Full Sail sets sale

In case you haven’t heard, another Northwest brewery has been bought – but not by Budweiser.

Full Sail ’s employee owners voted Friday to sell the pioneering regional brewery to an Oregon-based investment group organized by a San Francisco private equity firm.

The development was reported this morning by The New School , a Portland beer website.

Founded in 1987, Full Sail became employee-owned in 1999 through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. Friday’s vote was near-unanimous, according to company officers.

The news has barely made a thud so far in the cybersphere, compared to the philosophical hand-wringing accompanying the recent A-B acquisitions of 10 Barrel and Elysian. Unlike those two, under Brewers Association guidelines, Full Sail remains a craft brewery because it isn’t controlled by a macrobrewer.

But as The New School points out, there still are concerns that the new ownership could seek to cut corners to increase profitability, and eventually sell Full Sail a larger brewing conglomerate.

Elysian’s owners have said they also considered selling to a private equity firm, but decided they’d be better off partnering with someone in the beer business.