Founders Brewing Company

{{short description|Michigan-based craft-style beer brewer}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2022}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}

{{Infobox brewery

| name = Founders Brewing Company

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| location = Grand Rapids, Michigan

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| opened = {{start date|1997}}

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| key_people = Dave Engbers
Mike Stevens

| production = 466,700 Barrels (as of 2017){{Cite web |last=Allen |first=Robert |title=Founders Surpasses Bell's as Largest Michigan Brewery |url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/2018/01/19/founders-bells-largest-michigan-brewery/1049034001/#targetText=Stevens%20said%20Founders%20produced%20about,Kalamazoo%20area%2C%20produced%20464%2C000%20barrels |access-date=August 27, 2019 |website=Detroit Free Press}}

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| parent =Mahou-San Miguel Group

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| website = {{url|www.foundersbrewing.com}}

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{{Brewbox beer|name=All Day IPA|style=India Pale Ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Backwoods Bastard|style=Scotch ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Centennial IPA|style=India pale ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Dirty Bastard|style=Scotch ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=KBS|style=Imperial stout}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Nitro Oatmeal Stout|style=Oatmeal stout}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Nitro Pale Ale|style=American pale ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Pale Ale|style=American pale ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Porter|style=Porter}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Rubaeus|style=Fruit beer}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Red's Rye IPA|style=Rye beer}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Solid Gold|style=Lager}}

| seasonal_beers =

{{Brewbox beer|name=Black Rye|style=Rye beer}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Breakfast Stout|style=Imperial stout}}

| other_beers =

{{Brewbox beer|name=Curmudgeon Old Ale|style=Old ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Dark Penance|style=Black IPA}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Devil Dancer|style=Imperial IPA}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Double Trouble|style=Imperial IPA}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Harvest Ale|style=American pale ale}}

{{Brewbox beer|name=Imperial Stout|style=Russian imperial stout}}

| inactive_beers =

{{Brewbox beer|name=CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout)|style=Imperial stout}}

}}

Canal Street Brewing Co., LLC,{{Cite web |title=Limited Liability Company Details-Canal Street Brewing Co., L.L.C. |url=http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/dt_llc.asp?id_nbr=B04094&name_entity=CANAL%20STREET%20BREWING%20CO.,%20L.L.C |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064428/http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/dt_llc.asp?id_nbr=B04094&name_entity=CANAL%20STREET%20BREWING%20CO.,%20L.L.C. |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=April 1, 2014 |publisher=Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs}} doing business as Founders Brewing Company,{{Cite web |title=Assumed Names-Canal Street Brewing Co., L.L.C. |url=http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/adt_llc.asp?id_nbr=B04094 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304032556/http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/adt_llc.asp?id_nbr=B04094 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=September 15, 2014 |publisher=Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs}} is a brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, known for producing several highly rated and award-winning craft-style ales, including KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout), Centennial IPA, Dirty Bastard, and Founders Porter.{{Cite web |author= |date=April 17, 2010 |title=Founders Brewing Company wins four awards at the 2010 World Beer Cup in Chicago |url=https://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/2010/04/founders_brewing_company_wins.html |access-date=March 10, 2020 |website=mlive |language=en}} Since its founding as a craft brewery in the mid-1990s, it has grown to become the 15th largest brewery in the United States,{{Cite web |last=Stoller |first=Gary |date=March 20, 2018 |title=Craft Breweries Dominate The Top 50, But Guess Which Giants Rule The Beer Market |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/garystoller/2018/03/20/craft-breweries-dominate-the-top-50-but-guess-which-giants-rule-the-beer-market/ |access-date=February 10, 2019 |website=Forbes |language=en}} and a prominent member of the West Michigan brewing industry. It is now majority-owned by Mahou San Miguel of Spain.

