Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Moves Forward Following A Sale To Hunters Point Brewery
After working to secure a buyer for over the past few months today Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has confirmed the sale of the company’s assets that includes brewing equipment and beer brands to Hunters Point Brewery. Founded by Ces Butner, former owner of Horizon Beverage Company in Oakland, CA, Hunters Point will continue producing Speakeasy Ales & Lagers at the current Speakeasy brewery in San Francisco.
This new deal will allow Speakeasy Ales & Lagers to continue its long 20-year history of brewing beer in the Bay Area and re-open its Tap Room in the near future. This new deal takes over from when the brewery went into receivership a few days after it announced its closing on March 10, 2017. During this two-month receivership Jigsaw Advisors were appointed by the court to take over the operations of the brewery to get it ready for a sale. Terms of today’s sale were not disclosed.
“I worked with Speakeasy Ales & Lagers for five to six years as a distributor,” stated Ces Butner in a news release. “We were one the first companies to expand their distribution beyond San Francisco. There was a tremendous amount of growth and interest in the Speakeasy brands. It was one of the best craft breweries we worked with and the beer quality is very high. I thought it would be a shame if the brand, and one of the few production breweries left in San Francisco, disappeared because of financial problems. Keeping Speakeasy’s San Francisco born and brewed tradition alive is very important to me.”
In other changes at the company, Sam Cappione has been appointed Vice President and General Manager to oversee all aspects of company operations. During this past two-month transition Speakeasy kept on board eight employees that will all continue on under the new ownership. Then to meet other demand additional staff will be hired in the coming weeks to fill key positions in operations, sales, packaging, the tap room, and brewing departments.
As of this time there will be no changes to the beer lineup at Speakeasy. “The beer quality will remain the same and we have every confidence that the current distribution network and territories will stay intact. We’ll be working closely with all the distributors. Right now we just need to revive the Speakeasy brands, and I’m prepared to do just that,” stated Butner in the news release.
About The Author
DJ
D.J. is a Portland, Oregon based writer that spent his formative years in the Midwest. With over 25 years under his belt of drinking beer at festivals across America and the world, he has developed a strong appreciation and understanding of craft beer and the industry that surrounds it. He can be found in any of the great breweries or beer bars that make Portland the best beer city in the world. His writing can also be found in the archives of Northwest Brewing News and can be followed on Twitter and Instagram at @hopapalooza.