Seattle’s Stoup Brewing to Acquire Optimism Brewing
Stoup Brewing has shared plans to acquire Optimism Brewing, a fellow Seattle-based craft brewery.
The deal is scheduled to close in late August, with Stoup acquiring all the brewery’s assets and operating the brand under the Stoup name moving forward. Optimism owners Gay Gilmore and Troy Hakala will retain ownership of the brewery’s 16,000 sq. ft. building, which will become Stoup’s third location, according to a press release.
“After two years of building Optimism, nearly eight years of brewing and selling beer, including two years of COVID resiliency, we’ve reached a plateau and logical transition point,” Hakala said in the release. “We’re happy this opens doors and opportunities for Stoup to grow.”
Stoup plans to retain as many of Optimism’s 11 full-time and 10 part-time employees as possible, adding them to its own team of nearly 60 members across its two taproom locations. Gilmore and Hakala were also “purposeful in giving their own staff ample notice before the transition and providing severance pay to those who will not continue with Stoup,” according to the release.
Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Gilmore and Hakala, both Seattle natives, founded Optimism Brewing in 2013 and opened the brewery’s Capitol Hill taproom in 2015. The brewery produced 1,400 barrels of beer in 2022, up from 1,300 barrels in 2021, according to the Brewers Association (BA) in the May/June issue of New Brewer Magazine.
“People thought Troy and I were crazy to build such a large taproom in the middle of the city,
with a focus on causes and community,” Gilmore said in the release. “We are so proud of what we’ve accomplished with Optimism and grateful to our customers all these years. Stoup has what is required to scale the business to the next level.”
Stoup operates taprooms in the Seattle neighborhoods Ballard and Kenmore, the latter of which was opened in May 2021. The company produced 7,059 barrels of beer in 2022, a +7% increase year-over-year after a +83% increase, to 6,594 barrels in 2021, according to the BA. It plans to produce its own beers at the Capitol Hill location following the acquisition.
“We are excited to bring Stoup beer to the Capitol Hill neighborhood and to continue the community focused spirit that Gay and Troy have built through Optimism,” Stoup co-founder Robyn Schumacher said.
Lucky Bucket Brewery Ownership Returned to Co-founder
Lucky Bucket Brewery is back in familiar hands.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based brewery and its sister brand Cut Spike Distillery have been acquired by Lucky Bucket founding partner Zac Triemert.
Triemert, who is also the owner of Brickway Brewery and Distillery, co-founded Lucky Bucket in 2008. He sold the company in 2012, opening Brickway the next year, KETV reported.
“As a founder of this brewery, and an early and current craft beer fan, my goal is to return Lucky Bucket to the place it once had, as a ubiquitous Nebraska craft beer that you can find in the bars, restaurants, and liquor stores in Nebraska from the Missouri River to the panhandle,” Triemert said in a press release.
Lucky Bucket will remain open for the next 30-45 days, before undergoing a planned eight-week renovation period. Renewed production and a “grand re-launch” is planned for the fall.
Triemert has several plans to refresh the Lucky Bucket brand, including transitioning its offerings from bottle to cans. Triemert also plans to return Lucky Bucket’s flagship Pre-Prohibition Lager and its Certified Evil imperial stout to their original recipes.
“No matter what, our goal is to be a place that local beer and spirits lovers and those from across Nebraska want to visit to find an old standby or a new favorite,” Triemert said.
Lucky Bucket produced an estimated 1,075 barrels of beer in 2022, down from 1,348 barrels in 2021 and 1,732 barrels in 2020, according to the BA.
“I want to thank all of Lucky Bucket’s fans,” Triemert said. “This brewery has had a long track record in all of the Omaha metro and Nebraska and we are excited to modernize the taproom and the production facility.”