History

File:Founders Brewing Company 2022.jpg

Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers were homebrewing enthusiasts who had recently graduated from college.{{Cite web |first=Garret |last=Ellison |date=October 5, 2012 |title=How flirting with bankruptcy forged Founders Brewing Co. into a craft beer industry titan |url=http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/10/founders_15-year_anniversary.html}} The company was originally organized in 1996 as John Pannell Brewing Company;{{Cite web |title=Articles of Organization-Canal St. Brewing Co., L.L.C. |url=http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/image.asp?FILE_TYPE=LLC&FILE_NAME=D0234\96117\96117499.TIF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304093817/http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/image.asp?FILE_TYPE=LLC&FILE_NAME=D0234%5C96117%5C96117499.TIF |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |access-date=December 19, 2019 |publisher=Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs}} Stevens and Engbers changed the company's name to Canal Street Brewing Co. in 1997.{{Cite web |title=Certificate of Amendment to the Articles of Organization |url=http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/image.asp?FILE_TYPE=LLC&FILE_NAME=D0234\97113\97113ATZ.TIF |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304033708/http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/image.asp?FILE_TYPE=LLC&FILE_NAME=D0234%5C97113%5C97113ATZ.TIF |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |publisher=Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs |accessdate=April 1, 2014}}{{Cite news |last=Anders |first=Melissa |date=April 28, 2013 |title=What's in a name? Here are the stories behind Biggby, Zingerman's, Founders, Faygo, Domino's |work=The Flint Journal |url=http://www.mlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/04/whats_in_a_name_here_are_the_s.html#incart_more_business |accessdate=April 28, 2013}} They took that name from the historical name of the Grand Rapids street (now Monroe Avenue) where they had set up operations, in an area where several 19th-century breweries once stood. The label for their Founders Pale Ale featured a historical image of brewers from that era with the word "Founders" above it; customers took that to be the name of the company, so Engbers and Stevens adopted it for general use.

In the 2000s, following its move to a larger facility on Grandville Avenue (now César E. Chávez Avenue), Founders became one of the most prominent breweries in Michigan, expanding its market to 37 states and its production capacity to 340,000 barrels per year.{{Cite web |first=Garret |last=Ellison |date=September 30, 2014 |title=With $35 million expansion, Founders Brewing targets national brand status |url=http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2014/09/founders_brewing_expansion.html |publisher=MLive.com}}{{Cite web |first=John |last=Serba |date=September 16, 2015 |title=Founders Brewing adds California, Nevada to distribution map |url=http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2015/09/founders_brewing_adds_californ.html |publisher=MLive.com}} By sales volume, Founders was the 30th largest U.S. craft brewery, and 41st largest U.S. brewery overall in 2012.{{Cite web |last=Brewers Association |date=April 10, 2013 |title=Brewers Association Releases Top 50 Breweries of 2012 |url=http://www.brewersassociation.org/pages/media/press-releases/show?title=brewers-association-releases-top-50-breweries-of-2012 |accessdate=May 15, 2013}} By 2014, Founders had climbed to the 17th largest craft brewery and the 23rd largest overall.{{Cite web |last=Brewers Association |date=March 31, 2015 |title=Brewers Association Lists Top 50 Breweries of 2014 |url=https://www.brewersassociation.org/press-releases/brewers-association-lists-top-50-breweries-of-2014/}} In 2014, Founders announced a $35 million expansion to double its production capacity and allow production of 900,000 barrels per year.

In December 2014, Founders announced that Spanish brewing company Mahou San Miguel had purchased a 30% minority stake in the business.{{Cite web |date=November 16, 2015 |title=Mahou trae Founders a España |trans-title=Mahou brings Founders to Spain |url=http://www.abc.es/economia/abci-mahou-trae-founders-espana-201511161742_noticia.html |work=ABC|location=Spain |language=es |accessdate=April 25, 2016}} A major-brewery stake of this size led the Brewers Association to no longer designate it as a "craft" brewery.{{Cite web |last=Manzullo |first=Brian |date=August 29, 2019 |title=Founders Brewing Co. to give up majority stake to Mahou San Miguel |url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/nightlife/2019/08/29/founders-brewing-co-sells-mahou-san-miguel/2153262001/ |access-date=October 24, 2019 |website=Detroit Free Press |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Monteiro |first=Shane |date=July 31, 2017 |title=3 Highly Rated Beers No Longer Considered Craft |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/shanemonteiro/2017/07/31/3-highly-rated-beers-no-longer-considered-craft/ |access-date=October 24, 2019 |website=Forbes |language=en}} In August 2019, the company announced that it was selling another 60% to Mahou; Stevens and Engbers, would each retain 5%, with other minority stakeholders bought out.{{Cite web |date=August 29, 2019 |title=Spanish brewer Mahou to acquire Founders Brewing |url=https://mibiz.com/sections/food-agribusiness/spanish-brewer-mahou-to-acquire-founders-brewing/ |access-date=August 29, 2019 |website=MiBiz |language=en}}

