Rhinegeist Brewery co-founder Bryant Goulding has heard the rumors — his Cincinnati brewery is selling to Anheuser-Busch.
Or Fireman Capital Partners.
Or MillerCoors.
Those rumors have picked up over the last few weeks and peaked in the last couple of days, with people saying there would be an official announcement today.
But Goulding said Friday (Aug. 26) that he and founder Bob Bonder aren’t selling and the rumors are wrong.
“I’m certainly proud that we’re independently owned,” he said. “I think people just think that successful breweries sell.”
Goulding confirmed that Anheuser-Busch contacted Rhinegeist a few months ago.
“They reached out and we never took a meeting with them because we have no interest in selling,” he said. “Bob and I own the majority of the business. There’s no succession plan happening. We both love what we do.
"We’re going to ride it out in the long run," he added.
Goulding said the brewery is more interested in the employee-owned model of New Belgium and Odell.
“That’s the direction we’re leaning,” he said.
Rhinegeist has been a media darling since opening in 2013 in part because of its location in the former Christian Moerlein bottling plant in the city’s historic Over the Rhine neighborhood and because of its well-crafted beers such as Truth IPA and Ink.
The Anheuser-Busch rumor is just the latest one surrounding Rhinegeist. Goulding said someone spotted him in Boston during a visit and a rumor started about Rhinegeist being sold to the Boston-based private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners, which has a majority stake in Oskar Blues, Cigar City and other breweries.
Goulding described the ongoing rumors as frustrating, especially for brewery employees.
“Gossip and rumors are the fun part of life for some,” he said.
Later Friday, Rhinegeist took to social media to post an official response to the rumors. Here it is:
"The founders here at Rhinegeist wanted to take a bit of social media space to stomp out what seems to be a rampant rumor mill. We will not be selling to AB, MillerCoors, private equity, or anyone else. We have refused the meetings that have been offered and will continue to do so. We value our employees and the unique, contagious culture they've created far more than dollars, and if we ever sell the company to anyone, it will be to these outstanding people who have busted their respective asses to build this brewery. So, an enormous thank you to our incredible team and to the community for embracing our historic space and tasty suds over the past 3 years. It's an amazing feeling to be a small part of bringing Cincy's brewing Geist back to life, and we intend on continuing that journey as a locally owned and operated company for many years to come. TRUTH.
Bob & Bryant"