Doug, Wynne and Corkie Odell are selling Odell Brewing Company, the Colorado brewery they started in 1989, to their employees.

They announced Monday that they have sold 19 percent to a newly-formed employee stock option plan (ESOP), in which all 115 workers participate. A majority of the company’s stock has been sold to the Odells’ executive team, including Eric Smith, director of sales and marketing; Brendan McGivney, chief operating officer; and Chris Banks, chief financial officer. The Odells will retain 10 percent each as a family legacy.

Wynne Odell will continue as chief executive officer, Corkie Odell will remain head of human resources and Doug Odell will continue as founder, a title he’s held for about five years.

Odell is one of a growing number of breweries, including neighbors New Belgium Brewing and Left Hand Brewing, that have started ESOPs.

“The craft beer industry is changing dramatically and we have seen several of our friends and neighbors selling their companies, in whole or part, to major brewers and private equity firms,” Doug Odell for a press release announcing the plan. “While these options are more lucrative than the one we chose, we believe that the people who built OBC are the best ones to lead us successfully into the future.”

Belgian-based Duvel Moortgat and California’s Firestone Walker Brewing Company and have announced they will combine their two companies in the United States.

FW founder David Walker and Adam Firestone and Michel Moortgat, CEO of Duvel Moortgat, signed an agreement earlier this week, and the transaction is expected to close later this year. Because it is an agreement between two private companies no financial or contractual details will be disclosed.

The companies announced the deal simultaneously with press releases and by using social media.

Walker and Firestone stated: “The Firestone Walker and Duvel Moortgat families have combined forces to broaden their capacity and scope as brewers. Long admirers of each other’s beers, culture and breweries, the two teams saw the perfect fit for an alliance. The partnership will allow Firestone Walker to develop our capacity across the US in a conservative and thoughtful way by consummating a life long tie with this family-owned international craft brewer, who continue their commitment to participating in the American Craft Revolution.”

And Moortat said: “The relationship I have built with David and Adam made Firestone Walker the perfect fit for future growth. We share the same values; have a great mutual respect for each other’s achievements and a deeply-held belief in exceptional quality as a platform for long-term success. Bringing Firestone Walker together with Boulevard, Ommegang, Duvel and the other craft breweries in our family creates a stronger platform in the USA for us both and allows us to collaborate on brewing in different locations across the USA.”

Te Duvel Moortgat group was founded in Belgium in 1871. The company was an original investor in Brewery Ommegang in New York and eventually purchased full control of the brewery. Two years ago it acquired Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City. The company also imports its European brands, including Duvel, Chouffe, Maredsous, De Koninck and Liefmans.

Although the press release from Duvel Moorgat stated at the beginning that “(Firestone Walker) will continue to operate independently in Paso Robles under its current leadership of David Walker and Adam Firestone” much is left to be learned about the actual deal.

Left Hand Brewing announced today it has established an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). Under the Colorado brewery’s employee ownership plan, the brewery will contribute stock to the ESOP trust with each eligible employee receiving an annual allocation. “Our intent is to reward employees and foster an ownership mentality, encouraging team members to contribute to and participate in Left Hand’s long-term success,” Eric Wallace, co-founder and CEO, said in a company press release.

Several other breweries that started about the same time as Left Hand — which first brewed beer in 1993 — have established ESOPs, at least in part to assure the future independence of their companies.

Per the brewery’s vision statement and core values, the ESOP will help to cultivate long-term service, promote responsibility and trust in all relationships and create a sense of pride in the workplace. “It’s not about maximizing immediate financial return. We have a longer view. Money is only a tool to serve our greater mission,” Wallace said. “Left Hand is about brewing great beer, giving back to our community, and perpetuating a participative employee culture. With the implementation of the ESOP, it is our resolve to keep our vision alive and prosperous.”

Carlos Alvarez, founder and owner of The Gambrinus Company of San Antonio, Texas, announced a $1 million gift to the brewing science program at UC Davis.

The gift will fund new brewing and laboratory equipment at UC Davis to create the brewery of the future. Alvarez previously announced a similar gift, also worth $1 million, to Oregon State University.

“As an immigrant from Mexico, I have enjoyed the many opportunities I found in this country,” Alvarez said in a press release announcing the gift, “and I’m very happy that success in the beer business enables me to help in UC Davis’ efforts to educate future craft brewers.”