Beers

Founders produces several year-round packaged beers and a variety of seasonal and limited-production beers.{{Cite web|url=https://foundersbrewing.com/beer/|title=Our Beer}} Throughout the course of the year, Founders produces other beers sold on tap at their taprooms and beer festivals.[http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1199/ "Founder's Brewing"], RateBeer.

class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Founder's Beers

NameStyleABV %IBUNotes
All Day IPA

| India Pale Ale

| 4.7

| 42

| Year-round

Backwoods Bastard

| Scotch Ale

| 11.2

| 50

| Year-round

Centennial IPA

| India Pale Ale

| 7.2

| 65

| Year-round

Dirty Bastard

| Scotch Ale

| 8.5

| 50

| Year-round

KBS

| American Imperial Stout

| 12

| 70

| Year-round

Pale Ale

| American Pale Ale

| 5.4

| 35

| Year-round

Porter

| American Porter

| 6.5

| 45

| Year-round

Rubaeus

| Fruit Beer

| 5.7

| 15

| Year-round

Solid Gold

| Lager

| 4.5

| 20

| Year-round

Nitro Oatmeal Stout

| Oatmeal Stout

| 4.5

| 38

| Year-round draft only

Nitro Pale Ale

| American Pale Ale

| 5.4

| 35

| Year-round draft only

Red's Rye IPA

| Rye

| 6.6

| 70

| Year-round draft only

American Hopped Pilsner

| Pilsner

| 5.5

| 45

| Seasonal

Black Rye

| Rye

| 7.5

| 78

| Seasonal

Breakfast Stout

| American Imperial Stout

| 8.3

| 60

| Year round

Curmudgeon Old Ale

| Old Ale

| 9.8

| 50

| Specialty

Dark Penance

| American Black Ale

| 8.9

| 100

| Specialty

Double Trouble

| American Imperial IPA

| 9.4

| 86

| Specialty

Imperial Stout

| Russian Imperial Stout

| 10.5

| 75

| Specialty

Devil Dancer

| American Imperial IPA

| 12.0

| 112

| Limited

Harvest Ale

| American IPA

| 7.6

| 70

| Limited

CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout)

| American Imperial Stout

| 11.7

| 45

| Limited

For several years, KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) was highly sought-after during its annual release in April,[http://www.kbsweek.com "KBS Week"]. Retrieved October 23, 2015.{{cite news |last=Ellison |first=Garret |date=January 15, 2015 |title=Founders Brewing sets KBS Week 2015 dates: Where to find a keg tapping |url=http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/01/founders_brewing_sets_dates_fo.html |work=Mlive.com |access-date=October 23, 2015}}{{cite news |last=Ellison |first=Garret |date=March 18, 2014 |title=The KBS story: How a barrel-aged stout became a craft beer phenomenon |url=http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2014/03/founders_kbs_backstory.html |work=Mlive.com |access-date=October 23, 2015}} but went to year-around production in 2020.{{Cite web |date=February 24, 2020 |title=KBS Now Year-Round! |url=https://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2020/kbs-now-year-round/ |access-date=March 9, 2020 |website=Founders Brewing Co. |language=en-US}} It is an American Imperial Stout with a high ABV (11.2%), brewed with coffee and chocolate, and aged in bourbon barrels in nearby former gypsum mines. The "regular" Breakfast Stout is a formerly seasonal, now year-round, American Oatmeal Stout. CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout) was released irregularly with gaps of years in between,{{Cite web |last=Ramsay |first=Reid |date=August 28, 2019 |title=Founders CBS returns again in November for the last time for a while |url=https://beerstreetjournal.com/founders-cbs/ |access-date=March 9, 2020 |website=Beer Street Journal |language=en-US}} and {{As of|2019||df=|lc=y}} Founders had no plans to brew it again.{{Cite web |last=Manzullo |first=Brian |date=August 28, 2019 |title=Founders: No plans to brew top-rated Canadian Breakfast Stout after 2019 |url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/nightlife/2019/08/28/founders-canadian-breakfast-stout/2052250001/ |access-date=March 9, 2020 |website=Detroit Free Press |language=en}} In 2023, they began brewing it again, with a limited annual release in December.{{Cite web |date=October 31, 2023 |title=Founders CBS 2023 Returning To Barrel Aged Series |url=https://mybeerbuzz.blogspot.com/2023/10/founders-cbs-2023-returning-to-barrel.html |access-date=September 23, 2024 |website=mybeerbuzz news |language=en}}

