No New Brewery for Boston Beer Co. After All

Some of you may remember the report which surfaced here in August about the Boston Beer Co. (the makers of Samual Adams) purchase of 52.6 acres of land in Freetown, Massachusetts for $5.95 million. Well, the plans for that proposed brewery have apparently come to a screeching halt. According to the MetroWest Daily News in Framingham,

The Boston Beer Co. has sent a certified letter to area officials confirming its decision not to build a brewery in Freetown. The company sent the letter to Fall River Acting Mayor William F. Whitty, Freetown Board of Selectmen Chairman Lawrence N. Ashley, the Freetown Board of Water Commissioners, Fall River Sewer Commission and Watuppa Water Board.

The letter officially ended Boston Beer’s relationship with Freetown, eight months after the brewer accepted tax incentives from the town and announced plans to invest about $200 million to build the brewery, and a few weeks after the company verbally informed neighboring communities of a change in course.

Boston Beer had until Jan. 1 to make a final decision on building there, city officials said. So, what are the makers of Sam Adams doing instead? The publicly-traded company, which is often referred to as the largest “craft” brewer in the country, said in its 3rd quarter report that it has,

bought Diageo North America, an existing brewery in Lehigh Valley, Penn., for $55 million. The brewer plans to spend another $50 million to renovate the plant, and will start operations there next summer.

For more on the decision and the reported impact it will have on the Freetown/Fall River area, read the MetroWest Daily News article here.

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