Community Brewing Ventures (CBV) — which defines itself as a “brewery accelerator” and helps produce and promote craft brands — has acquired the intellectual property of Charlotte, North Carolina’s Unknown Brewing Company, and will continue production of its beer brands.
CBV’s acquisition of the brands follows Unknown founder Brad Shell announcing in June that he would transition Unknown away from craft beer to focus on producing non-alcoholic ginger ale. Less than a week later, HopFly Brewing of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, announced it had acquired Unknown’s assets — including its 22,500 sq. ft. facility and 30-barrel brewhouse in the South End– but would not continue production of Unknown’s beer brands.
However, CBV is now giving a second chance to brands such as Pre Game session ale, Over the Edge IPA, and Giggle Juice hazy IPA.
“CBV has its roots in the Charlotte craft beer scene, and when we heard that Unknown would be closing its doors, we realized that we were in the unique position to help do something about it,” Aaron Gore, CBV’s director of strategic partnerships, said in a press release. “Unknown is more than just a brand of beer, and we wanted to see its legacy live on. Brad will be working with us to keep the same energy and spirit that made Unknown so exciting for all of these years.”
In an Instagram video released by Unknown last week, Shell explained how the business side of Unknown had driven him away from the creative side of craft brewing, and ultimately pushed him away from the beer business.
“When you own Unknown Brewing Company, it’s more than just a brewing company, it’s five companies; it’s a brewery, distillery, taproom, a food truck, and a ginger ale company,” he said. “I found myself chasing five different businesses and not catching up to any of them.
“You can’t do that and also take care of your health, your family, [and] your mental health,” he continued.
“When Community Ventures first approached me with this and said, ‘Hey, we want to keep your brand alive, and we want you to be a part of it,’ I was vehemently against it. And they said ‘hear us out. We just want you to be Brad, we just want you to be creative, we’ll take care of all the work. And you can do the creative stuff that makes you who you are.’”
With the new acquisition — announced September 1 — CBV will move production of Unknown’s beer brands to the CBV Brewery and Taproom in Newton, while continuing to distribute the beer with Unknown’s retail partners. CBV will handle day-to-day operations of the company, while Shell will stay on to work purely on the creative and development side of Unknown’s products, with the unofficial title of “chief creativity officer.”
“It’s crazy that as a passion of the skill of brewing, the more you enjoy it, the more your business grows. And the more your business grows, the farther it actually takes you away from that creative skill that you started with in the first place,” he said. “So you’re in this catch-22, where you wanna be passionate, creative and grow, but the more you grow, the less you get to do.
“[CBV gives] us an ability to go back to just being creative, and they’re going to take over the stuff I just don’t want to do anymore,” he continued.
CBV was founded in 2020 by the owners of D9 Brewing Company and a team of investors, with the goal to “give breweries the advantages that come with scaling while still preserving the independence, creativity, innovativeness, and passion that makes the craft beverage industry and that particular brewery special in the first place,” according to the release.
CBV’s Newton taproom will serve Unknown’s small-batch beers along with its other brands, including Bay Cannon Beer Company, D9 Brewing and Steam Theory Brewing Co., according to the release.
“Unknown as the taproom or a P.O. Box may be gone, but the idea of living each day in the Unknown remains,” Shell said in the release. “To try anything and question everything and to live without boundaries is a hard culture to kill. CBV is picking up our question mark battle flag and marching forward into a new Unknown, and I’m excited about the brand’s future.”