Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) continues to reshuffle its craft brewing operations.
The world’s largest beer manufacturer announced a $1 million investment in Wicked Weed’s Asheville, North Carolina-based operations that coincides with the winding down of operations at its 104,000 sq. ft. production facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, “over the next few months.”
Wicked Weed products were being produced at the Portsmouth brewery, which A-B acquired in its 2020 acquisition of Craft Brew Alliance.
Employees in Portsmouth will receive severance and preferential hiring at other A-B facilities, and the company said it will work with the local union to support those workers. Twenty-nine employees in Portsmouth, including brewers, packaging operators, and quality assurance technicians, voted to join the Teamsters union in November, according to Seacoast Online.
Wicked Weed co-founder Ryan Guthy said in the announcement: “We are proud to make a $1 million investment in our Asheville, N.C. brewing operations to make significant improvements to our Asheville facilities, enhance brewing capabilities and further fuel the growth of our industry-leading craft brands.
“Wicked Weed Brewing has called North Carolina home since 2012, and we’re excited to increase production in Asheville and continue to reinvest in our home market through the reopening of our Funkatorium pub and an additional $100,000 donation to the NC Disaster Relief Fund.”
Wicked Weed’s Funkatorium, a dedicated sour and barrel-aged beer taproom, is expected to reopen in May after closing on September 27, in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which caused a water outage in Asheville. The company is now in the process of rehiring employees.
The first signs of change in Portsmouth came in December with the closure of the Cisco Brewers pub, while A-B maintained production onsite. A-B’s commitment to the facility seemed to be strong as of 2023 when it installed a $6 million canning line.
The Portsmouth outpost started in 1996 as a replica of CBA’s Redhook Brewery in Woodinville, Washington, but was rebranded in 2018 as a mainland home for the Nantucket, Massachusetts-based Cisco Brewers.
The closure is the latest mix of investment and rationalization within A-B’s craft footprint. Last November, the company announced investments in its Golden Road and Elysian craft brands, as well as the closure of the 13-year-old Elysian Airport Way Brewery & Taproom in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood.
At the time, A-B said it was investing $1.6 million in the Golden Road Anaheim Brewery & Pub, and $1.7 million in the Elysian Capitol Hill Brewery & Pub.
The company transferred the majority of beer production from the Golden Road Atwater Village Brewery and Pub to Anaheim and other A-B breweries. Atwater Village will remain open to the public and brew small-batch beers.
A-B also divested of eight craft brands – Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, 10 Barrel Brewing Company, Redhook, Widmer Brothers, Square Mile Cider Company and Hiball Energy – in an $83.4 million deal with Tilray Brands in August 2023.