News Briefs

Spirits industry veteran Sidney Frank died early this month at the age of 86. Frank founded Sidney Frank Importing Co. in 1972, and was responsible for the U.S. success of Jagermeister and Grey Goose Vodka.
X Café LLC, maker of shelf-stable coffee extracts, now offers organic extracts certified by Organic Certifiers, an accredited firm under the USDA National Organic Program. The company now can offer organic coffee extract by special customer request in either bag-in-box for beverage coffee sales or totes for ingredient use.
Starbucks recently won a court battle against Shanghai Xingbake Cafe Corp. Ltd., which it says copied its business format. The Chinese company was ordered to stop using the name Xingbake, which is used in China by Starbucks. The ruling also reportedly included damages of $62,000 and was the first ruling under a 2001 trademark protection law.
Pittsburgh Brewing Co., maker of Iron City Beer, has filed for bankruptcy protection. According to news reports, the company has $2.5 million in outstanding utility charges. The company will continue to operate under Chapter 11.
InBev announced it plans to acquire China’s Fujian Sedrin Brewery for about $750 million. Fujian produces brands such as Sedrin Ice beer and Sedrin Pure Draft Beer. According to reports, Heineken and Anheuser-Busch also were in the running to acquire the company.
Power Trip Beverages Inc. is sponsoring 30 scholarships to the 17th National Youth Crime Prevention Conference in Ogden, Utah, in March. The company will sponsor school crime prevention or other school and community-based groups such as Youth Crime Watch or Junior Crime-stoppers to attend the meeting.
Sara Lee Co­rp. has sold its U.S. retail coffee brands to Segafredo Zanetti Coffee Group, Bologna, Italy. The new Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA will be led by Chief Executive Officer and President Donald McIntyre.