Brewing education at UC Davis dates back to 1959 when the Lucky Lager Brewing Company of San Francisco donated a small brewery and launched a teaching program with the Master Brewers Association of the Americas. As student interest grew, additional companies began supporting the program. In 2011 brewing science moved into the world-class facilities at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.

“This fantastic donation from Carlos Alvarez will allow us to develop our teaching and research capabilities in a way that surpasses anything I could have imagined when I first came to the university in 1999,” said Charlie Bamforth, Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences. “I salute Mr. Alvarez’s dedication to education and am thrilled of what we will deliver with his contribution.”

Scottish-based BrewDog confirmed today that it will build a new brewery in Columbus, Ohio, with a plan to make it the base of further expansion into the U.S. market.

“Columbus has got a fantastic beer scene already, so it’s going to be fun to brew our beer in this vibrant Midwestern metro,” the company stated at its Internet web site. “We considered so many potential locations in the U.S. but eventually it was how much we loved the people of Columbus and how welcome they made us feel on our visits that put Columbus firmly at the top of our list.”

BrewDog has agreed to buy 42 acres of land to build a 100,000-square-foot “kick ass” craft brewery. It will have a 100-barrel brewhouse, as well as canning and packaging lines and a small bottling line for special edition brews. The site also will be home to the company’s U.S. headquarters, a visitor center, a restaurant and a taproom. The facility is expected to employ more than 100.

“We see the Columbus brewery operation as a sister brewery to our Aberdeen one with an interflow and exchange of knowledge, passion, people, expertise and beer flowing back and forth over the Atlantic,” the company stated.

A prospectus for European investors estimated the U.S. brewery cost at $4.6 million.

It isn’t necessarily a done deal. The company said incentives and site details need to be finalized. “But we are completely committed to making BrewDog Columbus a reality very, very soon,” the company wrote.

Deschutes Brewery has announced hiring of Karl Ockert as Director of Brewery Operations. A press release states hewill use his 30-plus years experience in the brewing industry to oversee and guide all functions and activities related to brewing, cellaring, packaging, safety, continuous improvement, maintenance and quality control. Ockert, who spent a total of two decades with Bridgeport Brewing Company, most recently served as an independent consulting brewmaster and the technical director for the Master Brewers Association of the Americas.

“Karl’s extensive experience in the craft industry and his incredible technical expertise will help us through a critical growth phase as we look to expand production and bring on a second brewery,” said Michael LaLonde, president of Deschutes Brewery. “He’s a great cultural fit for our team as a whole and we look forward to his guidance and input as we continue to grow.”

Ockert was the original brewmaster for Bridgeport Brewing Company in the 1980s, and after stints at some other breweries (small and large), he returned there in the mid-90s as brewmaster and general manager.

Ockert said, “Deschutes has been a respected cornerstone in the craft brewing world for more than 25 years, due to their consistent quality across the board, along with their ongoing experimentation with new styles, processes, ingredients and more. I’m excited to join their team as the company continues to innovate, expand and break new ground.”

Brooklyn Brewery and Denmark’s Carlsberg have announced another brewing collaboration, this time with Ringnes in Norway.

The three companies will a new brewery with pub, restaurant, conference facilities and visitor center established at the existing Ringnes E.C. Dahls brewery site in Trondheim, Norway. The brewery will produce both popular local Dahls beer and new beers that take inspiration from both Norwegian and US craft brewing traditions.

E.C. Dahls is the second brewery collaboration between Carlsberg and Brooklyn. One year ago, Carlsberg and Brooklyn opened a brewery in Stockholm – the New Carnegie Brewery – a revival of Sweden’s Carnegie Brewery.

“This is great news for the E.C. Dahls brewery, and great news for beer lovers in Norway and beyond,” said Jørn Tolstrup Rohde, senior vice president for Western Europe at Carlsberg Group. “Carlsberg’s collaboration with Brooklyn continues to explore new possibilities in craft brewing. Carlsberg started its life as a small brewery in Copenhagen back in 1847, and thanks to the resurgence of craft brewing in recent times, more and more people are getting interested in the world of beer. We think that’s very positive.”

