On Twitter, Brewgasm has an anonymous source reporting the following:
Source says Dennis Thies purchased Green Man Brewery. Brewery to close briefly pending new permits & minor improvements. #avlbeer #avlnews
So who’s got the details? What changes are on the way?
12 Comments
Hey Y'all. it is my hope that the integrity of our brewery and more importantly the beers have been great. please come by and check us out if you havent recently or grab a pint somewhere around town and let us know what you think-its important to us. We've been working hard and hope you are getting top quality ales out there…
It’s just my opinion, but they don’t brew very good beers. Maybe things will change for the better. I do love that little tasting room, though, and will on occasion swill a beer or two in there just because the style of that little tasting room is so darn good. Summary: change the beer, not the tasting room.
First off, this isn’t "print," but an internet blog, and therefore does not adhere to the same standards of accountability as print media, especially not from someone posting in the comments section. Are you new to the Internet, or just blogs?
Second, what you’re taking issue with was simply half-serious, wild speculation, and was not intended to be taken as fact or even as a rumor. At least the part about "sabotaging." I figured this was obvious, but apparently not. How you interpreted it is not my problem. Notice the "?" at the end of the sentence, implying that what preceded it was a complete stab in the dark on my part.
Finally, what I posted before was not intended to smear anyone – I think everyone benefited from the changes, with Green Man hitting a new stride and the Wedge probably making the best beer around!
I completely agree with what Isle of Man said! I have also asked myself many times how Carl’s beers can be so good down at the Wedge and so horrible at Jack of the Wood? The only reasonable explanation that I have been able to come up with is that there is a great assistant brewer down at the Wedge backing him up!
Nice attempt at sugarcoating at the end of the post Isle of Man, but to even suggest in print that there was unethical behavior on the part of another brewer, is inappropriate and uncalled for. Rumors have legs. Unless you can back up such innuendo, I’d suggest you owe Mr. Melissas an apology.
Thies will be sole owner. Stewart will stay as will other staff. Beers will stay the same. Hope to re-open on Friday.
Personally, I thought the quality of the Green Man beers was at an all-time low the last year or two Carl Melissas was in charge there (2004-2006?), which is curious considering how excellent the Wedge beers are, where Carl is now head brewer. I heard Carl had a dramatic falling out with the owner at the time, so maybe he was sabotaging the product? Or maybe the product quality of certain brewing systems varies depending on who’s manning the system? Every single Green Man beer I would try during that time was contaminated or funky. John Stewart came along and really improved the quality of their standard line-up of beers, as well as adding some really tasty Belgian additions. All in all, we got a fantastic new brewery in the Wedge and improved quality at Green Man as a result of the personnel change. Win-win.
We were at Dirty Jack’s Friday pm and happened to meet one of the new owners. Said that their brewer is staying (good news for all of us beer lovers). Also heard they are installing a pilot system for small batch brews which should enable them to brew lots of new and interesting things in addition to their usuals. Didn’t hear anything about the brief closing, though.
yes it is true, Green Man Brewery was sold. Lets hope that the new owner gives the brewer a little more freedom to brew new beer styles!
Just to add to the rumor fire, I’ve heard that Dennis will be a co-owner along with two others whose names I did not catch. Dennis has been working as a sales rep for green man and is largely responsible for expanding their distribution over the past year or so. Hope that helps… Or doesn’t. 🙂
I’ll have more dets for you soon.
So, wait. Would this be the second time in 5-6 years that Green Man has changed ownership? Didn’t the original brewer break off to go help found LAB, or am I getting my facts confused? All I know is that a few years back I stopped drinking the Green Man Pale and the Gold….it went from amazingly delicious to kind of mediocre….strictly my opinion only. I’m curious to know more…