{"id":20034,"date":"2016-02-19T12:55:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-19T18:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/?p=20034"},"modified":"2021-02-22T10:41:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-22T16:41:03","slug":"goose-island-clybourn-sold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.guysdrinkingbeer.com\/goose-island-clybourn-sold\/","title":{"rendered":"Goose Island Clybourn Sold to Anheuser-Busch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Goose Island Clybourn, the brewpub\u00a0where Chicago’s craft beer scene began to take\u00a0flight, is now owned by Anheuser-Busch.<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Goose<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Per this story<\/a> from the Chicago Tribune, the Goose Island Clybourn brewpub, where the city’s craft beer movement was born, is now owned by Anheuser-Busch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the sale to A-B in 2011, the brewpub operated under founder John Hall as an independent entity, separate from the main Goose Island brewing company. Now the Goose Island Clybourn brewpub has been brought back under the wing (as it were) of Goose Island<\/a> to reunite them all as one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’d heard rumor of a sale floating around for a little while now, and we believed such a move to be unlawful based on the language in the current brewing laws. According to what’s on the books in Illinois:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A person who holds a class 2 brewer license may simultaneously hold a brew pub license if the class 2 brewer (i) does not, under any circumstance<\/strong>, sell or offer for sale beer manufactured by the class 2 brewer to retail licensees; (ii) does not hold more than 3 brew pub licenses in this State; (iii) does not manufacture more than a combined 3,720,000 gallons of beer per year<\/strong>, including the beer manufactured at the brew pub; and (iv) is not a member of or affiliated with, directly or indirectly, a manufacturer that produces more than 3,720,000 gallons of beer per year or any other alcoholic liquor.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, Anheuser-Busch makes more than 3,720,000 gallons of beer. The only way for A-B to legally make this happen then — and sources tell us they want to keep things on the up and up — is to convert the brewpub to a taproom<\/strong>, which has been further confirmed<\/a> by Josh Noel at the Trib. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing so would allow Goose Island Clybourn to still offer beer brewed in-house and other AB products the company has a 100 percent stake in, not just Goose Island. However the conversion from brewpub to taproom means there won’t be other alcohol available, like wine or spirits, so no Bloody Mary with your weekend brunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a way, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise — in fact, it seems like more of an eventuality with Anheuser-Busch’s recent entry to the brewpub world. Their purchase of Elysian Brewing came part-and-parcel with that\u00a0company’s brewpubs, and another recent acquisition, 10 Barrel Brewing, has caused waves in the San Diego beer community for their efforts to open a brewpub there<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, the subtle differentiation between Goose Island “Prime” and the Goose Island Brewpubs have caused near-endless confusion since the purchase in 2011. With Wrigleyville closed and Clybourn now owned by A-B, that distinction is now eliminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our main question moving forward: Does this “reunion” mark the end of the road for Goose’s big moves…or will we see more Goose Island brewpubs or taprooms popping up elsewhere? And (stay with us on this one), is it insane to imagine one day there being a chain of A-B affiliated “tied houses” of craft taprooms, all pouring Goose Island, Elysian, 10 Barrel, Blue Point and other A-B products?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our coverage of the original A-B purchase in 2011, and the subsequent fallout over the decision to move some Goose Island production to breweries in New York state and Fort Collins, can be found here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n