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Molson Coors will close AC Golden Brewing this fall
Molson Coors plans to close its experimental beer branch AC Golden Brewing Co.known for its line of Colorado Native beers using locally grown ingredients.
AC Golden will cease operations at the end of September, Molson Coors spokesman Adam Collins confirmed to JS. The details, first reported by Brewedwere explained in an email to wholesalers on Tuesday from Molson Coors Chief Commercial Officer Michelle St. Jacques.
Founded in 2007, AC Golden was an attempt by Molson Coors – then called MillerCoors – to compete with small beer companies that were growing in popularity at the time. The company was based in the large production brewery in Golden with “the latitude to experiment with bold beers and, if necessary, fail without eating millions of dollars,” according to Coors’ website.
The foundation of that effort was leveraging the company’s local heritage by creating beers made with Colorado-grown barley and hops. The Colorado Native amber ale debuted in 2010 and in 2014 earned AC Golden honors at the prestigious Great American Beer Festival competition. The Colorado Native brand has since grown into a year-round lineup of more than a dozen styles, and AC Golden produces other product lines such as Juicy IPAs and a German pilsner inspired by founder Adolph Coors’ home country.
With Colorado Native, AC Golden single-handedly catalyzed an entire hop growing industry in Colorado. However, about ten years later, many of the brewery’s farmers went bankrupt due to a backlog in the harvest. Still, Molson Coors praised it Colorado Native was “thriving” in 2022, despite an overall downturn in the craft beer market accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The company has not said whether it will continue to brew Colorado Native.
But it is clear that Molson Coors will now divest even more broadly in the craft sector. On Tuesday, Canadian cannabis company Tilray announced plans to buy four craft brands from Molson Coors, effectively dissolving its craft subsidiary Tenth & Blake.
In its letter to wholesalers, St. Jacques said the sale of the craft brands “frees up resources to focus our people, time and money on the initiatives we believe will best help us meaningfully grow our U.S. upper-premium portfolio.” grow and build a business at scale. with more than beer in the US”
That includes Blue Moon, Blue Moon Light, the non-alcoholic Blue Moon and ZOA Energy drink, she added.
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