Kallman is shutting down New Century Brewing for good this month, and preparing for the next challenge. The decision follows a move last fall by the FDA that essentially banned New Century’s Moonshot beer because it contained caffeine.

Kallman, who ran New Century out of her Cohasset home, puts most of the blame for New Century’s demise on the FDA. The decision to label the caffeine in the beer as a dangerous substance took the fizz out of her expansion plans. She says it didn’t make sense to reformulate Moonshot one more time, especially without its signature ingredient. Her other product – Edison Light – had a following, but it wasn’t doing well enough to sustain New Century on its own.

You can read the whole story here:

FDA’s move is last call for local beer company.

We wish Rhonda the best of luck as she pursues new adventures.

Unfortunately, Moonshot’s future has been cut short by the FDA who lumped it together with Four Loko and others and forced it off the market.

Rhonda has put out an appeal to get Americans to “lobby” for her right to sell Moonshot. Whether Moonshot appeals to you or not, the bigger question is whether Moonshot was caught up in the wrong net.

Here is the appeal in Rhonda’s own words:

If you want to read more, here are recent articles from the Boston Globe and the Washington Examiner.

It’s about fucking time. BREW MASTERS starring Sam Calagione starts tonight on Discovery Channel.

I first met Sam at the Great American Beer Festival in September of 2005. I told him then that he was going to be a star. He seemed embarrassed. But it was easy to see from our very first interview that here was a guy who was the real deal and a natural in front of the camera.

I got to know Sam over the 3 years it took to make the film. He allowed my crew into his home, his business, and into his head. I shot over 35 hours of footage with him in multiple locations across the country. And the rule of thumb worked – about one minute per hour made it into the film. There are so many gems that didn’t fit into the bigger story. Someday I hope to open the “vault” and share.

And Sam has been very gracious since the film came out. He showed up on premiere night in Los Angeles to be with a panel of his peers and at film festivals since then to help promote the film.

And yet he gets flak from “beer geeks” for being overexposed. Seriously, it’s time to stop. Yes, he’s a rock star. Celebrate it. He’s the guy Discovery picked to be the face of BREW MASTERS. And since it’s a positive message he’s espousing, he’s having no problem getting media attention. And that can only help craft beer.

I hope the show does well. I hope Discovery gives the wider TV audience a chance to well, discover it. I haven’t seen any episodes yet but since the show’s producers are also behind Anthony Bourdain’s NO RESERVATIONS, I think it’s safe to go in with high expectations.

So break a leg Sam. I hope you remember me when…

Of course the film will live on and new people will discover it in years to come. But for me, it’s time to move on. And so Sunday night is my last hurrah. My chance to reflect. I do hope that the film has made a difference. One that lasts and grows.

I’m looking forward to seeing Sam and Rhonda who have been on this journey with me. I will bring them up on stage after the screening to take their bow. After all, without them, there wouldn’t be a movie as their stories provide its heart and soul.

So what will I say? Thank you. Because despite the challenges, I’m still grateful after all these years.

The cool thing about all this is that it was made possible through distribution deals with Warner Bros. and Netflix. That’s right, these folks who know a thing or two about the film business, have chosen Beer Wars as part of their offering. After the long road it took to get here, this is a happy day indeed not just for me but for all the people who can now get to watch it.

So where will the movie be available?

In the U.S., Beer Wars is available to rent On Demand through Digital Cable and Satellite providers Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Cablevision, Charter, Insight, Bresnan, Verizon FiOS, AT & T U-Verse, Dish Network and DirecTV. It is also available for download on iTunes, Amazon Video On Demand, Xbox 360 and PS3.

In Canada, the film is available to rent On Demand through Digital Cable and Satellite providers Rogers Cable, Cogeco, Videotron, Sasktel and Shaw.

The film will also be available through Netflix either through streaming or DVD. And you’ll be able to buy the DVD from Amazon.

If you live outside the US, you can buy the DVD here.

Here’s one of the spots that will be running on select on demand preview channels:

• “Monster-maker to Vt. brewer: No ‘Vermonster’ beer”
• “Monster vs. Vermonster”
• “Monster Problem for Rock Art”
• YouTube video

While I fully respect trademark law and understand how important it is to protect your brand, in this case it’s gone too far. Does anyone really believe that someone drinking a Vermonster beer will confuse it with a Monster energy drink? Oh Please.

For those of you who have seen the film, this is reminiscent of Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head’s fight with Anheuser-Busch over over the right to use the words Punkin Ale and Chicory Stout in 2 of his beers. He eventually prevailed.

By the way, do you know who distributes Monster in the US? 2 guesses and the first one doesn’t count. Yup, it’s none other than Anheuser-Busch wholesalers. Read more here and here.

So what can you do? You can join the Facebook group Vermonters and Craft Beer Drinkers Against Monster and/or join the conversation on BeerAdvocate and also watch the YouTube video so Matt can document his supporters.

Let’s hear from you and see what else can be done to stop this kind of bullying. Matt just wants to get back to making beer.

I’m looking forward to joining Greg Koch (Stone) in Austin, Claus Hagelman (Dogfish Head) in Houston, and to finally meeting Brock Wagner (St. Arnold) in San Antonio, all at the Alamo Drafthouse who have been waiting patiently for the film’s release for quite a while. I’m expecting the Q&A to be quite lively and I look forward to hearing what’s on people’s minds and sharing my experiences and perspective on the issues.

And I look forward to meeting the 10 brewers on the panels set up by the Todd and Jason Alstrom at the American Craft Beer Festival. And of course the many attendees who will hopefully show up to participate in the conversation.

Finally, the conversation that I’ve been longing for will continue.

Many “experts” are saying that this is the best time ever to talk directly with consumers. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve loved the direct interactions with people on my blog, other blogs, Facebook, Twitter and through emails. It’s amazing to know exactly what you think, want and respond to. And you’re not shy about expressing your opinions.

It’s also a tough time (some say the toughest) to release an independent film. Technology has made it easier to make movies and thousands were released last year alone. But how many have you actually heard of? Or seen? The independent film world is like the Wild, Wild West. The fight is on for the Holy Grail – consumer attention. Even the major studios are going online and are conducting stealth-marketing campaigns to break through the clutter. Just look at Universal’s under the radar approach to the upcoming release of Sasha Baron Cohen’s new film Bruno.

The days of big distribution deals and massive releases are over unless you’re a comic book hero, Pixar film, big name star or director or in the documentary world, you’re Michael Moore. If one more industry insider tells me how much they love my film and how it would have been the next “Super Size Me” had it come out 2 years ago, I may just have to kill them. I too wish that the environment was different and would have welcomed my million-dollar check. But the gambler in me is fully engaged.

I hate Vegas but have always been a risk taker. One of those “road less traveled” people, who never take the easy path. Who love the thrill of a new challenge. Granted, I didn’t bargain for this brave new world we’re in. But as I come out of my fog, I realize that this is also a time of opportunity. So with that said, I embrace the next phase of the Beer Wars rollout.

I hope you join me on the ride! After all, we’re all in this together.

And for those who doubt the mainstream interest in this topic, this ran yesterday on CNN… one day late I know but it did run.