Other Half to Acquire Young Lion’s Brewing Facility and Taproom

Brooklyn-based Other Half Brewing Company has a deal to purchase Young Lion Brewing Company’s brewery and taproom in Canandaigua, New York, the companies announced today.

The Young Lion brand and intellectual property was not included in the transaction. Per the announcement, Young Lion “is exploring creative solutions for its exciting future.”

Young Lion will continue to operate in the space until the transaction closes in January 2024.

The facility is described as a 10,000-barrel production brewery with a 1,000 sq. ft. taproom and 2,400 sq. ft event space, according to the Young Lion website.

The brewery was founded in 2017 by Alicia Wolk and Jennifer Newman, who also serves as CEO.

“It was important for us to see our facilities’ next occupant be a prestigious company such as Other Half Brewing,” Newman said in the release. “We firmly believe they are the best steward for the community moving forward as they continue to build on the excitement Young Lion has fostered on Lakeshore Drive.”

The Canandaigua facility will become Other Half’s eighth outpost and its second in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Other Half now operates breweries in Brooklyn’s Carroll Gardens and Williamsburg neighborhoods, as well as the Finger Lakes region; Washington, D.C.; Chicago, Illinois; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The company also runs taprooms in Buffalo and at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.

In 2022, Young Lion produced an estimated 4,725 barrels of beer, according to the Brewers Association (BA).

Other Half Brewing’s output increased +13% last year, to 33,825 barrels, its largest production volume ever, according to the BA. The company has posted double-digit beer production growth since at least 2019, per the trade association’s production data.