Craft Beer Division Cutbacks At Anheuser-Busch

, Craft Beer Division Cutbacks At Anheuser-Busch

(AB InBev looks to leaner times)

On February 22 Anheuser-Busch-owned Platform Beer Co. ceased operations and laid off its staff. Founded in Cleveland by Paul Benner and Justin Carson in 2014, Platform Beer Co. once was at the cutting-edge of the craft beer movement…but no longer.

, Craft Beer Division Cutbacks At Anheuser-BuschAt its height Platform ran three facilities in Cleveland: their flagship tasting room, a 60 barrel production brewhouse and a sour beer operation called “Phunkenship.”

They also opened a tasting room in Columbus which doubled as a distribution center and warehouse, a Cincinnati tasting room and coffee shop combo, as well as a 10 barrel brewery and taproom in Pittsburgh.

When Anheuser-Busch purchased Platform Beer Co in 2019 its possibilities seemed unlimited. It was one of the fastest-growing regional craft brewing operations in the country…and now all those facilities are closed.

Platform Beer’s closure was an undeniable signal that AB-InBev was losing faith in many of its craft beer properties…but they weren’t done.

On Feb 23, Brewbound reported that there were also staff cuts at Anheuser-Busch owned breweries including Blue Point Brewery (New York), Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company (Virginia), Golden Road Brewing (California), Karbach Brewing Co. (Texas), and Wicked Weed Brewing (North Carolina).

And the always excellent,  Good Beer Hunting followed up with a statement on behalf of Andy Thomas, president of ABI’s The High End division which handles all of AB InBev’s craft brewing properties as well as the Michelob Ultra’s Pure line of beers and imports such as Stella Artois and Estrella Jalisco…

, Craft Beer Division Cutbacks At Anheuser-Busch“Winning in craft remains a key pillar of our strategy to lead and develop the premium segment, but winning means something different in today’s marketplace than it did a few years ago,” Thomas says in a portion of his statement. “Last week, several of our craft brewery partners announced local team updates that will allow them to better address evolving consumer needs and trends in their home markets and beyond.”

AB-InBev’s closure of Platform Beer as well as its recent craft beer division terminations mirror not only the headwind’s that many independent brewers are currently facing but the company’s overall struggles as well.

In its  latest quarterly results, Anheuser-Busch InBev, who recently raised the prices on many of its beers to offset inflation, announced that the total volume of beer sold had decreased by 0.9%.

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