Pennsylvania specialty beer wholesale Shangy’s has filed a federal lawsuit claiming that InBev USA has failed to honor a 1998 agreement ensuring Shangy’s would be the sole wholesaler of Hoegaarden and other InBev products in a 17-county region that includes the Lehigh Valley, the Poconos and Philadelphia.
The Allentown Morning Call puts it this way:
The David versus Goliath battle pits one of the last of the state’s independent wholesalers against a corporate beer behemoth seeking to streamline distribution of its specialty beers with its major brands such as Beck’s, Bass and Lowenbrau.
The battle could decide the future of Shangy’s and, Nima Hadian says, ultimately reduce the number of specialty beers available to Pennsylvania consumers.
A business story with serious implicatons.