Athletic Brewing Co., which makes non-alcoholic beer at its Stratford facility, announced this week it has purchased a brewery in San Diego, Calif.
The company did not disclose the value of the transaction.
According to company officials, Athletic Brewing has experienced a “surging” demand nationally for its beer, and the addition of the West Coast brewery will increase its brewing capacity tenfold. The company launched in 2018 and reported that its sales increased more than 1,000 percent, to in excess of 10,000 barrels, in 2019.
The company is known for libations such as Upside Dawn and Run Wild. Its brewery and taproom is at 350 Long Beach Boulevard, Stratford.
John Walker and Bill Shufelt co-founded the company, with Walker serving as head brewer. The pair describe themselves as beer lovers who also want to be healthy and active. They pursued their own company because they wanted to create non-alcoholic beer that tastes as good as any version with alcohol.
“Athletic Brewing is on a mission to make the beers that we, as craft beer lovers, want to drink,” said Walker, in the announcement. “We are thrilled to be able to make beer on both coasts to better reach our growing community.”
The San Diego facility needs renovations and can be expanded if Athletic needs more space in the future, the company said.
“This acquisition is good news for our community and drinkers everywhere as we will be able to expand our brewing capacity to keep up with skyrocketing demand and keep our wholesaler, retailer and drinkers happily supplied with Athletic,” Shufelt said.
Meanwhile, Athletic Brewing also announced that it has closed on a $17.5 million Series B funding round.
The company’s existing investors and more than 60 angel investors contributed. The money will go toward the San Diego brewery purchase, expanding staff, a new high-speed canning line, marketing and distribution.
Investors included Timothy Barakett’s family office, Blake Mycoskie (founder of TOMS Shoes and MadeFor), Darren Rovell’s Tastemaker Capital, and Wheelhouse.
Athletic Brewing donates two percent of sales to trail and park cleanup efforts through its Two for the Trails program.
Visit www.athleticbrewing.com for more information.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com.