To tackle the big question first, both breweries will continue to operate independently. Pat Mcilhenney will remain the president and brewer of Alpine Brewing, and Mike and Lisa Hinkley will continue running Green Flash. The rest shakes out like this.
This purchase/acquisition dates back to a year ago, when Green Flash started brewing a few of Alpine Brewing’s beers (Duet, Hoppy Birthday, and Nelson). The idea was to help Alpine raise capital and expand brewing capacity. Alpine can produce 1500 barrels on-site, and with Green Flash’s help, over 3,000 barrels.
The past year has been successful one, prompting to breweries to consider ways to expand the relationship further.
So what changes? Starting in 2015, a few select Alpine beers will be brewed and released in 22oz bottles at Green Flash for California release. In addition , the Alpine employees will be offered 401K plans, affordable health insurance, and other company benefits. The Green Flash/Alpine partnership is dedicated to the growth of both companies. (Just imagine the collaboration opportunities.
There has been no mention at this time of Green Flash expanding distribution of Alpine’s recipes beyond California. (However, the potential is very real.)
Green Flash calls this a win-win-win situation. Green Flash has the capacity, commitment to quality, and capital. Alpine employees get new benefits, access to brewing and fermentation capacity, and more fans get Alpine’s beers.
