Woodinville's Redhook Ale Brewery Closing; A Dozen Will Lose Jobs: Report

WOODINVILLE, WA - The Redhook Ale brewery in Woodinville will close on July 1, according to a report by Brewhound, which covers the beer industry. The closure will mean the loss of about a dozen jobs, according to the report. Redhook Ale's owner, Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), plans to focus on opening a brewery in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.

CBA COO Scott Mennen told Brewhound that the company hopes to sell the brewery for about $24 million, and believes it can find a buyer quickly. The employees who are losing jobs will be offered a severance package and other benefits, Mennen said.

The new Redhook brewery on Capitol Hill will go inside the new Pike Motorworks building at the intersection of Pike Street and Boylston Avenue. The brewery will focus on the brand's existing line of brews, plus some small experimental varieties, according to the Washington Beer Blog.

The goal of the Capitol Hill brewery, CBA CEO Andy Thomas told Brewhound, is to reconnect the brand to its Seattle roots. Redhook was founded in Seattle in 1981, and opened the Woodinville facility in 1994. CBA is 32 percent owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser-Busch also owns Elysian Brewing, which has a Capitol Hill brewpub just six blocks east of where the new Redhook brewery will be.

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