Flying Dog Brewery of Denver, Colorado announced today that all of their brewing operations would be moving to their facility in Frederick, Maryland. Eric Warner's blog message states this move will take place in January 2008. About 70% of their beer is already produced in Maryland. The state of the art facility in Maryland offers more efficient brewing and bottling, along with greater opportunity for expansion. Flying Dog says that all brewery staff will be offered positions in Maryland, along with a relocation package. Administrative staff will remain in Denver.
Additional information is available in a press release posted on BeerAdvocate.com.
There's also a Rocky Mountain News article here.
If the bottom line is the only concern it sounds like a great move for FD. But, if tradition and heritage mean anything to the company it is an odd move. They were a Colorado company, soon they will be a Maryland company. As with any move of this nature some/many employees will surely get shafted. FD made this announcement 2 weeks before the holidays, the employees found out yesterday, the same time the official press release was issued. That's pretty raw and kinda shows that FD doesn't really care about their employees, this is not the type of move that is made over night, the plan has surely been in the works for several months. So maybe, in the long run CO will be better off without this kind of business operation downtown. As an aware consumer, why should I support a company that is pulling out of CO? There are a plethora of breweries in CO that make great products. Great Divide just became my new favorite downtown brewer. I drink Colorado beer! Good riddance FD, I hope CO consumers have a long memory and voice their disgust with their banning of your beer. Cheers to your beer collecting dust in CO stores and your taps disappearing in town--CR
ReplyDeleteI understand your sentiment. But keep in mind that 60% of FD's beer is sold east of the Mississippi, and the Denver facility was putting out less than 30% of their production. If the move allows FD to produce more beer, keep costs down, that's a good thing. Most businesses don't survive with inefficient operations. Yes, the timing isn't great for the line workers. Of course, we're not privy to the business decisions that went into this so passing judgment is unfair.
ReplyDeleteAs an employee of the brewery your concerns are understandable. However I would like to let you know that this decision is one that had to be made in order for Flying Dog to continue making quality, well distributed, good beer. While prices for hops and malts are increasing it only makes sense for us to consolidate our facilities to ensure that consumes like yourself won’t suffer a price increase on 6-packs. All of the employees at the brewery have been offered jobs in Maryland as well as help finding another promising position at another brewery or company. I am an employee that is considering moving to Maryland and while it is a change, it is also an opportunity for success. Our company is still going to be a Denver based company. Even though we are not brewing beer in CO anymore, our headquarters are still going to be in Denver and our distribution will hopefully not suffer as a result. We hope that you will continue to digg the dog!
ReplyDeleteThanks for checking in Steph. Your insight is appreciated. Good luck in your moving decision.
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