The other day, I filed an analysis for VinePair on the latest developments in the court-ordered receivership of Uncle Nearest, Inc., the high-flying Tennessee liquor firm that’s been laid low by the pesky matter of $108 million in defaulted debts. Firms are incentivized to settle or stem litigation in order to keep themselves out of court and outside the public eye, I wrote, so the fact that that situation is playing out on the record in federal court is a rare privilege. The article A Fire...| VinePair
There’s an episode of “Seinfeld” I think about a lot. Well, there are a lot of episodes of “Seinfeld” I think about a lot, actually. I’m a 37-year-old white guy, after all. But one of the subplots in this particular episode of “Seinfeld” — Season 5, Episode 22, “The Opposite,” for the real heads reading this — turns on the realization that the show’s cosmic scales are balanced on its titular lead, with the rest of the characters’ fortunes rising and falling in dire...| VinePair
Late last month, I received a comment from a reader about my column on the American brewing industry’s collective overcapacity problem. Well, more of a request, really. “Dave can you put out a piece that’s happy?” they asked. “Love your journalism, I believe their [sic] are winners out there though. You do ask the tough questions which I appreciate.” I saw it as a teachable moment. “Generally speaking, I don’t consider it a columnist’s role to produce coverage designed to ev...| VinePair
Bud Light was the undisputed best-selling beer in the country. Twisted Tea was just hitting its long-simmering breakout run. Reyes Beverage Group was still called Reyes Beer Division. It was a different beer industry when I first took the helm here at Hop Take in September 2022. Which, duh: Time is linear, and change is constant, etc., etc. Still, my tenure here each week has coincided with some of the most tectonic shifts the American brewing business has known since… I mean… certainly t...| VinePair
Brewers often find new ways to repackage old ideas, especially in regard to lagers. But none are as successful as Coors Banquet — here's why.| VinePair