Sapporo is selling Stone Brewing but keeping its Richmond taproom
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Beers on Stone's Richmond patio. Image: Courtesy of Richmond Region Tourism
Stone Brewing's owner is selling the San Diego-based brand, ending the production of Stone beers in Richmond and temporarily closing its local taproom.
Why it matters: Richmond gave Stone a multimillion-dollar incentive package to secure the city as its East Coast production headquarters a decade ago.
- Beer will still be brewed at the East End facility, just not the brand the city lured in 2015.
State of play: Japanese beer brand Sapporo, which acquired Stone in 2022, is selling Stone Brewing to Firestone Walker Brewing Company and Duvel Moortgat USA for an undisclosed amount, the companies announced this week.
- Stone's San Diego brewery and restaurant, plus its California taprooms and pubs, are included in the sale.
- Not included: The Stone Brewing brewery and taproom on Williamsburg Road in Fulton.
- Sapporo will retain the Richmond plant and make it its primary U.S. production hub for Sapporo beers, Sapporo-Stone Brewing USA CEO Zach Keeling tells Axios.
Zoom in: As part of the transition, the company will close its Richmond taproom, likely next month, and lay off "less than 10" local employees, Keeling says.
- Those are on top of a small portion of its Richmond workforce that the brewery cut earlier this year, when it shed about 2% of its U.S. workforce.
- The Richmond production facility currently has about 150–160 workers.
Yes, but: The company hopes to hire the taproom workers back when it opens its new Sapporo taproom there by the end of the year.
- That will be Sapporo's only taproom in the U.S. — and outside of Japan, Keeling adds.
What they're saying: "We feel we have a tremendous brewery there set up ... and we look forward to growing even more," Keeling tells Axios.
The big picture: The sale comes as the U.S. craft beer market is experiencing historic declines in production and sales amid changing consumer tastes and over-saturation of the market, Axios' John Frank reports.
- When Stone's Richmond facility opened in 2016, the San Diego brewery was the ninth largest craft brewer in the U.S. by beer volume sales, per Brewers Association annual report.
- Last year, the consolidated Sapporo-Stone Brewing landed at No. 13.
"Despite these conditions... the Sapporo brand's sales have continued to grow robustly in the U.S. market," the company wrote in its internal notice of sale.
- And the brand expects to save around $23 million by selling off Stone and its California taprooms.
What's next: The deal is expected to close at the end of May, per Sapporo Holdings Inc.