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Linda and Todd Haug
Yikes, It’s November already…and clearly the craft beer biz isn’t slowing down anytime soon. But no worries, Rumor Mill is always on the case, keeping you plugged in into all the beer news and lifestyle that matters. Plus we’ve an all-important update on what we’ve been drinking lately and you don’t want to miss that!
Todd Haug To Join 3 Floyds! (Minneapolis, MN / Munster, IN) – Even though Surly’s Headbrewer, Todd Haug was never allotted an ownership stake in the brewery, he was the invaluable face of the organization. So his mid-October announcement that he was leaving the leading Minneapolis brewery stunned the city’s craft beer community.
Rumors surrounded his unexpected and characteristically diplomatic, announcement. There was speculation of a falling out between the iconic brewer and the organization and reports that his wife Linda (who left her own business to oversee the restaurant operations at Surly’s $34 million mega-brewery only to be let go earlier this year) might have been a factor in his departure. (You think?)
If Tattoo’s Count…this new alliance could be powerful, and certainly it’s a paradigm-shifter in the Midwest’s craft beer scene. In retrospect, Todd & Linda Haug’s “star players addition” to the 3 Floyds organization seems as timely as their departure was inevitable…and yet another sign that “Craft Beer Is Big Business Now”
Words To Drink By (Munster, IN) – “I’m just a lowly brewmaster…They marketed the shit out of me.” – Todd Haug, Ex-Surly Headbrewer to City Pages
More “Big Beer” Buying & Selling (Victor, NY) – In a press statement, Constellation Brands, the third largest beer company in the US, who purchased Ballast Point last year for a cool billion dollars, has announced its intention to purchase a facility from AB InBev subsidiary, Grupo Modelo.
What We’ve Been Drinking Lately (Washington, DC) – Devils Backbone has new Adventure Pack coming your way soon, that showcases favorite one-offs from their Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows facility. And last night we hit up one of the beers from this Q4 release and it was just what we needed. With its hand-written label from Devils Backbone’s own Jason Oliver, Flor de Luna is a 6.5% ABV Belgium-style Ale that’s brewed with jasmine, and another good reason to chase this cool 12-pack down.
