|
Popular Threads
Number 1:
It with great sadness that I inform everyone here that
Full Sail Brewing Company is no more.
On November 2nd, 2026 we were acquired by Sazerac and the Full Sail and Session brands officially died.
I am the weekend brewing lead and was off on Monday. I got a message in the morning that the pub was closed and all restaurant staff was let go with one week of severance pay. I rushed down to the brewery to find out what the hell was going on. When I arrived, Sazerac was holding a meeting for the production staff. Even our brewmaster found out at this meeting.
We will continue our contracts making RTDs and other products while bringing on new ones. Beer will only be brewed for our existing contracts but who knows if the contracts will be renewed. We are now a 100% contract production facility.
Next year would’ve been 40 years that Full Sail has been making beer in Hood River. We just put in a 15 bbl pub/pilot system a little over a year ago and were able to finally start getting creative with new beers again. That is over.
To say that I am upset is an understatement.
A lot of breweries in the Columbia River Gorge have roots in Full Sail. Double Mountain, Everybody’s, pFriem, Kings and Daughters, Ferment, Solera… all opened by former Full Sail Brewers.
In this town, Full Sail wasn’t just the place to get a good burger and a beer. It was where your dad worked for 20 years. It was where you went to dinner before the homecoming dance. It was the place your sister learned to drive a forklift. It’s where I met my wife. It’s where you got a job bussing tables or working the packaging line when you came home from college for summer break. It was the company that put food boxes together for the neighbors when their house burned down just before Christmas. It was a pillar of the community.
I know that the craft beer industry has been changing for some time. We roll with the punches. We adapt with the hope that beer will come back around. Keeping the Full Sail and Session brands alive gave us that small hope. It seems that flicker of hope is now extinguished. Full Sail is no more.
For now, the production staff will keep our jobs and keep making beverages. My heart goes out to the community.
More importantly, my heart goes out to the pub staff. My friends and colleagues with whom we shared thanksgiving dinners with. With those we gave gifts to when their children were born. With those we cried with when their parents died. We were a family. No, we are family.
I want to thank the owners and staff of Kings and Daughters Brewing for giving former Full Sail employees a place to gather on Monday to grieve and fellowship together.
It’s been a long day. I’m tired. Raise a glass to the memory of Full Sail. Cheers.
Read the responses here.
Number 2:
How do you verify that a keg Is actually full when you receive It?
Curious how others in the craft beer industry handle this.
When a brewery fills a keg, or a distributor delivers one to a bar or restaurant, what processes are in place to verify that the keg actually contains the full amount of beer being purchased?
I'm especially interested in whether there's an industry-standard verification process or if most businesses simply rely on trust. Would love to hear how this is handled in the real world.
Read the comments here.
Number 3:
Packaging Consultant Needed: Looking for anyone with extensive expertise with GAI bottling systems. We are the proud new owners of this GAI 3031FM-Bier, plus de-pal and labeler.
Seeking an independent consultant to guide our team through install, startup, and training for use with cider. We have other GAI machines but new to this one.
Offering $800 per day plus travel, negotiable based on experience and scope. Anticipating 2 weeks on-site, flexible dates between now and January 31, 2027. Tampa, FL.
Please message me directly if interested or if you know someone that may be a good fit.
Read the group's feedback here.
| 
