Florida hard-seltzer maker Palm Folly files Chapter 7 liquidation after $1.2M liabilities

Palm Folly Hard Seltzer LLC, the Gulf Coast craft seltzer maker that billed itself as "the emerald coast hard seltzer," filed a voluntary Chapter 7 petition on March 1, 2026 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida to liquidate assets and repay creditors. The bankruptcy schedules list total assets of $65,423 and total liabilities of $1,205,919.44, and the filing states that "no funds will be available to unsecured creditors after paying administrative expenses during the Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings."

The filing breaks liabilities into secured and unsecured claims, with unsecured non-priority creditors holding roughly 94.5 percent of the total liabilities — "nearly $1.14 million" in unsecured claims. That distribution picture means vendors, local accounts and other trade creditors face no recoveries once administrative and trustee expenses are satisfied under the Chapter 7 process.

Palm Folly identified bookkeeping and audit contacts in the petition, listing Rebecca Kelly as accountant and bookkeeper since 2023 and Donovan and Co, described in the schedules as a Houston-based auditor since 2024-present. The schedules and statement of affairs named these professionals alongside the asset and liability totals; a Chapter 7 trustee will now administer liquidation of brewery equipment, inventory and any receivables shown on the schedules.

Founder Meaghan Rowan Easterhaus has been the public face of Palm Folly since its launch, describing the brand on the company website as "a craft-brewed hard seltzer born on Florida’s Emerald Coast—made with real fruit, clean ingredients, and a smoother, beer-like carbonation." In a Q&A, Easterhaus framed the operation as a small, hands-on outfit, saying, "Palm Folly hard seltzers are expensive to brew, but I refuse to cut corners on making the most delicious, good-for-you product that I can! They’re brewed with real fruit purees and peels, actual spices and coconut." She also told the interviewer that "the whole operation is run by myself and one brewer."

Product and distribution claims appear in founder materials and interviews. Easterhaus described the brand's top seller as "Lucky catch, our 7% pineapple mango hard seltzer," and said it was "on draft at 50+ restaurants from Appalacicola to Pensacola." Palm Folly also used social messaging that included the Instagram line "Not Basic. Not Beer. A higher tide of seltzer. brewed on the Gulf Coast/30A 21+ | Please drink responsibly · Crafted for connection ❤️‍ · nothing else needed."

The Chapter 7 filing arrives amid wider industry pressure, with a KPMG analysis cited in the filing's context noting that "Craft beer is heavily impacted, as many U.S. brewers import aluminum and malt from Canada and export their product there," and adding that "Gen Z consumers more than other generations plan to drink less alcohol: 65%, compared to 57% of millennials, 49% of Gen Xers, and 30% of baby boomers." For Palm Folly, the court docket will now determine asset sales and creditor distributions as the small Gulf Coast brewery moves into liquidation.