SLO Brewing Co. is selling a popular beer brand to Firestone Walker. Here’s why
SLO Brewing Co. is selling one of its popular beer brands to Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Firestone Walker in Paso Robles announced April 15 that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire San Luis Obispo brewery SLO Brewing Co.’s Cali-Squeeze line. The deal is expected to be finalized in July.
No further details of the purchase will be released, according to a news release.
The acquisition represented an opportunity for Firestone Walker to gain a stronger foothold in the growing fruity beer market.
Cali-Squeeze was launched in 2017 and features fruit juice and a soft Hefeweizen body, according to a news release. The core lineup includes Blood Orange, Mango and Tropical P.O.G.
The fruit-forward brand “caught the eye of Firestone Walker” due to its “rapid growth and success,” according to the release.
”We have been close friends with Hamish and Rod for 20-plus years, and we’ve remained impressed with their commitment to innovation and the way they bring their brands to life,” Firestone Walker co-founder David Walker said in the release, referring to SLO Brewing Co. co-owners Hamish Marshall and Rodney Cegelski. “Cali-Squeeze presents a unique beer style for us to explore through what we like to call ‘fruits with benefits.’ ”
Walker noted there has been a lot of evolution in these new styles of beers, and said the company sees Cali-Squeeze as “the beer to help with that discovery.”
According to the release, the brand will retain its identity while benefiting from Firestone Walker’s state-of-the-art brewing facility and distribution platform in Paso Robles.
“Cali-Squeeze has been a great win for us, and in a short space of time has become a runaway success on the West Coast,” Marshall said in the release. “This sale provides a significant opportunity for us to invest in what we do best — developing and building up new, groundbreaking brands, including Tio Rodrigo craft micheladas, Porch Pounder and Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills whiskey.”
SLO Brewing Co. will continue to produce Cali-Squeeze during the transition to keep shelves stocked throughout the Western United States.
Firestone Walker was founded in 1996, and includes iconic Central Coast beers such as 805, Union Jack and Mind Haze.
SLO Brewing Co. began as a brewpub in 1988 and grew to encompass SLO Brew craft beers, Tio Rodrigo craft micheladas, Porch Pounder premium canned wine and Rod & Hammer’s SLO Stills craft whiskey, according to a release.
This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 5:03 PM.
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