USA – Molson Coors Beverage Company has announced it is selling San-Diego based Saint Archer brewery to Kings & Convicts Brewing Co after failing to achieve desired growth from the business.
Under the deal, Kings & Convicts will take over Saint Archer’s 100,000-barrel-capacity beer operation in Miramar.
It will also own the adjoining taproom, as well as its 1,200-square-foot taproom in Leucadia, California but not the Saint Archer brand.
“The Saint Archer team has built a distinct brand that has a very loyal following in southern California,” Paul Verdu, vice president of Tenth & Blake, Molson Coors’ US craft division.
“Unfortunately, the overall business has struggled to grow despite investing significant resources behind its production and commercialization.”
Verdu said that Molson Coors chose to maintain ownership of the Saint Archer brand as it determines the best long-term plan.
With the sale, Verdu assured that the company remained focused on growing its regional breweries that continue outpacing home-market competitors.
Saint Archer Brewing founder Josh Landan also told Brewbound that he was “devastated” that the brand will no longer be produced, hinting that he may be interested in reacquiring Saint Archer in the future.
“We tried to do everything we could to keep the brand going, but it just wasn’t financially viable to continue operating,” Verdu assured.
Saint Archer seems to be another victim of Molson Coors’ series of large cuts in the past year, including Coors Seltzer and a dozen other economy brands.
The brand had significant financial backing and had been distributed nationwide with a high-profile release of a new light lager.
However, Molson Coors says the brand faltered due to a “decline in San Diego’s craft market” and pandemic-related shortcomings.
Verdu however noted the closure “isn’t a reflection on how great Saint Archer beer is, or the passion or the efforts of our team in California.”
“The beer is awesome, the brand is awesome, but it was just hit with a series of challenges we weren’t able to overcome,” he added.
The new owners of the brewery are however delighted with the CEO Brendan Watters noting that brewing facilities are better equipped for small-batch brewing than high production volume.
The facility also gives Kings and Convicts an improved canning line, allowing both the company to expand its Ballast Point brand into different alcoholic offerings, Watters added.
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