Why Did Dave Logsdon Sell Logsdson Farmhouse Ales?

(Hood River,OR) – Late last week, NewSchoolBeer.com BREWPUBLIC broke the news that Logsdon Farmhouse Ales sold to Uptown Market,LLC. Then medal Chuck Porter announced on his personal Facebook account that he would be stepping down immediately as head brewer.  This startling news left me with a lot of unanswered questions, and as a fan of the relatively young brewery, had me a bit upset, as I am a big fan of the entire Logsdon portfolio.

We reached out to previous owner and founder David Logsdon to get the scoop as to why he would start such a fantastic brewery just to sell it in five short years.

The Full Pint: Why in such a short amount of time would you sell your brewery? You have just started gaining substantial notoriety outside of your local market.

Dave Logsdon: I’ve been in the industry much much longer than the five years Logsdon Farmhouse Ales has been around. I was the founder of Wyeast Labs, I was one of the original employees of Full Sail Brewing, I’ve been in this business for over 30 years. It’s time for me to step down in the day to day role. Logsdon Farmhouse Ales was a five year plan for me. I will still be a minority share holder and I am still the owner of the upcoming Logsdon Barrel House.

TFP: Why did your medal winning brewer Chuck Porter leave the same time the acquisition was announced?

DL: We gave Chuck the floor to make a name for himself with this brand. He did a fantastic job, and regardless of the recent transaction, Chuck was ready to spread his wings and leave the nest.

TFP:  Many locals and craft beer enthusiasts didn’t take this news very well. Why do you suppose craft breweries are treated like local sports teams with local sports stars rather than just another business?

DL: Funny, I’ve never thought of it like that.  When I started in this business, there were very few players in this space, many of which were scattered all over the nation.  Fast forward to today, and every area of this country has a brewery near them, which brings them closer to the art form and the artists making the beer they buy and enjoy. There is definitely a closer connection to the product because of that.

TFP: Obviously the main concern from those not happy with the news is that the beer will change and favorites like Peche N’ Brett will ride into the sunset. How do you address these concerns?

DL: First of all, I am not stepping away from Logsdon Farmhouse Ales. I am stepping away from the day to day operations of running this farmhouse brewery.  I will still be overseeing the brewing and recipe development and quality control with no plans to remove myself from that. I am not looking to be phased out.  As for our current products, they will remain the same, and I will be looking to develop new beers that will now have a greater reach with our new partnership. Particular to your Peche n Brett question, I just harvested the peaches last week and look forward to the upcoming batch.

TFP: Lastly, a question we ask many craft brewers, were you approached by AB/InBev or MillerCoors?

DL: Yes, there was dialogue but we didn’t see it as a good fit.