USA, MI: Royal Oak’s Roak Brewing Company preparing to acquire Marshall-based Dark Horse Brewing

Dark Horse Brewing may have new owners soon, but the name, the beer and the taphouse aren’t going anywhere, the incoming CEO was quoted as saying by MILive.com on September 12.

Royal Oak’s Roak Brewing Company is preparing to acquire Marshall-based Dark Horse, according to filings with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission and Roak CEO John Leone.

The deal could take three-plus months, as the transfer of ownership must be approved by the MLCC. The application was filed Sept. 6, per state records.

Leone has long been a fan of Dark Horse, and said it's the "coolest place."

"To me, Dark Horse is one of the legendary breweries in Michigan," Leone said. "Dark Horse is a great brand, but it's had some challenges. We want to get it back to where it was a few years back."

The two breweries will keep their own names and styles, Leone said. Dark Horse first opened a brewpub in 1997 and built its current taproom and beer garden on Kalamazoo Avenue in 2000. Roak opened its brewhouse and taproom in 2015.

Changes planned include a unified sales force and sharing of resources, Leone said. Beer fans can also expect to see some Roak beers at Dark Horse and Dark Horse beers at Roak, eventually. Leone is considering expanding the Marshall taproom, but said they won't change the style or things like the mug club.

"We are absolutely not going to mess with things that work," Leone said. "We're not going to walk in there and remodel it. We're not going to try to make Dark Horse, Roak and we're not going to try to make Roak, Dark Horse."

Dark Horse beers like the Crooked Tree IPA, Raspberry Ale and Scotty Karate are bottled and distributed across the Midwest, east coast and west coast, according to its website. It's known for its hand-made mugs for mug club members, which hang from the ceiling in the taphouse. It offers sandwiches, soups, salads and pizzas in addition to its beer.

Dark Horse Owner Aaron Morse couldn’t be reached for comment, but Leone said Morse will maintain a stake in the business and stay on to help with brewing.

In a changing landscape of craft beer, Leone said he's open to teaming up with other breweries and beverage makers.

“To me, it would be a really sad thing if we just ended up with two or three Michigan breweries,” Leone said. “I want to see it stay the way it is. I love the fact that there’s all these passionate brewers and passionate entrepreneurs involved.”

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