Newport Craft Brewing and Distilling has added another New York City-based brand to its portfolio with the acquisition of Radiant Pig Beer Company, the company announced yesterday. Newport CEO Brendan O’Donnell told Brewbound that Radiant Pig, which Rob Pihl founded in 2013, gives Newport Craft more access to New York, “which is now really a closed market for new breweries.”

Reyes Beer Division subsidiary Harbor Distributing has signed an agreement to acquire the assets of Elyxir Distributing LLC in the Monterey Bay Area (Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito) of California, the company announced today in a press release.

The California Department of Public Health has rescinded a requirement that alcoholic beverages must be served with a meal, according to an industry advisory issued by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

The National Beer Wholesalers Association’s monthly Beer Purchasers’ Index bounced back from a dismal 35 reading in April to an overall index of 66 in May. Long-time Vermont Cider Co. executive Terry Hopper is exiting the maker of Woodchuck Hard Cider, effective today. And more industry news bites.

Fintech, a Tampa, Florida-based data, analytics and invoice processing platform for wholesalers, has acquired Armadillo Insight, a craft beer data and insights firm that specializes in chain retail placements.

The Reyes Beer Division has made its third acquisition in California of 2020, reaching an agreement to acquire the assets of Richmond, California-based Bay Area Beverage Company.

Cascade Brewing, a Portland, Oregon-based brewpub known for its sour and barrel-aged beers, has been sold to a group of four local investors who each have ownership stakes in other Oregon breweries.

The Reyes Beer Division has reached an agreement to acquire certain distribution rights from Sacramento, California-based Saccani Distributing Company. The acquisition will add 1.5 million cases to Reyes’ Golden Brands subsidiary, which sells 26 million cases to 14,000 accounts in Northern California.

Constellation Brands’ sale of Ballast Point to an investor group fronted by little-known Chicago upstart beer company Kings and Convicts officially closed on Monday.

The Boston Beer Company’s Truly Hard Seltzer will launch its Wild Berry flavor on draft nationwide on March 2, replacing the unflavored Truly on Tap draft offering that rolled out in August. Figueroa Mountain Brewing Company has laid off at least eight employees, according to the Full Pint.

Four lawsuits claiming that Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) omitted “material information” from a proxy statement related to the craft beer maker’s planned merger with Anheuser-Busch InBev have been dropped after the Portland, Oregon-headquartered company filed a supplemental report, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday.

The hard seltzer category could reach about 10% of the beer market in the next few years, according to research reports from two leading financial services firms. Meanwhile, FIFCO USA has stopped production of Pura Still, the 95-calorie, 4.5% ABV spiked still water brand after less than two years, according to a memo sent to wholesalers this week. Finally, Iron Heart Canning, the country’s largest mobile canning service provider, announced today an agreement to acquire Michigan Mobile Canning.

The parent company of Brizzy Seltzer Cocktails has filed a lawsuit against Molson Coors Beverage Company in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleging that the second largest U.S. beer manufacturer’s Vizzy Hard Seltzer name “is nearly identical to Brizzy in sight, sound and appearance” and infringes upon its trademark.

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking additional information and documentation from Anheuser-Busch InBev and Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) as the two companies work toward a planned merger that was announced last November, according to a filing this morning with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.