Summary: Craft Beer News – 11/30/18<br><br>MillerCoors, Pabst settle lawsuit over brewing contract<br><br>•MillerCoors and Pabst Brewing settled a lawsuit Wednesday in which Pabst claimed the bigger brewer lied about its ability to continue brewing Pabst's beers to put that company out of business.<br><br>•"We have reached an amicable settlement in the case and are pleased to resolve all outstanding issues with Pabst," MillerCoors said in a statement. Settlement details were not disclosed.<br><br>•Since 1999, Chicago-based MillerCoors has made and shipped nearly all of Pabst's beers, which include Pabst Blue Ribbon, Old Milwaukee, Lone Star and Schlitz. Pabst's lawyers argued in the company's 2016 lawsuit that MillerCoors worried that Pabst would cut into its market share and devised a plan to stop brewing for the smaller competitor. MillerCoors' attorneys called Pabst's claim a conspiracy theory and said the company was simply deciding what makes economic sense.<br><br>•The agreement between MillerCoors and Pabst, which was founded in Milwaukee in 1844 but is now headquartered in Los Angeles, expires in 2020 but provides for two possible five-year extensions. The companies disagreed on how the extensions were to be negotiated: MillerCoors argued it had sole discretion to determine whether it can continue brewing for Pabst, whereas Pabst said the companies must work "in good faith" to find a solution if Pabst wanted to extend the agreement but MillerCoors lacked capacity.<br><br>•However, Pabst said internal documents from MillerCoors showed the company was worried about competition from Pabst and went as far as hiring a consultant to find a way to get out of the brewing agreement.<br><br>•Pabst needs 4 million to 4.5 million barrels brewed annually and claims MillerCoors is its only option. Pabst's lawsuit sought more than $400 million in damages and a court order for MillerCoors to honor its contract.<br><br>•MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch, which have the biggest U.S. market share at 24.8 percent and 41.6 percent, respectively, have been losing business to smaller independent brewers, imports, and wine and spirits in recent years, according to the Brewers Association, a U.S.-based trade group. Overall U.S. beer sales have declined, with shipments down from 213.1 million barrels in 2008 to 204.2 million in 2017, according to the association.<br><br><br>Trillium Labor Practices, Brewing Methods Questioned<br><br>Massachusetts craft beer maker Trillium Brewing Company’s labor practices and brewing methods are under scrutiny after accusations were lodged last week by a self-described former employee in an online beer forum.<br><br>According to the former employee, who used the name “Abagofit” in a Beer Advocate forum, Trillium required its retail employees to reapply for jobs that they already held prior to last month’s opening of the company’s new brewery, taproom and restaurant in Boston’s Fort Point neighborhood. The ex-worker wrote that the base compensation for employees who had worked for more than three years at the brewery was cut from $8 an hour to $5 an hour to “work the exact same job across the street.”<br><br>“We apologize that this has caused any of our employees, customers or friends to doubt, in any way, the integrity of Trillium or their ongoing support of us,” the company said. “We are fortunate that we’ve assembled such a talented team and remain committed to brewing exceptional beer that we can share with our family, friends, and customers.”<br><br>Since the issues were raised last week, customers have left scathing comments on social media posts advertising new release beers priced at as much as $22.20 a 4-pack. One commenter shared a photoshopped label of Trillium’s “Cutting Tiles” double IPA with the name changed to “Cutting Wages.”<br><br>Staff pay wasn’t the only issue raised in the Beer Advocate forum. The former employee also accused Trillium of...
