Monster Brewing Company is shuttering Deep Ellum Brewing’s taproom and shifting production from its Dallas facility to the company’s other breweries.
A Monster brewing spokesperson shared the following statement today: “After over 12 years of brewing and serving Deep Ellum beers at the Dallas facility, we’ve made the decision to close the taproom and move production of the beer to other facilities in our network. Deep Ellum beers will continue to be produced and distributed to our wholesale partners and there will be no reduction in supply or availability.
“The Deep Ellum brand family will continue to be an important part of the Texas beer community. We’re committed to maintaining the beer’s quality and brand’s unique identity while navigating a rapidly changing landscape.”
Twenty-five employees’ positions from Deep Ellum’s taproom and production teams will be eliminated due to the closure. Employees affected by the job losses are being “offered outplacement support and encouraged to apply for available positions within the company,” the spokesperson said.
The news comes two months after Monster announced it would transition Cigar City’s Tampa, Florida-based production hub into a cross-category innovation center, resulting in the termination of 12 positions. Original brewmaster Wayne Wambles was also let go from the company the month before after nearly 16 years.
The Tampa facility is now a R&D hub for beer, flavored malt beverages and spirits, while Cigar City beers are produced at Oskar Blues in Brevard, North Carolina. Cigar City produced 75,000 barrels of beer in 2023, maintaining its 2022 volume, according to the Brewers Association (BA).
Last November, Monster closed the 50,000 sq. ft. Oskar Blues brewery and taproom in Austin, Texas. The facility shuttered after seven years, with production shifted to other Monster-owned brewing facilities, including Oskar Blues’ breweries in Longmont, Colorado, and Brevard.
Deep Ellum was acquired by the CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective in June 2018. The brand was later acquired by energy drink maker Monster in the $330 million all cash deal for the CANarchy platform of brands, which also included Cigar City, Oskar Blues, Perrin, Squatters and Wasatch.
Monster has since rechristened CANarchy as Monster Brewing Company. In February, Monster co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg warned Wall Street watchers that the company planned to take an impairment charge on the CANarchy business in its Q4 earnings report that ended up amounting to $39.9 million. Schlosberg also said at the time that Monster would rationalize brands in its portfolio.
Monster Brewing was the ninth largest craft brewer in 2023, according to the BA. The company’s combined production volume declined -11%, to 325,000 barrels, while the company’s share of total craft declined -0.16 points, to 1.55%.
The BA did not publish separate data for Deep Ellum, Perrin, Squatters or Wasatch. Oskar Blues increased production +2% in 2023, to 183,986 barrels.