Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

12. Commitments and Contingencies

Purchase of raw materials

Production of the Company’s beverages requires quantities of various processed agricultural products, including malt and hops for beer. The Company fulfills its commodities requirements through purchases from various sources, some through contractual arrangements and others on the open market. Future payments under existing contractual arrangements are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,
2015	$	1,784,000
Total	$	1,784,000

Legal

The Company is periodically involved in legal actions and claims that arise as a result of events that occur in the normal course of operations. The Company’s management and its legal counsel assess such contingent liabilities, and such assessment inherently involves an exercise of judgment. In assessing loss contingencies related to legal proceedings that are pending against the Company or unasserted claims that may result in such proceedings, the Company’s legal counsel evaluates the perceived merits of any legal proceedings or unasserted claims as well as the perceived merits of the amount of relief sought or expected to be sought therein.

If the assessment of a contingency indicates that it is probable that a material loss has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be estimated, then the estimated liability would be accrued in the Company’s financial statements. If the assessment indicates that a potentially material loss contingency is not probable, but is reasonably possible, or is probable but cannot be estimated, then the nature of the contingent liability, together with an estimate of the range of possible loss if determinable and material, would be disclosed. Loss contingencies considered remote are generally not disclosed unless they involve guarantees, in which case the nature of the guarantee would be disclosed.

On September 26, 2014, The New Buffalo Brewing Co., Inc. (“NBB”) initiated an action against Releta in the Supreme Court of the State of New York for the County of Erie to recover damages for alleged breaches of a Brewing Production Agreement between NBB and Releta dated September 6, 2013 (the “Brewing Production Agreement”), as well as for a declaration rescinding and nullifying the Brewing Production Agreement, and, in case of Releta’s failure to answer or appear, damages resulting from the alleged breaches, rescission of the Brewing Production Agreement, attorneys’ fees and any other relief deemed proper by the court. In a demand letter to Releta dated October 16, 2014, NBB demanded payment of the sum of $500,000. The Company has engaged a law firm in New York to respond.

The Company is not currently aware of any legal proceedings or claims that the Company believes will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations

Operating Leases

The Company leases some of its operating and office facilities for various terms under long-term, non-cancelable operating lease agreements. The leases expire at various dates through 2019 and provide for renewal options ranging from month-to-month to five years. In the normal course of business, it is expected that these leases will be renewed or replaced by leases on similar properties. The leases provide for increases in future minimum annual rental payments based on defined increases which are generally meant to correlate with the Consumer Price Index, subject to certain minimum increases. Also, the agreements generally require the Company to pay certain costs (real estate taxes, insurance and repairs).

The Company and its subsidiaries have various lease agreements for the brewpub and gift store in Ukiah, California; land at its Saratoga Springs, New York, facility; a building in the UK; and certain equipment. The New York lease includes renewal options for two additional five-year periods beginning in 2019, which the Company presently intends to exercise, and some leases are adjusted annually for changes in the consumer price index. Rent expense charged to operations was $341,300 and $359,300 for the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively.

Future minimum lease payments under these agreements are as follows:

Year Ending December 31,
2015	$	462,900
2016		364,400
2017		336,900
2018		271,400
2019		103,100
	$	1,538,700