= Awards =

As of 2013, two of its beers, KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) and CBS (Canadian Breakfast Stout), were ranked among BeerAdvocate's top 10 beers, with CBS ranked as the 4th best beer in the world by user review.{{Cite web |title=Top 250 Beers |url=http://beeradvocate.com/lists/top |publisher=BeerAdvocate |accessdate=May 13, 2013}} In a 2013 poll, Ratebeer.com listed Founders as the 3rd best brewery in the world overall;{{Cite web |title=ratebeer best 2010 |url=http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/bestbrewers_012010.asp |publisher=Ratebeer.com |accessdate=March 8, 2013}} Founders was 2nd place in 2011 and 2012.{{Cite web |title=ratebeer best 2011 |url=http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/bestbrewers_012011.asp |publisher=Ratebeer.com |accessdate=March 8, 2013}} In April 2010, Founders won four medals at the World Beer Cup in Chicago, Illinois,{{Cite web |last=Grand Rapids Press File Photo |date=April 17, 2010 |title=Founders Brewing Company wins four awards at the 2010 World Beer Cup in Chicago |url=http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2010/04/founders_brewing_company_wins.html |publisher=MLive.com |accessdate=March 8, 2013}} and the brewery went on to win two more medals at Denver's Great American Beer Festival in September of that year.{{Cite web |title=GABF Winners " Great American Beer Festival |url=http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/the-competition/winners/ |publisher=Greatamericanbeerfestival.com |accessdate=March 8, 2013}} The brewery also won an award at the 2012 World Beer Cup in San Diego, California.{{Cite web |first=Garret |last=Ellison |date=May 2, 2012 |title=Founders, Detroit-area breweries take top honors at biennial World Beer Cup |url=http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/05/founders_detroit-area_brewerie.html |publisher=MLive.com |accessdate=May 15, 2013}}

Taprooms

Founders operates a taproom in Grand Rapids. The original taproom is adjacent to the brewing operations, and in addition to its retail brews, offers beers that are only available on tap. A 14,000-square-foot Detroit taproom opened in 2017. It primarily served beers made in Grand Rapids, but also had a four-barrel brewing facility that could produce about eight kegs a week, allowing it to serve other beers as well.{{Cite web |title=Founders Detroit Taproom |url=http://www.detroitnews.com/story/entertainment/dining/first-draft/2017/12/01/founders-detroit-taproom/108200676/ |accessdate=February 13, 2018}} The Detroit taproom closed May 1, 2023.{{Cite web |last=Manzullo |first=Brian |date=2023-05-01 |title=Founders Brewing Co. abruptly closes Detroit taproom |url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/nightlife/2023/05/01/founders-brewing-company-detroit-taproom-closes/70172655007/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Detroit Free Press |language=en-US}}

Local engagement

Founders Fest: Each June, the company organizes a festival known as Founders Fest. The street in front of the brewery is closed down and blocked off for the event. National, regional, and local acts take the stage, and local food vendors and artists have booths. Each year more than 5,000 people attend the festival. Past acts have included Mustard Plug, Blues Traveler, Umphrey's McGee, Nahko and Medicine for the People, Soulive, Toubab Krewe, That 1 Guy, Galactic, Chicago AfroBeat Project, and The Crane Wives.{{Cite web |first=John |last=Serba |date=April 15, 2015 |title=Founders Fest 2015: Music lineup, ticket details available |url=http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2015/04/founders_fest_2015_music_lineu.html}}{{Cite web |first=John |last=Gonzales |date=June 18, 2012 |title=Gonzo's Top 5: Founders Fest 2012, The Jacksons Unity Tour, Kalamazoo's Irish Festival and more! |url=http://www.mlive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/06/gonzos_top_5_founders_fest_201.html |website=MLive.com}}

