Honestly, that’s not the case where I shop. There is one wide aisle with beer and wine in our local Harris Teeter. One side is BMC the other is craft. Very nice selection with fair and equal representation IMO.
That local pub owner said B2H is his number one selling beer. The way I read it after reading 3 different articles, is that Bell’s issue is with the use of the phrase “in perpetuity” with regard to the distribution rights limiting the producer and owner of the brand. That makes perfect sense to me except that the contract with the previous distributor was exactly the same… I didn’t read it as association with BMC but I could see that being an issue.
The small town near me is a pretty upscale demographic with lots of local craft beer options. Sure there’s a crowd and demand for miller lite but we drink lots of craft beer around here. I had already begun to question the recent quality and my own taste for B2H. Deny it for 2 years and I may just have moved on. I guess they were willing to give up 5% of their business for their morals so good on em.