Shipyard Brewing Company

Shipyard Brewing Company was established in 1994, expanding on Kennebunkport Brewing Company (KBC).{{Cite web |title=KBC About » Federal Jacks |url=https://federaljacks.com/kbc-about/ |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Federal Jacks |language=en-US}} KBC was formed under the Ashleigh Inc. corporation, with founders Gordon Hurtubise and Fred Forsley, at Federal Jack’s Restaurant and Brew Pub in Kennebunk, Maine, one of Maine's original brew pubs and working breweries. Within two years, demand for KBC beer outpaced the small operation and, in April 1994, Forsley, Hurtubise and brewer Alan Pugsley expanded into Hurtubise's previous real-estate purchase and opened the Shipyard Brewing Company on Hancock Street in the heart of the waterfront in Portland, Maine, on the site of the former Crosby Laughlin Foundry and opposite the popular Village Cafe.

In 1995, Miller Brewing Company purchased a 50 percent stake in Shipyard, allowing Shipyard to use Miller's laboratories and distribution network. Shipyard's production dropped by around 14,000 barrels per year between 1996 and 1998, leading to Miller selling its stake back to Shipyard.

In 1996, Shipyard began distributing Capt'n Eli's soft drinks,{{Cite web |date=2024-06-04 |title=30 Year Anniversary - Shipyard Brewing Company |url=https://shipyard.com/30-year-anniversary/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |language=en-US}} established by Eli Forsley, Fred's father.{{Cite web |title=ABOUT – Capt'n Eli Soda |url=https://captnelisoda.com/about/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Carbone |first=Gina |title=Spending a rainy day with Capt'n Eli |url=https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/local/portsmouth-herald/2009/11/15/spending-rainy-day-with-capt/51800051007/ |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=Portsmouth Herald |language=en-US}}

In 2000, during a slowdown in the popularity of microbreweries, Shipyard was selling 75 percent of its products in New England.{{Cite news |last=Flaherty |first=Julie |date=2000-05-30 |title=Now, the Glass Is Half Empty; Microbreweries in the Slow Lane |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/30/business/now-the-glass-is-half-empty-microbreweries-in-the-slow-lane.html |access-date=2025-04-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

In 2008, Shipyard brewed 81,641 barrels of ale annually. Five years later, it had increased to more than 166,000 barrels a year. As of 2017, Shipyard's products were available in 42 states, up from 34 states in 2011. A decade later, its production was around 93,000 barrels.{{Cite web |date=2018-12-11 |title=Shipyard Brewing Founder Plans to Open $36 Million Co-Packing Facility in New Hampshire |url=https://www.brewbound.com/news/shipyard-brewing-founder-plans-to-open-36-million-co-packing-facility-in-new-hampshire/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Brewbound |language=en-US}}

In 2011, Shipyard was producing seventeen varieties of beer. It was the 19th-largest craft brewery in the country and 28th-largest overall.

As a comparison of Maine breweries, Shipyard produced 3.6 million gallons of beer in 2016, just under one million gallons more than second-placed Allagash, but Allagash's sales were trending upwards and Shipyard's were decreasing. Shipyard's production was down 29 percent from its peak in 2013.{{Cite web |date=2017-05-21 |title=Who sits atop Maine’s beer scene? It’s pretty fluid |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2017/05/21/who-sits-atop-maines-beer-scene-its-pretty-fluid/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Press Herald}}

In 2018, Shipyard announced plans to build a $36-million packing facility in Hooksett, New Hampshire, a facility it would share with as many as sixty other companies. The company began brewing there, in addition to its locations in Maine, Vermont, Florida and New York. As of 2025, its Portland facility has a tasting room and a five-barrel brewery. Shipyard previously brewed at the Shipyard Emporium in Winter Park, Florida. It opened a tasting room in nearby Sanford, Florida,{{Cite web |date=2023-09-26 |title=Sanford Florida - Shipyard Brewing Company |url=https://shipyard.com/sanford-florida/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |language=en-US}} in 2023.

In 2019, Shipyard established a beer exchange with Rocks Brewing Company in Sydney, Australia. The same year, the brewery announced a fifteen-year trade extension with Marston's, its partner in the United Kingdom.{{Cite web |date=2019-12-19 |title=Shipyard Brewing Company Establishes Beer Exchange with Rocks Brewing Company in Australia |url=https://www.brewbound.com/news/shipyard-brewing-company-establishes-beer-exchange-with-rocks-brewing-company-in-australia/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Brewbound |language=en-US}} At the time, Shipyard was 42nd in the Brewers Association's (BA) rankings of the top 50 craft brewers by volume, a fall of thirteen places in twelve months. It continued a trend, the brewery having slipped from 28th to 37th between 2016 and 2017.{{Cite web |date=2020-05-22 |title=Shipyard Brewing and Orlando-Based Brew Theory Strike Contract Brewing and Licensing Agreement for Florida Market |url=https://www.brewbound.com/news/shipyard-brewing-and-orlando-based-brew-theory-strike-contract-brewing-and-licensing-agreement-for-florida-market/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Brewbound |language=en-US}} In 2023, Shipyard became the top American craft beer brand sold by volume in the UK.

In 2020, Shipyard and Brew Theory, a brewery in Orlando, Florida, formed a licensing agreement. Shipyard also produced a special edition of its Chamberlain Pale Ale to mark the bicentennial of Maine's admittance to the union. The beer is named for American Civil War hero Joshua Chamberlain.{{Cite web |date=2020-02-27 |title=Shipyard Brewing’s Chamberlain Pale Ale Returns in Celebration of Maine’s Bicentennial |url=https://www.brewbound.com/news/shipyard-brewings-chamberlain-pale-ale-returns-in-celebration-of-maines-bicentennial/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Brewbound |language=en-US}}

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• List of breweries in Maine
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Category:Beer brewing companies based in Maine

Category:Companies based in Portland, Maine

Category:1994 establishments in Maine

Category:American companies established in 1994