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Ecliptic Brewing sells

Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Oregon has announced the brewery has been sold.

Ecliptic Brewing announced this week that the brewery has officially been sold, per the brewery’s owner and brewmaster John Harris.

In an Instagram announcement, the Harris stated the Continue Reading →

Posted in Brewery Expansions, Great Divide, Headlines

Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse 2nd location opens Lone Tree, Colorado in February

Great Divide Brewery and Vibe Concepts will open their second Great Divide Brewing & Roadhouse in February 2024.

Great Divide Brewing & Roadhouse is slated to open in Lone Tree, Colorado in February, marking the brewery’s second “Roadhouse” concept. The first location opened just 13 miles away in Castle Rock, Colorado in May 2020.

Vibe Concepts

Vibe Concepts was founded in 1991 by John, Dan, and Mike Shipp. It is the parent company of Street Roadhouse, Roadhouse Boulder Depot, Spanky’s Road Roadhouse, and Reivers Bar and Grill, founded in 1991. Vibe also has various partnerships with Avery Brewing, Odell Brewing, Dry Dock Brewing, and Ska Brewing.

Great Divide Roadhouse – Take 2

The Lone Tree location is located on the ground floor of the Charles Schwab conference center, in an 8,200 square foot space. The design features a “massive” mahogany bar with a copper ceiling, private dining space for 75, and a four season heated patio.

Executive Chef James Doxon will lead the culinary side of the Roadhouse featuring upscale brewpub fare like burgers, pizzas, steaks and desserts.

Great Divide will not have any on-site brewing, but will have 14 tap handles, including two experimental beers brewed on the 5-Barrel system at the Castle Rock location. Additionally, the location will have more than 25 wines by the bottle, and a well-rounded cocktail menu.

Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse Castle Rock is located at 9878 Schwab Way #240, Lone Tree Colorado 80124. Open Monday – Friday, 11 a.m. – midnight and Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. – midnight.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Brewery Acquisitions, Ecliptic Brewing, Headlines

Ecliptic Brewing sells

Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Oregon has announced the brewery has been sold.

Ecliptic Brewing announced this week that the brewery has officially been sold, per the brewery’s owner and brewmaster John Harris.

In an Instagram announcement, the Harris stated the last two years of brewery operations have been challenging – citing the pandemic, rising cost of goods, and overall economic climate. “It has gotten to the point where we are no longer able to continue operations, and the company has been sold,” the statement reads.

“A Bigger Entity.”

Harris mentioned in the statement that the sale will allow the brewery to pay back debts with a “bigger entity” – which has now been disclosed as Great Frontier Holdings that includes Ninkasi Brewing and Wings & Arrow Beer Company.

The restaurant will be open through Saturday, November 18th.

The Ecliptic Brewing beers and production will presumably continue on through Great Frontier Holdings channels.

Ecliptic Brewing opened their “Mothership” restaurant and brewery in October of 2013. In November 2021, Ecliptic took over Base Camp Brewing’s space in southeast Portland- renaming the location “The Moon Room.”

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Headlines, Virtue Cider

Anheuser-Busch sells Virtue Cider back to owner

Quietly, Fennville, Michigan’s Virtue Cider has returned back into the hands of the founder Greg Hall.

Virtue Cider is no longer part of Anheuser-Busch. This deal took place back in August, around the same time Anheuser Busch was selling off eight brands to Tilray, and has been flying almost completely under the radar until a mention of the sale surfaced this week in Crain’s Grand Rapids Business.

After reaching out to Virtue Cider, a spokesperson with the A-B Craft Division confirms that Greg Hall reaquired the cidery back in August. Per the email:

Today we announced an agreement to purchase Virtue Cider from our partners at Anheuser-Busch. It’s been a great five years with Anheuser-Busch, and I want to thank my colleagues and fellow craft brewery founders for believing in Virtue Cider and helping us create some of the best cider in the world.

Moving forward, we’ll continue to focus on what we’ve always done: making world-class ciders that are fit for the table, being great stewards of the environment, and helping more people discover Fennville and all that Southwest Michigan has to offer.

Greg Hall, Founder, Virtue Cider

In 2015 it was reported that Virtue Cider had fallen behind financially. Ultimately Hall decided to sell off the controlling stake in Virtue to Anheuser Busch. In 2017, A-B bought the remaining stake in September 2017.

Fast forward to 2023, AB InBev has lost billions over the summer after a failed marketing campaign, and as mentioned earlier, sold off numerous brands including Shock Top, in their portfolio off to cannabis company, Tilray.

The deal is still pending approval through the Michigan Liquor Control Commission. The financials of the deal and closing date were not disclosed.

Beer Street Journal visited Virtue Cider earlier this summer. It’s a bit off the beaten path, but quite peaceful (and delicious).

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Beer News, Birds Fly South Ale Project, Brewery Closures, Headlines

Birds Fly South Ale Project to close October 10th

Greenville, South Carolina’s Birds Fly South has announced they will close on October 10th, 2023.

Shawn and Lindsay Johnson started Birds Fly South Ale Project 7 years ago in the Hampton Station area of Greenville, South Carolina. The couple met and married while Shawn was in the Coast Guard in Clearwater, Florida. Shortly after getting married, the opportunity came for the Johnsons to move to either Hawaii or Alaska and they chose Alaska. As you can imagine, the weather in America’s 49th state isn’t as conducive to outdoor activities as Florida, so they took up brewing beer. Indoors.

