Flying Dog moves all production to Maryland

Flying Dog AlesFlying Dog Brewery will close its Denver brewery and move all production to Maryland, where it has operated a brewery since 2006.

Eric Warner, president and CEO of Flying Dog, announced that the company is concentrating its brewing operations at the state-of-the-art facility in Frederick that it acquired from Frederick Brewing. Warner also announced that the company recently raised $3 million in capital to fund continued development of its brands.

Flying Dog Brewery in Denver will produce its last beer in January 2008. The company will maintain its corporate headquarters in Lower Downtown Denver, and Flying Dog’s 13 craft beers will continue to be distributed throughout Colorado.

Increased costs of raw materials, including hops and malt, combined with the loss of contracts from smaller craft brewers were a significant factor in the decision, Warner said.

“By concentrating the brewing operations in Maryland, we will become a more efficient business, which is very important given the extremely competitive conditions in the craft beer industry,” he said.

“Aside from the concentration of production, we’re proud to say that our customers won’t notice a difference,” Warner said. “We are committed to providing our customers in Colorado and throughout the country with the highest-quality craft beers that they’ve come to know and love.”

The Maryland facility, where 70% of Flying Dog’s beers are already being brewed, has more modern brewhouse equipment and a more spacious warehouse and cooler.

“The building our Denver brewery is in is old and needs a minimum of $1 million in infrastructure improvements to keep up with our increasing production levels and product quality standards,” Warner said. “This year alone, we saw a 20 percent unit growth – our strongest yet. Concentrating our operations at the Maryland facility will allow us to the meet the growing demand by surpassing current production levels.”

There will be no layoffs as Flying Dog Brewery’s Denver production team will all be offered jobs at the Maryland brewery including relocation packages.

6 Replies to “Flying Dog moves all production to Maryland”

  1. Relocation packages, sure — but I bet all the skiiers on the team are wrestling with dilemmas right now!

    Sorry Fret.

  2. I was very sorry to hear this weekend that my go to beer of the last 3 years, Wild Goose Porter, is being discontinued because of this move. Wild Goose was made by the Frederick Brewing Company that Flying Dog purchased. I believe their excellent Oatmeal Stout will stick around. I was told that the Porter might come back as a seasonal, but I am very disappointed to see such a great brew go away.

  3. Frederick murdered Wild Goose a long time ago. When it was on the eastern shore, it was awesome. Flying Dog has a much better porter anyway. We welcome Gonzo and company. Will Ralph Steadman be coming along?
    There are a couple of slopes nearby for your skiing brewers. With enough brewski under their belts, the kiddie slopes will suit them just fine.

  4. I had the opportunity to visit Denver for the first time and, taking a night off from the conference dinner schedule, planned my dinner/pub crawl for the Coors Field area. I mapped out Flying Dog and Breckenridge in particular.
    My favorite beer that evening was definitely the IPA at Flying Dog. It sounds like the pub will be staying so I’ll see y’all again next time I visit.

  5. enjoying a gonzo imperial porter in Oslo, Norway, can’t help to feel that the gonzo in this beer has been deminished by this article, turns out the beer is probably brewed in Maryland, not Colorado… as a consumer I can’t help but feel put off by a beer that herolds to gonzo and then turns out to be a corporate brew offering ‘no layoffs’ and ‘relocation package’ to its employees to move from Denver to the east coast. Just a marketing gimick if you ask me, however the gonzo beer it self was just fine, a bit like motor oil in consistency but not too sweet. Also interesting to note that the beer sold in Norway it has a sticker on it saying 8,7% alcohol while underneath it says 4,7% alochol, can’t help but wonder if the lower alcohol level would have made it a better tasting beer, with 8,7% it feels a bit too heavy, and it leaves a slight ‘pine’ taste that I find interesting but a bit overpowering… I would give it a 7 out of 10, still an intersting beer, just would not drink too much of it.

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