USA, WY: Melvin Brewing Company sold to Roadhouse Brewing and Pub & Eatery

One of America’s fastest growing breweries, Melvin Brewing Company, has been sold to Roadhouse Brewing and Pub & Eatery, the New School Beer + Cider reported on December 27.

First started as a nano brewery in the back of a Thai restaurant and originally called Thai Me Up Brewing, Melvin became one of the most award-winning breweries at the Great American Beer Festival in the past decade, and parlayed that success to become one of the premiere brewers of bold IPA’s of the modern era. Melvin was set to blow up into an even bigger national brand until controversy surrounding inappropriate behavior from one of the owners surfaced and sent the brand into a tailspin. For some, they addressed those issues and corrected behavior, for others, it was too little too late. Melvin Brewing still has existed as a major brand, continued to win awards, and have a huge fan base. Their acquisition by fellow Wyoming beermaker Roadhouse Brewery Group means that the brand lives on and may even flourish.

Roadhouse Brewery Group, a regionally distributed B Corporation brewery with an auxiliary brewpub, Roadhouse Pub & Eatery, located in Jackson Hole, WY announced the purchase of Melvin Brewing Co. and its Alpine, WY production facility and tap room.

“The Melvin Brand is audacious and bold, and aligns with our values of independence and innovation. Both breweries have a similar origin story, which began with the love of craft beer, homebrewing, and the mountain lifestyle. We are carving out a space where psychedelic rockers and hip-hop revolutionaries come to party together,” says Colby Cox, co-founder of Roadhouse Brewery Group.

Melvin Brewing Company has broad distribution across 27 states, and a history of impressive accolades, including winning Small Brewpub and Brewery Group of the Year at the Great American Beer Festival in 2015 and 2017 respectively.

Roadhouse has gained its own notoriety as an award-winning regional brewery, often touted for cross-breeding old world styles with American.

The two breweries share humble roots. “We both started in a garage with a chip on our shoulder”, says Cox. “We were contrarians with unwavering passion, and a brash belief that we could influence the future of Craft Beer. I can promise you that won’t change."

The combination of both breweries, located only 35 miles apart, will produce 50,000 barrels in 2023, and will have the ability to grow to 80,000 barrels in the coming years with new investments that Roadhouse plans to make. Among those are a state-of-the-art rotary canning line, and the expansion of the Melvin Tap Room in Alpine, WY.

Says Gavin Fine, co-founder of Roadhouse Brewery Group, “We are incredibly excited for the road ahead and the opportunity to bring together two fiercely craft-centric organizations. Our focus at Roadhouse on our people, our products, and the relentless pursuit of progress has served us well, and will carry our combined organizations to what’s next."

Zander Doroski, president of Melvin Brewing’s Board of Directors, adds, “In addition to simply maximizing value, the Board and our advisors marketed the sale of Melvin in an effort to find a buyer that sought to retain and grow our staff, valued our partnership and shared vision with the town of Alpine, and had the experience and leadership to grow the Melvin brand and distribution platform. In Roadhouse we believe we found a perfect fit.

Closes Fine, “When we set out, we wanted to live at the intersection of beer, food, and music. In this sense, Melvin is our soul mate."

Roadhouse completed their acquisition on Thursday, December 22nd, 2022. The combined organization will be among the top-100 Craft Breweries in the United States.

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