Between 2011 and 2017, in their attempts to corner a share of the burgeoning craft beer market, AB InBev purchased ten American craft breweries. With each acquisition, craft beer drinkers and supporters of locally owned breweries, such as myself, felt a sense of dismay and disappointment. In 2019, AB InBev purchased yet another craft brewery. For me this one hit a little closer to home. Platform Brewing Company was located in my state, Ohio. Platform’s home city of Cleveland is only two hours west of where I live. To the owners of Platform, the acquisition was greeted as a harbinger of so many good things for the brand. Platform would have access to the vast resources of AB InBev, thus allowing them to build their brand, while retaining autonomy in day-to-day decision making – the best of both worlds in other words. Sadly, less than four years after acquiring Platform. AB InBev did the unthinkable – they announced the closure of their Cleveland brewery. To me this was a tremendously sad announcement, not only because of the inevitable job losses, but also because Platform had delivered so much to the Cleveland craft beer scene.
Platform Brewing Company opened its doors on July 2, 2014. The new brewery was located in Cleveland’s vibrant Ohio City neighborhood. As with many other craft breweries across the country it engaged in adaptive reuse, with the brewery moving into an abandoned space that started life in 1915 as a Czechoslovakian social hall, complete with bar and bowling alley. In an nod to the building’s history, Platform’s owners Paul Benner, Justin Carson, Shaun Yasaki and Greg Benner reclaimed as much of the building’s original floor as they could and used it for bar tops, flooring and signage. They placed a bowling machine close to the taproom’s entrance.
In addition to brewing and selling beer, Platform’s owners had a much more expansive vision for the brewery. Their desire was that it function as a small business incubator for budding home brewers who had a yearning to commercialize their hobby. Four times a year, one lucky individual got the opportunity to work as a brewer’s apprentice at Platform. From designing the recipe, to brewing the beer, and learning about the business side of running a brewery, the brewery aspired to provide a “platform” from which budding commercial brewers could learn.
Platform was also good for the Ohio City neighborhood. Darren Cross, owner of a nearby Cleveland Brew Shop, a home brewing supply store, credited Platform with being “a catalyst for getting the neighborhood going a bit”.
Within a few years of opening Platform was posting impressive growth numbers, and by 2018 was producing 27,000 barrels of beer. In addition to an ever-broadening distribution footprint, Platform opened up taprooms in both Columbus, OH and Cincinnati, OH. Such was Platform’s success, it was soon on the radar of the behemoth that is AB InBev and, in August 2019, the Belgian-based multinational corporation announced the acquisition of Ohio brewery. This was good news (right?), At least it was to one of Platform’s owners Paul Brenner. Commenting upon the acquisition, Benner had this to say:
“In speaking with the other craft brewery founders in Brewers Collective [A-B’s craft brewery arm], we know partnering with Anheuser-Busch means we will have the resources and the autonomy to bring our vision for Platform Beer Co. to life”
Furthermore, according to Benner:
“Being able to continue leading the day-to-day operations was an important factor in our decision and we have no doubt that this partnership will benefit our loyal staff and passionate customer base.”
In short, AB InBev would bring resources to the brand, while also respecting Platform’s autonomy. Surely this would ensure a bright future for the brewery; sadly, it did not.
In announcing the closure of the Cleveland brewery, AB InBev noted that it would continue to produce three beers that had been part of Platform’s portfolio. Interestingly, these are all IPAs – Haze Jude IPA, Odd Future Imperial IPA, and Canalway IPA. AB InBev did not say where these three beers would be produced. Commenting upon the closure one loyal Platform customer, David Sefcik, stated, “It’s just sad. It’s a sad thing that a big company would close something that means so much to the community”. I have to agree with Mr. Sefcik. It is sad, incredibly sad. A brewery that had once been an integral part of Cleveland’s craft beer scene being gutted by the world’s largest brewer, now reduced to three solitary beers.
So, what happened to Platform (and its beers) under AB InBev’s stewardship. In a highly insightful article published on GoodBeerHunting.com, Kate Bernot provides us with some clues. Among other things, Bernot suggests that AB InBev oversaw a decline in the sale of Platform beers in chain retail outlets such as grocery stores. In 2018, before being acquired by AB InBev, Platform produced 28,000 barrels of beer. In 2021, after the acquisition, the brewery’s production levels had dipped to 22,500 barrels. A major issue, according to Bernot, with respect to AB InBev’s oversight of Platform was “Inconsistent sales priorities and changes within ABI’s craft sales force”. One former post-acquisition Platform employee told Bernot, “Sales priorities changed at Platform pretty frequently and it was hard to get a grip on what our goals were” with the result that “sales team often struggled to maintain focus to build particular brands”.
Bernot uses some interesting language to capture AB InBev’s attitude towards Platform. Phrases such as “minor irritation”, “lost in the shuffle”, “a footnote, and left “by the wayside” indicate, to me at least, an owner who was not fit for purpose and negligent in their duty of care. It wasn’t that AB InBev were incapable of making Platform a success in the marketplace. It was quite simply that they did not seem to care enough to do so. Platform was just another brand in its a huge portfolio of 500+ brands; a brand that was both dispensable and expendable.