A few years later, the family transferred back to Florida, and that’s where Shawn & Lindsay’s brewing career really took off. From the first time Beer Street Journal met Shawn, he always spoke so highly of his brewing mentor, Bob Sylvester, founder of St. Somewhere Brewing in Tampa, Florida.

Before Greenville, there was a stop in Washington D.C., putting in time assisting in the opening of Fair Winds Brewing Company, then getting transferred to South Carolina.

Last night, Shawn and Lindsay announced on Instagram the brewery would close after their final jazz event on October 10th.

We wish that this was a fairy tale ending, but recognize all good things must come to an end.  Timing is everything, and we embarked on an expansion to increase our taproom sales that have taken a hit over the last year.  We don’t regret that decision, only the way we went about it.
 
The silver lining is that we are able to step away from the stress of running a business to have more time to focus on our family.  This is our opportunity to embark on a new adventure and enjoy a new pace of life.

Birds Fly South via Instagram

On a personal note, Shawn and Lindsay, as well as the entire brewery crew and fans they call “The Flock” are some of the kindest, outgoing, family-focused breweries I’ve ever been to. Their wild ale Skin & Bone is still one of the best of its kind In the southeast. It’s heartbreaking to hear this brewery won’t be there on the next trip to Greenville.

Below are some pics from Beer Street Journal’s first visit to Birds Fly South, featuring Shawn, Lindsay, and family back in August of 2016.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines

ATL Brew Fest 2023 – beer with 106 heat index

It was 97 degrees in the shade in Atlanta on this particular Saturday, but the festival must go on. Live! at The Battery Atlanta and Terrapin Taproom held their annual beer festival right right at the gates to the Atlanta Braves stadium.

One thing is certain, it doesn’t matter if the heat index is 106 degrees, it’s still summer and there is drinking to do. The VIP section was inside, complete with food and free tie-dyed t-shirts, so those VIP ticket holders really won the day on that purchase.

Besides the heat, a few standouts on the day was Stillfire Brewing’s Blood Orange Diva, a wheat beer and Atlanta Hawks DJ, Chika Takai that threw down dance party all the way to the end – where incidentally it started to rain at the final seconds of her set.

Plus it’s not many beer festivals where you can leave the festival and walk into a bar 100 feet away. That’s The Battery Atlanta for you.

Maybe next year’s fest will be a little cooler.

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Founders Brewing, Headlines, New Releases

Founders KBS Spicy Chocolate brings the heat this fall

Founders KBS Spicy Chocolate is a bold and fiery addition to Founders’ Kentucky Breakfast Stout lineup, a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout debuting in fall 2023.

Inspired by mole, this variant infuses coffee, dried chili peppers with both chocolate and chocolate syrup into the classic KBS profile of coffee, dark chocolate, and bourbon, delivering a complex interplay of subtle heat, cocoa depth, and roasted malt. Expect an enticing aroma of chili-spiced chocolate and coffee, with a full-bodied, velvety mouthfeel and lingering warmth from the peppers, balanced by oak and vanilla notes. A daring, indulgent stout for adventurous palates.

KBS Spicy Chocolate blends sweet and spicy flavors in a sensory symphony. Crafted with dried chilies and chocolate, this KBS batch delivers a rich, mole-inspired punch. Expect dark chocolate and dried pepper notes with hints of smoke and a spicy finish that lingers just long enough to be cooled by your next sip. A unique and unexpected twist on our KBS.

Founders KBS Spicy Chocolate is available in 12-ounce bottles and draft for a limited time.

Style: Imperial Stout (w/ Coffee. Chili Peppers. Chocolate. Barrel-Aged. Bourbon)
Availability: 12oz Bottles, Draft. Limited Release.

Debut: Fall 2023

12% ABV

by Reid Ramsay
Posted in Headlines

Biden “Alcohol Czar” says U.S. may recommend only 2 beers per week

Under new U.S. government guidelines, Americans could soon be warned not to drink more than 2 beers per week.

The Biden Administration’s “alcohol czar” Dr. George Koob says Americans might be told to limit themselves to just two beers a week under potential new alcohol guidelines.

Koob made big news Friday (of all times of the week) that the USDA might soon revise their drinking guidance to just two drinks per week. The genesis of this potential guidance comes on the heels of a “grand experiment” in Canada, where the government advises their citizens to limit themselves to two beers per week.

Currently, United States guidelines state women can have one bottle of beer, or a small glass of wine, or a shot PER WEEK, doubling that for men.

Digging through USDA references, alcohol intake is defined as

“Containing 14 grams (0.6 fl oz) of pure alcohol. The following count as one alcoholic drink equivalent: 12 fluid ounces of regular beer (5% alcohol), 5 fluid ounces of wine (12% alcohol), or 1.5 fluid ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits (40% alcohol).”

https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov

Koob told the DailyMail there were “no benefits to drinking alcohol in terms of a person’s physical health while admitting he enjoyed buttery Californian chardonnays weekly.

Canada’s restrictive drinking guidelines were announced earlier this year, dropping previous suggestions of 15 drinks for men and 10 for women to two or less. Canada’s announcements come after new research from multiple academic institutions suggests that drinking even minimally can lead to many health risks.

If the United States changes the drinking guidelines, they won’t be announced until late 2025.

by Reid Ramsay