Good Morning! By the time this newsletter drops into your inbox I will be on my way to Washington D.C. to visit my lifelong best friend for the weekend. I am SO excited and she has made sure to plan the best timeline for us to hit some of the coolest bars in the area.

This week we are updating you on the latest legal drama with Uncle Nearest, the famed whiskey honoring Nathan “Nearest” Green, the man who taught Jack Daniels how to distill. We’re also going to talk about light beer and of all things - paint? Let’s get into it.

Recap and Latest Updates on all the Legal Drama

We have been keeping tabs on the legal proceedings involving the award winning brand Uncle Nearest and its co-founders Fawn and Keith Weaver. We first covered the story here and then updated our readers here. To briefly recap what’s going on, Uncle Nearest was placed in a receivership after defaulting on loans totaling over $108 million. The Weavers stated since the beginning that the fault was with their former CFO and have been working hard to keep their company’s image afloat. In our second posting it was revealed that the legal filings from Uncle Nearest provided evidence that the creditor, Farm Credit, was aware of the circumstances that lead to the receivership in the first place, bringing their credibility into question.

Since our last update there has been a few significant events involving this case and Uncle Nearest as a brand. As we said before, the Weavers filed the evidence that they claimed proved a connection between their former CFO, Michael Senzaki, and an agent of Farm Credit. They have also made several other requests to have sensitive information be protected in the case that their receiver opts to sell the brand as opposed to refinancing the loans in default. On December 22, 2025 a federal judge ruled that the Weavers could not file court documents independently of their receivership. The judge, Charles E. Atchley Jr., granted a request by receiver Phillip G. Young Jr. to strike a response filed by Fawn and Keith Weaver on the basis that such a filing would be improper under the terms of said receivership. The court also struck a notice of appearance filed by a law firm working on behalf of Uncle Nearest and its associated companies. This ruling sets clear and firm boundaries that only the receiver is allowed to respond to the case in an official capacity unless the receiver explicitly requests outside council. This means that Fawn and Keith Weaver can not directly submit any other filings regarding this ongoing case.

After this ruling Fawn and Keith Weaver officially filed a civil lawsuit against their former CFO, Michael Senzaki. The suit, filed on December 29, 2025, “outlines multiple causes of action, including breach of loyalty, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, defamation, and conversion, and seeks both compensatory and punitive damages.” The Weavers claim that Senzaki falsified invoices, forged stock transfers, and otherwise manipulated financial systems while presenting the company as financially healthy. The Weavers claim that they were not aware of these actions until after the former CFO’s departure from the company in 2024.

In addition to all of this, receiver Phillip G. Young Jr has requested to keep the most recent quarterly report under seal. The filing states, “While the receiver wishes to be candid with the court and the parties to the litigation regarding the progress of all aspects of the receivership, that degree of candor does not extend to competitors, potential investors or the public at large. Disclosure of a substantial amount of information contained in the report could threaten this receivership’s goals and the value of the company”.

As recently as January 7, 2026 the receiver requested that seven other outside entities be included in the court ordered receivership because these other entities had “significant commingling” of money. As of this writing there has been no ruling on the sealing of the report or the inclusion of the additional seven entities. The receiver has dropped inclusion of three entities previously requested to be included.

How and When Did This ‘Diet’ Beer Come to Be?

Miller Lite is so ingrained in my family’s ‘spirited’ history that I tend to reply “No thanks, I’m from a Miller Lite family” when offered a Bud Light. I guess brand loyalty matters when Miller claims to be the inventor of “light” beer. I say claims because truth is: they didn’t.

Would you believe me if I told you that light beer was invented in 1967? Well it was, and it was a total flop. This (now very old) article from VinePair lays out the entire detailed history of how Miller came to possess the title “the original light beer” but I’m here to give you a quick overview because I found it interesting.

In 1967 a biochemist named Dr. Joseph L. Owades formulated a beer with less calories and carbs by removing some of the starch. He did this while working at Rheingold Brewing Company and his creation was then named “Gablinger’s Diet Beer”. After its miserable failure the formulation was taken up by a friend of Dr. Owades over at Meister Brau brewery and became Meister Brau Lite.

Although this iteration of light beer was much more successful, the company itself was not. When Meister Brau went bankrupt Miller snagged three of the defunct brewery’s brands one of which was of course Meister Brau Lite. The rest, as they say, is history.

Miller Lite had a killer marketing team and managed to establish itself as the premier light beer. The beer went national in 1975 and came in just in time for the real diet industry golden age of the 80’s/90’s. (Heavy sarcasm here because diet culture is actually awful).

It may be the “original” light beer but we all know that once Bud Light came out in 1982 that Miller had met its lifelong rival. Bud Light actually outperforms Miller Lite in the American market and is usually ranked higher by consumers. For brand loyalists, however, Miller Lite is in a league of its own.

One of many hats that I like to wear is “artist”. I’m an amateur at best, but I do enjoy painting and making things. The story of Vantablack and the pettiness surrounding its creation and use has always been interesting to me. It is a fairly well known drama in online art spaces and I’ve seen many threads explaining the timeline of events. Amish Kapoor is known for his huge sculpture named Cloud Gate but more commonly known as “the Bean” in Chicago - for context.

Quick Hits: