After 10 years in business, Portland, Oregon-based Ecliptic Brewing has agreed to be acquired by Great Frontier Holdings – the craft beverage platform formed by the merger of Ninkasi Brewing and Wings & Arrow earlier this year.
Citing a “really challenging” “past two years,” Ecliptic founder John Harris announced the sale on the brewery’s social media pages Wednesday evening.
“We have encountered so many issues that other small businesses have faced: a pandemic, rising cost of goods, supply chain issues and the overall economic climate,” he wrote. “It has gotten to the point where we are no longer able to continue operations, and the company has sold.
“The sale will allow me to pay back our debts and align the brand with a bigger entity to allow it to continue,” Harris continued.
Great Frontier is acquiring Ecliptic’s intellectual property for distribution and bringing Harris on board, CEO Josh Landan told Brewbound.
Landan’s beverage-alcohol career includes the foundings of Saint Archer, Harland Brewing, Ashland Hard Seltzer, Villager Spirits and Scout Distributing.
“It’s a big deal for us to join forces and for John to come into our business,” Landan said. “He’s gonna be here with us working on the brands and on the board and he’ll be involved. It’s not like, ‘Hey, great, this is awesome,’ and then ‘see you later.’
“It’s nowhere near anything like that,” he continued. “He’s obviously one of the most legendary brewers in the PacNorthwest, if not the most. Him working with our director of brewing operations Daniel Sharp – that’s going to be an awesome combo working on these Ecliptic beers moving forward for us.”
Production of Ecliptic’s beers will move 115 miles south to Ninkasi’s facility in Eugene, Oregon. Ecliptic’s taproom is scheduled to close November 18, Harris wrote online.
Harris opened Ecliptic in 2013 after decades as a brewer at PNW craft stalwarts McMenamins, Full Sail and Deschutes. The brand is distributed in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Colorado, North Carolina, Arizona, Canada and Japan, according to Ecliptic’s website.
Last year, Ecliptic’s volume declined -6%, to 21,161 barrels of beer, according to the May/June issue of the Brewers Association’s New Brewer. The brand’s year-round offerings include Starburst IPA, Ligo West Coast IPA, Pyxis Pilsner, Carina Peach Sour, Capella Porter, Tucana Tangerine Sour and Phaser Hazy IPA – none of which have been sold in the package formats that are driving craft volume in recent years.
“Our focus predominantly is going to be growing their brand in the chains and in the bars,” Landan said. “There’s a lot of opportunity with Ecliptic. They’ve never had a 19.2 oz. single-serve can. They’ve never had a variety pack. Maybe people that are not in the Pacific Northwest don’t realize, but they’re doing pretty much 25,000 barrels with six packs and draft.”
Appropriately for a space-themed brand, Landan believes “the sky’s the limit for Ecliptic” with Great Frontier’s packaging capabilities in place.
Great Frontier aims to reach 250,000 barrels of annual production by the end of next year through currently owned brands and future acquisitions. Two more deals are in the works, and the company is “actively pursuing” others, but is being selective about targets, according to a press release.
“Great Frontier isn’t looking around for fire sales because if it’s not working, we won’t be able
to fix it,” Landan said in the release. “For brands like Ecliptic Brewing, Great Frontier Holdings is a mutually beneficial partner, leveraging our capital and marketing prowess to help them grow further, faster, and more profitably than they could achieve on their own.”
Landan and Ninkasi founders Jamie Floyd and Nikos Ridge grew close when Ninkasi produced Landan’s Ashland Hard Seltzer brand and began discussing the idea that became Great Frontier in early 2022. The conversation centered around “having strength in numbers and creating something that’s more profitable and bigger and has more presence in the chains and all these different types of synergies that could come together,” Landan said.
Opening the platform to valuable brands like Ecliptic with the goal of helping them grow has been gratifying for Landan.
“There’s these great brands out there that are just having a hard time due to the environment,” he said. “The thought for me with Great Frontier is I – me, Josh – am all these people. I’ve done all the capital raises and I’ve lived through all of it. And so now with the right folks saying, ‘Hey, why don’t you come over here with us and let’s do this together.’ It’s been awesome to be able to bring people into what we’re doing and take all the headaches and remove all that stuff for them and grow their business with them.”
Craft platforms have become popular in recent years as small producers seek shared resources and economies of scale.
Earlier this week, Finestkind Brewing, the parent company of New Hampshire-based Smuttynose Brewing, announced it had acquired Brooklyn, New York-based Five Boroughs Brewing. Finestkind CEO Steve Kierstead said the company is interested in future acquisitions to grow the company’s platform.
Last week in Colorado, Great Divide and Dry Dock announced the formation of a strategic partnership. Under that arrangement, Dry Dock’s beers will be produced at Great Divide’s facility, though both brands will retain independent ownership.
Also last week, Blake’s Hard Cider and Austin Eastciders merged to form Blake’s Beverage Company.