<\/p>\n
The parent of contract brewing company Great Southern Beverages filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to stop an eviction process and reorganize its business.<\/p>\n
Great Southern Copackers LLC, which previously brewed craft beers for clients including Orange Blossom Brewery, Cigar City Brewing, and Publix Super Markets’ 1300 Mile Brewing, filed its Subchapter V petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida on Aug. 20, listing $1 million to $10 million in assets and debts.<\/p>\n
The Lakeland, Fla., beverage manufacturer’s largest unsecured creditors include Lakeland Industrial 1 LLC, owed over $364,000 on a lease agreement, and Sea Isle Spiked Iced Tea LLC, owed $100,000 on a business contract, according to its petition.<\/p>\n
The debtor’s bankruptcy filing imposes an automatic stay on any legal actions against Great Southern Copackers while its case proceeds in court. The company’s brewery faced a threat of eviction by its landlord and contract disputes, according to the Tampa Bay Business Journal.<\/p>\n
Great Southern Beverage has ceased brewing beer and will shift to making non-alcoholic beverages.<\/p>\n
Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Landlord files eviction process <\/p>\n
The commercial property owner of Great Southern Beverages’ facility, The Becker Organization, filed an eviction proceeding on June 11 in the Polk County Court, alleging that the defendant owed $364,118 in back rent and property insurance, the Lakeland Gazette reported.<\/p>\n
The debtor also owes over $89,000 in delinquent wastewater and electric accounts to Lakeland Electric, which led to warnings and temporary service cut-offs, according to the report.<\/p>\n
Great Southern Beverages’ CEO Jeremy Roberts acquired the brewery, formerly known as BrewHub, in 2025. The brewery had financial issues before Roberts bought the company, according to Lkldnow.<\/p>\n
Owners operate another contract brewer<\/p>\n
Roberts and his business partner Andrew Phillippe, who operate Florida-based contract brewery Brew Theory, brought in more partners to complete the BrewHub deal, which had been negotiated for about 10 months and closed in May 2025, according to Brewbound.<\/p>\n
The 75,000 square-foot Lakeland facility can produce up to 3.5 million cases per year.<\/p>\n
Roberts will attempt a turnaround as Great Southern Beverages ceases its beer production and will shift to making ready-to-drink products.<\/p>\n
“Obviously, craft beer isn’t gonna be it. You know, the consumer demand isn’t there, but RTDs are still strong,” Roberts told Lkldnow.<\/p>\n
Founded by former Busch workers<\/p>\n
BrewHub was founded in 2014 by former Anheuser-Busch employees Tim and Diane Schoen during the craft beer boom. Over the next 11 years, the brewery faced the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on the industry and changing consumer behavior as young adults were not drinking as much as the age group had in past decades, according to Lkldnow.<\/p>\n
Older adults also began to shift their preference toward drinking spirits.<\/p>\n
Alcohol consumption at all-time low<\/p>\n
Craft breweries continue to suffer from a national trend of American adults drinking less alcohol, as a Gallup Poll survey found, for the second year in a row in 2026, that 54% of U.S. adults ages 18 and over drink alcohol, matching the all-time low from 2025, which was the lowest number since 1939.<\/p>\n
The share of American drinkers has fallen sharply since 2022 when 67% of U.S. adults drank alcohol, according to Gallup’s Consumption Habits survey.<\/p>\n
Several craft breweries have filed for bankruptcy protection in 2026, including Anniston, Ala.-based brewery and restaurant Coldwater Mountain Brewpub LLC, which filed its petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama on July 15 and Burnsville, Minn.-based beer brand Trove Brewing LLC, which filed a Subchapter V petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota on June 3. <\/p>\n
Related: Dining chain sued after closing all locations<\/p>\n
#Brewery #shifts #nonalcoholic #files #Chapter #bankruptcy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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