Elysian head brewer, co-founder resigns in wake of Anheuser-Busch acquisition
Elysian Brewing’s beer might not taste the same post-Anheuser-Busch acquisition, after all. The company’s head brewer and co-founder Dick Cantwell resigned from the company Monday, about three months after Elysian announced it would be acquired by Anheuser-Busch.
Cantwell is a legend in the craft brewing industry. He is an advocate for industry rights in the state and across the country and has written more than one book on the topic.
His status in the industry was one of the reasons the Elysian acquisition hit craft beer-lovers so hard, industry insider Kendall Jones said at the time of the sale.
It has been widely reported in industry articles that Cantwell objected to the Anheuser-Busch sale. Cantwell on Monday seemed to confirm that things had soured with his co-founders.
“The tenor of the deal, mainly from the point of view of my former partners and me, was such that I can’t possibly work with them into a future of any duration,” Cantwell wrote in an email to Jones at the Washington Beer Blog.“My concerns were never even considered as a factor of whether we should or shouldn’t."
His statement makes it clear Cantwell was opposed to the terms of the acquisition.
"From the start it was me against everyone else, with no regrets expressed,” he told the Beer Blog.
Elysian’s sale came as a surprise to many diehard fans of the Seattle brewery, and sparked concern for many of the other craft brewers in town.
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