Boston Beer and Pepsi's New Hard Mountain Dew Could Already Be in Trouble

There was already good reason to doubt the new Mountain Dew branded hard soda collaboration from Pepsico (NASDAQ: PEP) and Boston Beer (NYSE: SAM), but the alcoholic beverage may already be in trouble even before it's had a chance to roll off the production line. Archaic Prohibition-era regulations could kill the drink, or at the very least cause problems with distributors for the two beverage companies. Pepsi and Boston Beer announced this summer they were forming a joint venture to produce an alcoholic version of the neon green soda called Hard Mtn Dew, a flavored malt beverage that will have 5% alcohol by volume.