expected signature.

“We obviously had grown so quickly that I just knew there was going to be an extent at how much we could realistically scale the business on our own, just due to our existing infrastructure, our own resources, and, quite frankly, even our kind of experience,” Far West Spirits founder Katie Beal Brown told Brewbound.