USA, CA: Ballast Point Brewing’s Miramar-based brewery closes resulting in a series of layoffs

Kings & Convicts Brewing has closed down Ballast Point Brewing’s Miramar-based brewery resulting in a series of staff layoffs, The Drinks Business reported on April 30.

Kings & Convicts Brewing bought Ballast Point Brewing from Constellation Brands in 2019 for an undisclosed sum, a sale that had followed Constellation Brands having spentUS$1 billion on acquiring it in 2015. At the time, Constellation Brands president and CEO Bill Newlands admitted deal had been made after trends in the US craft beer industry had “shifted dramatically” since picking up Ballast Point.

According to local reports, production at company’s HQ and 107,000-square-foot brewery ceases as it leans on contract-brewing while eyeing new locations.

Kings & Convicts Brewing CEO Brendan Watters said: “It’s been a hard week, but we had to right the ship. I’ve been trying to get us out of there for the better part of a year-and-a-half. We brought other breweries in [on a contract-brewing basis] to try to fill it up. It’s too big, and that ain’t Ballast Point. Ballast Point is Scripps Ranch back in the day, grinding 24 hours a day.”

Kings & Convicts revealed that it had initially planned to reinvigorate the Ballast Point brand, but the pandemic had left most of its ambitions went unrealised.

Describing the situation, Watters explained: “We’ve signed a contract with another company that will take over the Miramar brewery. In the short-term, we will be working with them on a contract basis to fulfil our taprooms and distribution while we try to acquire or build another San Diego facility, ideally with an 80-to-100-barrel brewhouse. That will allow us to crank things out and make money from them.”

Water added: “We want to bring Ballast Point back to what it is, a premium brand on the West Coast.”

Ballast Point will reportedly continue to operate its bar and restaurant at the Miramar facility along with its brewpub in San Diego.

Analytics from the Brewers Association’s 2023 National Beer Sales & Production Data, showed that craft beer has entered a phase of no growth and slight contraction following a decade of unprecedented growth going from 3,108 craft breweries in 2013 to 9,456 in 2023.

According to the trade body, craft sales dipped by approximately 2% over the course of 2023 and fared slightly better than the overall beer category, which endured a 3% decline in sales, in line with flat sales for craft beer overall.

In a new report titled ‘2024 Craft Beer and Spirits’ by PMMI Business Intelligence, it revealed that pre-mixed cocktails are contributing to growth in craft spirits and essentially moving interest away from the craft beer category.

Over in Oregon, its craft brewing sector has also seen its draught beer sales decline as a result of the pandemic changing consumer habits. The state’s brewer’s guild revealed that Oregon, which has approximately 400 breweries, brewpubs and taprooms all providing 50,000 jobs and almost US$9 billion in economic output, has seen around 30 of those businesses close in the last year, with many more are facing challenges.

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