Rumor Mill: Former Sales Reps Settle Lawsuit With Boston Beer / Healthiest Buzz-Free Beer Styles

American Craft Beer|June 26th, 2026|

The non-alcoholic beer sector has never been hotter and now scientists in Germany have looked at the impact that different styles of non-alcoholic beer have on people’s health. We’ve that “Words to Drink By” and more.

Fomer Sales Reps End Lawsuit With Boston Beer

The Boston Beer Company has settled a long-running non-compete lawsuit with two of its former sales representatives, according to a federal court order issued this month. The agreement resolves a high-profile legal challenge initiated in 2024 against the maker of Samuel Adams over its highly restrictive employment covenants.

The plaintiffs, John Brennan and Katherine Fritts, were the first of four former sales representatives to legally challenge the multinational beverage company’s employment policies. In their lawsuit, Brennan and Fritts alleged that Boston Beer forced employees to sign unreasonable and overly broad non-compete agreements. According to the plaintiffs, these contracts effectively trapped workers in their roles at unfair wages and prevented departing team members from accepting positions with rival craft brewing companies.

In addition to the contractual disputes, the lawsuit subjected the company to scrutiny over its workplace culture, with the plaintiffs alleging a toxic work environment filled with discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

And on and on June 22^nd Federal Magistrate Judge Judith Dein entered a 45-day order of dismissal.

The precise financial and contractual terms of the settlement remain confidential.

Words to Drink By

“Greatness and madness are next door neighbors and they often borrow each other’s sugar.” – Joe Rogan

Healthiest Buzz-Free Beer Styles

The non-alcoholic beer sector has never been hotter and now scientists in Germany have looked at the impact that different styles of non-alcoholic beer have on people’s health..

And now researchers at Ruhr-University Bochum have compared the effects of three styles — pilsner, mixed beer and wheat beer — on the physical health of 44 young men.

The study looked at how daily consumption of different alcohol-free beer styles impacted metabolism, health and gut microbiome.

The study observed three different alcohol-free beer style

Pilsner, one of the most popular lagers in the world
Mixed fermentation beers that are blended or use multiple yeast strains
Wheat beer, where a substantial amount of the grain used in brewing is wheat, rather than the traditional barley

In the month-long study, young men between the ages of 18 and 30, all non-smokers with a BMI below 30, were split into four groups and asked to consume 660ml (That’s just a bit more than a standard bomber bottle (22 oz) in the US beer world of either Pilsner, mixed beer, Wheat Ale or water on a daily basis . And yes, that is a lot more beer than we drink daily.

According to the study “researchers found that while mixed and Wheat Ales had an “unfavorable metabolic impact on glucose and fat” and that Pilsners were “more favorable from a metabolic perspective”.

As the Drinks Business reported “the study suggests that when it comes to alcohol-free alternatives, drinking non-alcoholic wheat or mixed beer has a similar impact on health to sugary, high-calorie soft drinks. Pilsner, on the other hand, was found to have minimal impact on metabolic health.”

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