The beer biz never sleeps at American Craft Beer. And here’s just some of what’s been happening while you were drinking your way through the weekend.
Marin Brewing To Close, Ending a 33-Year Run
When Marin Brewing launched way back in 1989, there weren’t any craft breweries, there were “microbreweries” and not many of them. 33 years ago there were only 25 microbreweries in California, but now there are more than 1,000” according to KPIX, but now that North Bay heritage brewery is closing
Marin Brewing owner Chris Moylan told KPIX 5 that “the impact of the pandemic was just too much for the business to bear.” The brewery was unable to get any help from the almost $30-billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund and was behind on rent because of lost income due to COVID restrictions.”
“The hardest parts about closing is just knowing that you’re going to have to tell 50 people that they’re not going to have a job anymore,” added Moylan.
Words to Drink By
“For the past 32 years, I’ve done nothing outside the entertainment business. I’ve had some real highs and some real lows, but I never once thought of quitting.” – Meat Loaf, American singer and actor (1947-2022)
Australian Beverage Company Puts UK Breweries Up For Sale
Lion, the Australian beverage company which is owned by Kirin Holdings Ltd, is putting the two UK breweries it owns on the market, according to Beer Today, and concentrating its efforts going forward on its properties in the US and Australia.
Lion Little World Beverages, who now owns New Belgium Brewing and pending finalization, Bell’s Brewery in the US, purchased Fourpure in 2018 and Magic Rock a year later.
Lion made headlines in 2020 after an Amnesty International investigation linked it through its association with Kirin with funding military action (read: genocide) against the Rohingya population in Myanmar.
The Grocer reports that key brands such as Fourpure’s Hemisphere Session IPA and Magic Rock’s Cannonball IPA have seen a significant sales drop in the past year.