Founders Mountain Bike Racing Team: In 2005, Founders became the primary sponsor of what used to be the Alger Cyclery Bicycle team, becoming Founders Racing with approximately 20 team members. The partnership between Founders and the bike team lasted approximately 19 years, but as of 2024, the team aligned with Blackrock's Brewing (out of Marquette, Michigan) as Founders Brewing local engagement decreased.

Founders Brewing was also the headline sponsor for major bike racing events in west Michigan, notably the Barry-Roubaix Killer Gravel Road Race and the Lumberjack-100 Mountain Bike Race [44][45]

Controversies

Founders has had problems in some states with its labeling of beers. Until 2012, Dirty Bastard and Backwoods Bastard could not be sold in Alabama because of the name.{{Cite web |last=Ellison |first=Garret |date=August 28, 2015 |title=Founders runs afoul of Michigan law with baby on Breakfast Stout label |url=https://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/2015/08/breakfast_stout_label_michigan.html |access-date=October 24, 2019 |website=mlive |language=en}} In 2015, the label for Breakfast Stout, featuring a small child eating oatmeal, led to regulatory problems in Michigan and New Hampshire over the depiction of a child on an alcoholic beverage, requiring a temporary change in Michigan replacing the child with a note.

In 2018, former employee Tracy Evans, who is African-American, sued Founders for racial discrimination, alleging that the company had allowed a hostile work environment, passed him over for a promotion in favor of less qualified white co-workers, and fired him for complaining about it.{{Cite news |last=Armus |first=Teo |date=October 22, 2019 |title="I don't know his DNA": Craft brewery manager says he can't confirm black employee's race in discrimination lawsuit |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/10/22/craft-brewery-manager-cant-confirm-black-employees-race-discrimination-lawsuit/ |access-date=October 23, 2019}} Founders issued a statement denying the allegations.{{Cite web |date=March 11, 2019 |title=Founders Company Statement |url=https://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2019/founders-company-statement |access-date=October 24, 2019 |publisher=Founders Brewing Company}} In a sworn deposition leaked to the media in October 2019, his former manager Dominic Ryan stated that he could not definitively conclude whether Evans is black or not,{{Cite news |last=Malaea |first=Marika |date=October 21, 2019 |title=Leaked deposition shows general manager of Founders Brewing Co. saying he does not know if Barack Obama is black |work=Newsweek |url=https://www.newsweek.com/leaked-deposition-shows-general-manager-founders-brewing-co-saying-he-does-not-know-if-barack-1466819 |access-date=October 24, 2019}} a position Engbers disavowed.{{Cite web |date=October 25, 2019 |title=Founders 'does not stand by' manager's deposition |url=https://www.woodtv.com/news/michigan/founders-closes-detroit-taproom-over-lawsuit-controversy/ |access-date=October 31, 2019 |website=WOODTV.com |language=en-US}} During the controversy, Founders pulled out of the 2019 Michigan Brewers Guild Detroit Fall Beer Festival.{{Cite news |last=Manzullo |first=Brian |date=October 23, 2019 |title=Founders Brewing will skip Detroit's Fall Beer Fest amid racial discrimination lawsuit |work=Detroit Free Press |url=https://eu.freep.com/story/entertainment/nightlife/2019/10/23/founders-brewing-racial-discrimination-lawsuit-fall-beer-festival/4070046002/ |access-date=October 24, 2019}} Ryan was terminated shortly after the leak, followed by Evans and Founders settling the dispute out of court.{{Cite web |date=October 31, 2019 |title=Founders settles racial discrimination lawsuit |url=https://www.woodtv.com/news/michigan/founders-settles-racial-discrimination-lawsuit/ |access-date=October 31, 2019 |website=WOODTV.com |language=en-US}}

See also

References

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