BeaverEx 2018
It's with a heavy heart that we have to announce our withdrawal from the Beavertown Extravaganza 2018. As most of you already know Beavertown have announced a minority sale of their business to Heineken.
We are also perfectly aware that much has been said on this matter already and both Cloudwater and Brew By Numbers have released statements explaining their decision to withdraw also. We don't need to go too hard in to those details, but it's clear to us that big beer isn't in this for the love of modern independent craft beer.
Big beer is shitting itself. When we talk of big beer we talk of companies such as Heineken and we consider their efforts to create quality products and bring them to market (Desperados, Fosters, Red Stripe...), we don't see that. We witness them buying up modern breweries and adding those brands to their portfolios and then using those brands to bully buyers into tying up lines on the bar and generally reducing the market share for independent makers.
As much as we respect and are incredibly grateful for what Beavertown has achieved in their lifetime, we ethically cannot align ourselves with the big beer behemoths. And that is the reason we have withdrawn from the Extravaganza.
It's also not because we are against the growth of a business, all business's need to grow we get that. But there are always options and choices available to everyone. Beavertown have impressive ambition and that needs a huge amount of money in order for it to happen. But, to make your ambitions a reality buy selling out to a global beer brand is just one option. There are many other options and I am sure that Logan investigated many routes, but he has chosen Heineken as his partner.
So a huge apology to all those attending and hoping to try our beers, we understand that this is a disappointment. we understand that some of you maybe angry and have pre-booked travel to make the trip to London. We can not apologise enough.
And like the others that have pulled out we will also be looking at hosting a special event at our Tap Room in Hackney Central for those with tickets looking to try some of our beers at Extravaganza. More details on that nearer the time.
