Tilray-owned Montauk Brewing will open two new branded spaces at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets in time for the 2023 MLB season.
“Opening two branded Montauk Brewing bars at Citi Field is a dream come true for our team and the atmosphere is a perfect match,” Tilray U.S. beer president Ty Gilmore said in a press release. “We are thrilled to expand our long-standing relationship with this iconic New York venue and add more of our craft beers across 25 bars and restaurants in the stadium. We’re looking forward to offering fans an enhanced game day experience this year.”
Montauk’s presence at Citi Field includes a branded area on the field level along the third base line and the K Korner, a bar and restaurant adjacent to the stadium. The K Korner includes a replica of the barn at the brewery’s home in Montauk, New York, at the easternmost point of Long Island.
Available offerings at Citi Field include Wave Chaser IPA (draft, 19.2 oz. cans), Surf Beer Golden Ale (draft), Montauk Summer Ale (19.2 oz. and 12 oz. cans) and Juicy IPA (16 oz. cans).
Montauk, which Canadian cannabis producer Tilray acquired last year, has expanded its distribution footprint to include Connecticut and Rhode Island in recent months.
Tilray’s craft beer platform – which includes Atlanta-based SweetWater and San Diego-based Green Flash and Alpine – was the nation’s ninth largest craft brewery by volume in 2022, according to the Brewers Association.
The Lost Abbey to Share Space with Mother Earth Brew Co. via Alternating Proprietorship
The Lost Abbey has entered an alternating proprietorship with Vista, California-based Mother Earth Brew Co., according to a report from San Diego Beer News.
The move is the most recent in the Lost Abbey’s plan to scale back operations, which included the impending departure from its home base in San Marcos, California, necessitating the relationship with Mother Earth. Mother Earth shuttered its taproom in downtown Vista in April 2020, and ceased draft and retail sales at its production facility, where it will now host the Lost Abbey.
The Lost Abbey has applied for a license to sell pours of its offerings at the Mother Earth location; however, Mother Earth will not be part of a future taproom and only products from the Lost Abbey and its sister brands Tiny Bubbles and Kharisma Tea will be available, San Diego Beer News reported.
Tomme Arthur, who co-founded the Lost Abbey in 2006, discussed the brewery’s next act on the Brewbound Podcast earlier this month, including what made an alternating proprietorship an attractive business model.
“It gives us the opportunity to not have to pay for the assets or at least go out and install all the assets,” he said. “Right now, it’s kind of like renting a home versus buying a home, and it gives us a chance to kick the tires on the neighborhood and determine if we want to be there for the longer term.”
Mother Earth’s 28,000 sq. ft. facility includes a 20-barrel brewhouse and five 60-barrel fermenters, according to San Diego Beer News. This will allow the Lost Abbey’s output to reach “well north of 3,000 barrels a year with ease,” Arthur told the publication.
Mother Earth also operates a production facility and taproom in Nampa, Idaho, and a taproom in Boise, Idaho.
The Bruery to Shut Down Washington, D.C., Store
The Bruery is shuttering its Washington, D.C., location after six years in operation, the Placentia, California-headquartered craft brewery announced last week. The closure is slated for the end of April.
“Our goal since its inception was to turn this space into a tasting room; however, the space wasn’t as conducive as we would like for a true tasting room experience,” CEO Barry Holmes wrote in an email newsletter last Friday. “That said, this move gets us one step closer to opening a tasting room in the future.”
The Bruery Store opened in 2017 as a location for members of its bottle clubs to pick up orders and for area residents to purchase beer to-go from the Bruery and sister brand Offshoot.
“We’re working on an interim pick-up location; however, for the foreseeable future, pick-up orders will only be available to our society members,” Holmes wrote.
As early as next month, the brewery plans to expand its direct-to-consumer shipping offerings to 47 states and Washington, D.C., according to Holmes.