Anheuser-Busch InBev (A-B) owned Platform Beer Co. has ceased operations in Ohio, according to a Cleveland.com story citing “several sources.”
However, the Platform brand will live on as three IPAs, according to a Platform spokesperson.
“As we navigate through the changing industry and operational challenges, it has become clear that Platform’s production and commercial efforts need to be focused on three beers: Haze Jude IPA, Odd Future Imperial IPA, and our new Canalway IPA,” the spokesperson said. “We are grateful to be part of the Ohio beer community and look forward to continuing to provide local beer drinkers with the IPAs they’ve come to love.”
Brewbound spoke with leaders from A-B’s High End division – which includes A-B’s craft unit, the Brewers Collective – in December. They said the division’s priorities for 2023 were “maximizing” Stella Artois, growing its premium lagers and continuing to lead craft growth with its Brewers Collective brands.
Brewers Collective VP of marketing Carrie Shafir noted the craft division consists of 20 brands, and “if we’re not focused, it can get messy very quickly.” She said the division would continue to focus on “leading with style” and gaining share in “top performing craft styles.”
Platform’s social media presence did not provide any hints of a possible shut down in recent days. Two days ago, the company was promoting the March 18 release of Rory’s Red IPA at the brewery’s taproom. Platform also highlighted a home brew competition set for March 11 in which the winner was to brew a 10-barrel batch of beer at the taproom.
Platform’s reported shutting down of operations in Ohio follows 17 layoffs last year and later the entire staff, Cleveland.com reported.
A-B acquired the Cleveland-based craft brewery in August 2019. The brewery is the smallest within the Brewers Collective craft division, not including brands acquired from Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) in September 2020. The purchase of Platform was A-B’s last craft deal, before it completed its acquisition of the remaining stake it did not own in CBA.
Other brands A-B has brought under the Brewers Collective fold have found near nationwide success at off-premise retailers, such as Goose Island (465,000 barrels in 2021, according to the Brewers Association), Elysian Brewing (330,000 barrels), Golden Road (230,000 barrels) and Wicked Weed (97,000 barrels), but Platform did not reach those levels.
In 2021, Platform produced 22,500 barrels of beer. The flat year-over-year production followed a -13% volume decline in 2020 amid COVID-19-related shutdowns.
At its peak, Platform produced 27,000 barrels in 2018, a year before A-B bought the brewery. At the time of the acquisition, the world’s largest beer manufacturer noted that Platform was “the fastest growing regional brewery in the United States in 2017.”
“In speaking with the other craft brewery founders in Brewers Collective, we know partnering with Anheuser-Busch means we will have the resources and the autonomy to bring our vision for Platform Beer Co. to life,” Platform co-founder Paul Benner said in the 2019 release announcing the deal. “Being able to continue leading the day-to-day operations was an important factor in our decision and we have no doubt that this partnership will benefit our loyal staff and passionate customer base.”
Benner and Justin Carson founded Platform in 2014.
“We are excited to invest even more into our local economy through capital improvements and job creation,” Carson added in the 2019 release. “We will be able to provide our staff with resources like robust healthcare benefits including parental leave, 401K and growth opportunities that we currently don’t have and will make Platform an even better place to work and grow.”
Platform at one point operated four taprooms, but two have closed since A-B’s acquisition. The first, its Columbus taproom, has remained closed for nearly two years, following a staff walk-out over low wages and working conditions, originally reported by The Columbus Dispatch. The second, located in Cincinnati closed in early 2022, Good Beer Hunting reported. Platform’s remaining two taprooms – its flagship location and a sour beer-dedicated facility – are in its home city of Cleveland.