CLEVELAND, Ohio – The lifespan of Platform Beer Co. marks a fast-paced American business story: A brewery is founded, wins awards almost immediately, changes its business approach, grows very quickly, is bought out by a conglomerate – and shuts down.
All in nine years.
That tumultuous path now leaves a shell of a company: Only three brands from the scores produced over the years will remain.
“As we navigate through the changing industry and operational challenges, it has become clear that Platform’s production and commercial efforts need to be focused on three beers: Haze Jude IPA, Odd Future Imperial IPA, and our new Canalway IPA,” a Platform spokesperson said in a press release. “We are grateful to be part of the Ohio beer community and look forward to continuing to provide local beer drinkers with the IPAs they’ve come to love.”
The statement, though, does not address the brewery’s future and whether the beers will be produced in Cleveland or elsewhere.
The news serves as a stark contrast to the multitude of beers the brewery produced since its was founded in 2014 by Paul Benner and Justin Carson.
The brewery-taproom on Lorain Avenue was started as an incubator-brewing business. The initial hope was brewers would cycle through, learn about brewing as well as real estate, marketing and other business skills, then be able to go out and open their own breweries – if they wanted to. A good home brewer would gain experience on a commercial system while gaining non-brewing business knowledge.
That initial idea changed quickly. The brand was buoyed by winning a gold medal at the competitive Great American Beer Festival, an annual three-day fest and competition in Denver. The brewery won for its Black Eagle Grätzer in the historical-beer category – a victory notable both for the beer’s unique style and timing. Grätzer is an old Polish-style beer, made with oak-smoked wheat malt and is low in alcohol. It is not an average, run-of-the-mill brew. And it’s rare for a brewery to win a GABF medal only a year after opening.
The man who made that award-winning beer, Shaun Yasaki, was Platform’s initial brewer, but he left to start his own brewery, Noble Beast Brewing Co. on Lakeside.
Platform embraced cans before most craft breweries did. The brewery churned out multiple styles, added hard cider and hard seltzer to the mix, and found a success story with Haze Jude. And then the brewery expanded as fast as a bartender could pour pints of beer at an Irish pub on St. Patrick’s Day.
In 2016, Platform opened a production facility on Vega Avenue in Cleveland, a massive, cavernous building that once served as the home of the old Leisy Brewing Co. It also opened a taproom in Columbus.
It was one of the Cleveland Browns’ initial craft offerings in FirstEnergy Stadium, with the quaffable New Cleveland Palesner. (It eventually would branch out with a brand even closer to the team’s fan base, Muni Hazy Session India Pale Ale, which weighs in less than 5% alcohol.)
The brewery opened taphouses in Cincinnati and Columbus. In 2017, it announced it would open Phunkenship, a dedicated sour-production facility on Sackett Avenue in Cleveland.
The growth wasn’t just anecdotal.
Among all regional breweries in the United States – that is, those producing at least 15,000 barrels annually - Platform was No. 1 in percentage growth of barrels produced in 2017, according to the Brewers Association.
Platform also started a philanthropic program, donating $1 of beer sales on certain days to a rotation of local charities.
But the deal in 2019 with Anheuser-Busch left a sour taste with some local craft-beer consumers and overshadowed all of the brewery’s previous accomplishments and growth.
The announcement of the sale immediately sparked an outcry, with many decrying the loss of a local startup to an out-of-state company – and one that deals in macro beers.
Craft brewing’s share of the beer marketplace hovers around 13%. That means of all the beer consumed in the United States, 13% is craft and a whopping 87% is to the brands owned by a handful of conglomerates like Anheuser-Busch, Molson Coors and others.
But craft brewing saw significant growth in years before the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020. Ohio now has about 420 breweries, and its openings exceed its closings every year.
What is seen as “brand loyalty” – that is, beer buyers who might bounce from brand to brand but stay true to craft – has been a consistent hallmark of the industry. And more than a decade ago, Anheuser-Busch took notice of that loyalty.
Anheuser-Busch operates its “Brewers Collective” – a group of craft breweries it has purchased over the past several years. The initial purchase that made waves in the brewing industry was Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago in 2011, but others followed, including Blue Point Brewing Co. in Patchogue, New York; Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton, Colorado; Devils Backbone Brewing Co. in Lexington, Virginia, and several others.
Wednesday, Anheuser-Busch’s website listed 20 beverage makers – 18 breweries and two cider houses – as well as five ready-to-drink beverage companies. Platform was the only craft brewery in Ohio under the collective’s fold. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Cleveland brewery was still listed among the collective’s holdings.
After confirming the news on Wednesday, cleveland.com reached out to Platform founders Paul Benner and Justin Carson.
Anheuser-Busch’s release did not include the number of layoffs in Cleveland or the status of taprooms, and a subsequent email requesting an interview went unanswered.
“They had some very nice, talented employees who we’ve come to know over the years at Forest City Brewery,” said Jay Demagall of Forest City Brewery in Cleveland about Platform. “And we feel bad they are now unemployed.”
A statement from the Ohio Craft Brewers Association, the non-profit lobbying arm that supports and promotes the state’s craft breweries, echoed Demagall’s sentiments:
“Our hearts go out to all of the Cleveland employees impacted by the closure decision. Many craft breweries in the region and across the state are looking to add to their teams. We hope that those people affected by Platform’s closure can find work in the craft brewing industry as soon as possible.”
Several people in the brewing industry told cleveland.com that all of Platform’s employees were laid off, though the exact number has not been confirmed. In August, the brewery laid off 17 workers at its Cleveland production facility.
More info: Several breweries reached out to cleveland.com about openings on their staffs, including Royal Docks in Canton. And OCBA has a page for jobs on its site: https://ohiocraftbeer.org/jobs/.
Related coverage
Sources say Platform Beer Co. has closed operations
Platform Beer Co. releases Muni beer for Cleveland Browns fans
Acquisition allows brewery to continue innovative approach, co-founder says
Platform Beer Co. timeline of events surrounding acquisition deal
List: Craft companies owned by Anheuser-Busch
Royal Docks, Platform named among fastest-growing breweries in U.S.
Workers accuse Platform Beer Co. of unsafe conditions at Columbus taproom during pandemic
Platform Beer Co. owners issue response after Columbus taproom shutdown
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I am on cleveland.com’s life and culture team and cover food, beer, wine and sports-related topics. If you want to see my stories, here’s a directory on cleveland.com. Bill Wills of WTAM-1100 and I talk food and drink usually at 8:20 a.m. Thursday morning. Twitter: @mbona30.
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