"Ironic is the fact that the more interested I get in beer, the less I drink of it. In my younger days I drank a lot, but was not ready to learn about good and great beer."
Are you a new reader, then This is the end of Ølfabrikken
I just got an email from Gourmetbryggeriet and one from Ølfabrikken. Gourmetbryggeriet now owns 100% of Ølfabrikken. Not that long ago Gourmetbryggeriet bought the first half of Ølfabrikken. Ølfabrikken is now just another brand of Gourmetbryggeriet.
Christian Skovdal Andersen, the co-counder and brew master of Ølfabrikken is leaving the this new instalment. This makes me sad, as Christian *is* the spirit of Ølfabrikken. Without him I consider the brand to be a hollow shell.
Money talks, I guess.
The letter from Christian (translated in to my poor english):
Dear shareholder,
It is with great regret that I have to inform you that Gourmetbryggeriet has taken over 100% of the brand Ølfabrikken, that will continue as a brand within the context of GB.
That means that you, as shareholder, still have your shares, but in a company with debt and very few assets. The debt will be repaid by me the undersigned and the director of the company Martin Larsen.
All alternative solutions that would mean that we, the shareholders, would stay as owners, have been rejected by Gourmetbryggeriet and as a result I have dismissed myself.
[SNIP]
We shall see if the brand stays unchanged, but I seriously doubt it.
Here's to the Ølfabrikken that once was.
5 comments:
Sad indeed :(
The geek in me liked that fact that Ølfabrikken was founded by IT guys, who sold their company to start a brewery. Not that I have anything against Gourmetbryggeriet.. but still.
So did I. Besides being just like me, they are great guys, making great beers.
Christian will be missed. I hope that his contract permits him to active in the brewing community.
I don't see any problem in the new ownership. Why should Gourmetbryggeriet change anything? Everything from Olfabrikken is being made at Gourmetbryggeriet and it has been like this for over half a year. Last time i visited the brewery Christian wasn't brewing but Mike did control everything. I don't think anybody has noticed a change since Gourmetbryggeriet was offered to buy 50% of olfabrikken, only a more systimatic approach to life. :0) Why should there then happen any changes now? The haven't brewed at the old Olfabrikken since Gourmetbryggeriet was offered to buy the 50%. I personally think that we still will be able to drink the same great beers from Olfabrikken, I know that I am gonna keep on enjoying them!
@beerlover: It is true that it was brewed at Gourmetbryggeriet. One thing I have noticed is that the beer is more clear and less rubust that it used to be. Both facts are apparent for instance in the Brown Ale.
Christian has really been an innovator and has been experimenting with new kinds of beer almost on a weekly basis. Many very interesting beers have com from this.
Your point that there wil be no changes is really the whole point in why I am not happy about it. There is a great chance that the known beers will be kept on the market, but my fear is that we will see close to zero new ones.
Mike is a good brewer - no doubt about that. In fact he has taught me a thing or two about brewing on a bit larger scale than you kitchen table.
It seems a though Christian has been run over by the bussiness interests of Gourmetbryggeriet. I guess I am not enough of a businessman to ignore that nagging feeling in the back of my head.
I hope to be proven wrong!
New press release from Gourmetbryggeriet telling the story! It seems like they have the best intentions concerning Olfabrikken!
I'm happy to read this! :0)
Post a Comment