Mooresville, NC - January 2011 |  Download a PDF

Carolina Beer & Beverage has announced the sale of their beer division to Foothills Brewing, based in Winston-Salem. This sale includes the company's equipment, trademarks and brands. Among the dozen beer brands being acquired by Foothills Brewing are those within the highly popular Carolina Blonde and Cottonwood Ales lines.

"I personally have tremendous respect for Foothills Brewing," John Stritch, president of Carolina Beer & Beverage, said. "Our company started out as a small microbrewery in 1997 and has nurtured the brewing and distribution growth of our Carolina Blonde and Cottonwood Ales brands since day one. I wouldn't entrust the brewing and ownership of our brands to just anyone, but I have complete confidence in Foothills Brewing."

Other than the transfer of the brewing equipment and beer brands to Foothills Brewing, all other ownership and the operational aspect of Carolina Beer & Beverage will remain unchanged. There will be no loss of jobs at Carolina Beer & Beverage, and Foothills Brewing will continue to produce all brands currently offered by Carolina Beer Company.

Mike Smith and John Stritch opened a 25,000 square foot brewery in 1998 with 4 employees. Through the years, in addition to brewing, bottling, and selling local craft beers, Mike and John expanded the business to package products for other companies, including most of the top energy drink companies in the country. Today the plant operates a state-of-the-art 160,000 square foot facility that houses 3 high speed beverage packaging lines and 2 specialty lines. CBB now employs approximately 230 people.

"We've known John and the beer team at Carolina Beer & Beverage for years and have the utmost admiration for their finely crafted beers and bottling facility," Jamie Bartholomaus, president and brewmaster of Foothills Brewing, said. "Their beverage bottling business has grown immensely in recent years, and they had a desire to spin off the beer brewing part of the business so that they could focus purely on the continued success of beverage bottling. At the same time, we're growing our beer brewing and distribution capacity at Foothills. We consider it a marriage made in heaven for both of our companies.”

Carolina Beer & Beverage appreciates the support of all their loyal customers, fans and followers over the years and assures them that they will still be able to enjoy their favorite brew. "This was a very strategic decision on the part of our two companies to join forces," says Bartholomaus. "Carolina Beer wanted production of its beloved brands to be in North Carolina, and we are glad to accommodate. For those of us who enjoy a cold Carolina Blonde or Cottonwood Ale, rest assured that production will remain uninterrupted and the brewing integrity of Carolina Beer brands will be completely preserved as we transition ownership to Foothills.”

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