Brooklyn brewmaster Garrett Oliver, is a frequent visitor to Norway and will help develop a new line of beers for Norwegian beer drinkers. “The new E.C. Dahls will celebrate the great tradition of Dahls and bring the brewery and its portfolio into the world of craft beer,” Oliver said. “Norway already has a great beer scene, and we’re really excited to be part of it.”

Toppling Goliath, an Iowa brewery that makes bold-flavored beers highly pursued by beer enthusiasts across the country, has become the latest to strike a deal to have a portion of its beer made by Brew Hub.

Brew Hub was founded in 2012 in St. Louis and is building a network of five breweries across the country that primarily will produce beer for other breweries, such at Toppling Goliath. The first came on line in Lakeland, Fla., last year and the next will open outside St. Louis in 2016. The Lakeland facility will brew Toppling Goliath in 2015, but the St. Louis brewery will make most of it beginning in 2016.

Brew Hub will make PseudoSue and other popular brands in Florida, then ship the beer back to Decorah, Iowa, to be distributed throughout Iowa and Wisconsin. Toppling Goliath also will expand distribution to Minnesota.

Toppling Goliath produced approximately 3,200 barrels of beer in 2014. The partnership with Brew Hub will allow the company to increase its volume to nearly 20,000 barrels annually. Brew Hub will package the beer in cans, bottles and kegs.

“We began brewing our beer in 2009, and the positive response from consumers was almost immediate, but it has been overwhelming,” said Toppling Goliath founder Clark Lewey. “It’s been really gratifying to brew craft beer that people love, but we have been unable to meet consumer demand for several years, which has really been frustrating for us, retailers and consumers. Our partnership with Brew Hub will allow us to grow Toppling Goliath the way we always dreamed, and we could not be more excited.”

Lewey and other members of the Toppling Goliath team toured Brew Hub’s Lakeland, Florida, brewery in 2015 to discuss a potential partnership. During that meeting, Toppling Goliath asked Brew Hub to brew their two flagship brands, PseudoSue and Dorothy’s New World Lager. Lewey wanted to see for himself how well Brew Hub could brew their beer.

“Once I tasted our beers brewed by the Brew Hub team, I got really excited,” Lewey said. “That was the proof I needed to know this partnership was the way forward for Toppling Goliath.”

Abita Brewing in Louisiana has signed on as the founding brewery partner of Enjoy Beer, a new enterprise created to provide resources on a national scale to a select group of top independent U.S. craft brewers.

Harpoon Brewery co-founder Richard Doyle, who last year sold his stake in the Boston brewery, created Enjoy Beer. A press release explains that company “partners will share their collective wisdom and resources, and those of craft industry experts, in order to bring competitive strength to their individual craft breweries in an ever more competitive marketplace.”

“As the craft brewing industry continues to evolve, there is enormous pressure on brewers to compete against the big breweries,” Doyle said in a press release. “Local brewers like David Blossman at Abita, have been committed to innovation and finding new opportunities to compete while ensuring the company’s independence and local roots.”

Enjoy Beer plans to take on more craft brewing partners “who wish to preserve their local independence, while gaining shared resources in areas such as marketing, sales, purchasing, logistics, and finance in order to compete with large-scale corporate competitors.”

New Belgium Brewing and CEO Kim Jordan will donate $1 million to Colorado State University that will update and renovate facilities housing the university’s Fermentation Science and Technology program. Jordan will personally give $500,000 to the project and the remaining $500,000 will be allocated over five years through New Belgium’s philanthropy program. The gifts will be used to build a new fermentation science laboratory, significantly strengthening the long-standing relationship between CSU and New Belgium.

“We’ve had a great relationship with the university over the years and it’s personally meaningful to me to be able to give something back,” said Jordan. “Craft brewing has afforded opportunity to more than 100,000 people working in our industry and it’s important to support the next generation of brewers who will take us into the future.”

CSU has provided a Brewing Science and Technology course since 2005 and formally launched the Fermentation Science and Technology undergraduate degree program in August 2013. There are 76 students currently enrolled in the major. The renovated space will be named the New Belgium Fermentation Science and Technology Laboratory and will house analytical, brewing, kitchen, and sensory room space. It is slated for completion in August 2015.