Speakeasy Ales & Lagers Ceases Operations
(San Francisco, CA) – At the beginning of many craft beer journeys in the mid aughts was Speakeasy Ales & Lagers from San Francisco. While many quickly learned there was no place to actually visit, their IPA, Double IPA and Barleywines were many people’s gateway into craft beer. There had been rumors swirling over the past few years of restructures and sales of Speakeasy, and the third one of impending closure was a stronger one as of late last year. Once a brand that was pretty mainstream with a national footprint, fell out of grace with beer buyers and beer drinkers.
Speakeasy tried pulling through with a slick can lineup, ulitimately, it did not save the company. Here is the official press release.
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has been forced to immediately cease brewing, packaging, and tap room operations at their San Francisco brewery for an indefinite period of time. Difficulty securing capital investment and outstanding debt obligations led to this difficult and painful decision. The company’s primary creditor will determine the future of the brewery and brand, and no decision or further information is available at this time.
According to Speakeasy founder and CEO, Forest Gray, “The brewery has worked with multiple investment banking groups and have had numerous meetings. One fact has become central to the process, and that is the company is financially insolvent and requires new capital to move forward. Whether that will happen is unclear, but I do hope the brewery and brand will persist.”
Speakeasy would like to thank all of the wonderful customers, distributors, vendors, and retail partners who have supported the brewery, as well as current and former staff for their hard work and dedication. The remaining inventory of Speakeasy Ales & Lagers beer has been shipped to distributors and will be available in local and international markets while supplies last. Grab a six-pack of Big Daddy IPA or any other Speakeasy beer to savor the history of this pioneering brewery.
