Good beer news is as welcome as it rare of late….But yesterday, after two weeks of brutal beer consolidation news, we received an afternoon communiqué from New Belgium Brewing that got us excited.
Here’s the deal…
New Belgium Brewing has entered into an agreement along with Belgium’s Oud Beersel and brewing legend Dick Cantwell to purchase the assets of San Francisco’s Magnolia Brewing Company, as a part of a bankruptcy proceeding.
According to New Belgium, who will be the majority owners in this new arrangement, San Francisco-based Magnolia Brewing will continue to operate in its two current locations and its beer brands and staff are expected to remain intact.
Cantwell however will step into the role of head of brewing operations and he’ll be working alongside Magnolia founder Dave McLean.
Oud Beersel who are renowned around the world for their command of the Belgian Lambic, joins the partnership as a “contributing experimenter.”
They plan to begin transporting their traditionally-produced and spontaneously fermented beers from Belgium to San Francisco for blending with Magnolia-crafted products.
Additionally a coolship, along with new wood vessels are already in the planning stages at Magnolia for the near future.
As usual, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed and expected to close.