In this week’s edition of Last Call: Union efforts begin at Anchor Brewing; Weyerbacher seeks investment; Tree House buys a farm in Connecticut; Pabst rebrands Not Your Father’s; and more industry news.

A potential buyer for troubled Canadian brewing equipment manufacturer Diversified Metal Engineering (DME) appears to have emerged. In a January 18 report, Alvarez & Marsal, the receiver appointed in November after DME defaulted on loan payments to the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), said it is negotiating with a potential buyer for the company’s primary business in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

Aiming to establish a deeper connection in one of the key out-of-state markets where it distributes, fast-growing Ohio brewery Platform Beer Co. has announced plans open a brewery and taproom in Pittsburgh later this year.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Utah enacts new drunk driving limit; cannabis bars are coming to West Hollywood; Ray Faust lands at Crook & Marker; Buffalo Wild Wings unveils new store designs; Anheuser-Busch responds to Iowa State fans’ thirst for Busch Light; and more industry news.

Nearly a month after Diversified Metal Engineering (DME) entered into receivership, a Texas craft brewery that paid the Canadian brewing equipment manufacturer more than $1 million in deposits is ceasing operations. In a December 21 social media post, Big Bend Brewing Co. announced it would “suspend operations” after six years, and shutter its taproom effective December 31.

Arcadia Ales is in negotiations with a ‘strategic partner’ to avert foreclosure; Schlafly CEO James Pendegraft steps down; Deschutes delays Roanoke brewery project; Benchmark Brewing seeks a buyer; and Great Waters shutters.

More than three years after selling San Diego craft brewery Saint Archer to MillerCoors, Josh Landan is back in the brewing business. Landan, who co-founded Saint Archer in 2013, has launched a new brewing company, Harland Brewing Co., in San Diego with former Saint Archer VP Jeff Hansson and ex-market manager Anthony Levas.

The Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective today announced plans to open a brewpub — in Asheville, about 30 miles north of Oskar Blues’ production facility in Brevard. Dubbed “The Canarchy Collaboratory,” the new outpost will occupy the soon-to-close Lexington Avenue Brewery (LAB) space.

Yet another small brewery has found itself in financial trouble. The parent company of Boulder, Colorado-based Fate Brewing Company, Fate Restaurants LLC, has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. According to the November 1 filing, Fate owes more than 50 creditors between $1 million and $10 million. The company also claims between $1 million and $10 million in estimated assets.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: Constellation Brands seeks $3 billion for U.S. wine brands; the New York Prohibition Party seeks alcohol ban; BrewDog takes to the skies; and another wave of brewery closures hits.

In this week’s Last Call: Canada lifts its tariff on U.S. aluminum cans; farmers and brewers downplay climate change’s effect on beer production and pricing; the Brewers Association lands Iron Maiden’s singer as CBC keynote speaker; and more news from the week.

The former leaders of Saint Archer Brewing Company are back in the booze business after raising nearly $4 million to launch three separate beer, wine and distribution ventures. Anchored under Ocotillo Holdings LLC, the first of the three businesses — Scout Distribution, a craft-focused beer and wine wholesaler — officially launched Wednesday in San Diego. Led by Saint Archer co-founder Josh Landan, ex-VP Jeff Hansson and ex-market manager Anthony Levas, Scout Distribution will act as both a boutique wholesaler and a marketing consultancy.

As the U.S. brewing industry inches closer to a record 7,000 craft beer companies in operation, hundreds of distressed breweries are expected to close in 2019 and many of those failed enterprises will turn to asset auctions as a way to pay off debt. Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson told Brewbound during a live-streamed interview at last week’s California Craft Brewers Association Summit that he anticipates as many as 300 brewery closures by the end of 2018. According to Watson, he expects the gap between openings and closings to shrink over time, and there could be as many as 500 closures in the next couple of years. The increasing number of brewery closures has also meant an uptick in business for auction houses.

In this week’s edition of Last Call: The Nevada Attorney General investigates MillerCoors; Stone seeks an injunction in its Keystone case; Almanac’s co-founder departs the company; and more news from the week.