Sapporo USA is shuttering three Stone Brewing facilities in California and laying off employees as the pioneering craft beer brand transitions to new ownership.
The Stone facilities in Escondido, California, are closing following Sapporo’s sale of the brand to Firestone Walker. Around 220 employees are expected to be laid off as a result of the closures, with the first cuts beginning in October. The first phase impacts brewers, technicians and warehouse and logistics workers, according to a WARN notice filed with the state.
Sapporo bought Stone in 2022 for about $165 million. The Japan-based company’s initial goal with the deal was to increase U.S. distribution for its namesake beer with the help of Stone’s existing facilities.
Since then, however, the craft beer market has changed, and Sapporo sales grew robustly while demand for craft options decreased. Last year, the craft brewing industry faced a 4% production decline, with 60% of breweries experiencing a drop.
Sapporo is transitioning all of its U.S. brewing operations to one facility in Richmond, Virginia. The sale of Stone to Firestone freed up Sapporo to “accelerate” the namesake brand’s growth in the U.S., it said at the time of the sale.
Firestone Walker is a subsidiary of Duvel Moortgat, which also owns Belgium-based Duvel and Ommegang Brewery and Boulevard Brewing Company in the U.S. The Escondido facilities were not included in its purchase of Stone Brewing.
Stone, founded in 1996, was a pioneer of West Coast-style IPAs and an early forerunner in mass market craft beer. When Sapporo bought Stone in 2022, the brand was the ninth-largest craft brewer in the U.S. and largest in Southern California.
