Magic Hat Brewing is selling its South Burlington brewery and moving its beer production to a brewery in Rochester, New York, where its parent company, FIFCO USA, is based. That company already brews some Magic Hat beers there.
Magic Hat tweeted on June 16 that it had made “the difficult decision” on that day. “We could no longer keep multiple breweries open,” the tweet said. The deal is set to close July 1, pending the release of permits.
All 43 Vermont-based Magic Hat employees have been laid off, but will be eligible for severance packages and will be considered for jobs with the Burlington-based brewer Zero Gravity, which is taking over the lease on Magic Hat’s building and buying its equipment, according to FIFCO USA.
FIFCO USA CEO Rich Andrews said the company’s ties to Burlington made the decision difficult.
“In the end, this was the best long term opportunity for both us and our friends at Zero Gravity,” he said. “With the capabilities and capacity of our new brewery and the evolution of Magic Hat, moving the production to Rochester provided the best long term opportunity. We have been brewing a portion of Magic Hat in Rochester for nearly a decade. Having one brewery with new equipment, creates consistent, high quality beer that our Magic Hat consumers have come to expect.”
Zero Gravity said in a press release that the new facility it is taking over from Magic Hat will help it to increase its efficiency and meet its environmental impact goals. The company, which began in 2004 in Burlington, has a taproom and brewpub.
“As a Vermont-based brewery, Zero Gravity is excited to be taking over a facility where so much of Burlington’s craft beer history was created,” the company said.
Magic Hat was founded by Alan Newman and Bob Johnson in 1994. According to a history on Magic Hat’s website, Johnson brewed the first batch of beer in a bathtub on the Goddard College campus before meeting Newman, an entrepreneur. Magic Hat said it has raised thousands of dollars for Vermont issues, including the cleanup of Lake Champlain.
Some Magic Hat beers were already being produced at FIFCO USA’s Genesee Brew House. FIFCO USA paid for a $50 million expansion at the Genesee Brewery in 2018, according to FIFCO.
“As we found ourselves needing more production space, this felt like the most organic and elegant way to expand,” Zero Gravity CEO Matt Wilson said in the press release. “We feel fortunate to have the opportunity to increase our brewing capacity while staying rooted in the same community where we began.”
