Through a mutually beneficial acquisition, Community Brewing Ventures will reinvigorate the beloved beer brand.
Newton, NC (September 1, 2021) — Community Brewing Ventures (CBV) has acquired Unknown Brewing. CBV will handle the day-to-day operations of the nearly decade-old brand, and the Unknown team will continue to innovate and push boundaries on beer flavors. Fans of the brewery can rejoice as popular Unknown beers such as Pregame Pilsner, Over the Edge IPA, Giggle Juice Hazy IPA will be in stores year-round, with new creations coming soon.
“CBV has its roots in the Charlotte craft beer scene, and when we heard that Unknown would be closing its doors, we realized that we were in the unique position to help do something about it,” said Aaron MJ Gore, Director of Strategic Partnerships with CBV. “Unknown is more than just a brand of beer, and we wanted to see its legacy live on. Brad will be working with us to keep the same energy and spirit that made Unknown so exciting for all of these years.”
Founded in 2020 by the owners of D9 Brewing Company and a team of investors and craft beer experts, CBV gives breweries the advantages that come with scaling while still preserving the independence, creativity, innovativeness, and passion that makes the craft beverage industry and that particular brewery special in the first place.
“It’s funny, you start a business based on your passion, but the more successful you become, the farther it takes you away from that passion,” said Brad Shell, founder of Unknown Brewing. “I no longer had time to brew, to take time and really dive deep into recipes, to spend time resourcing the rarest ingredients, and now I can.
“CBV will work on everything that was driving me mad. From logistics, supply chain, government affairs, human resources, distributors, etc. All those things pulled me away from creativity. This relationship means we get to keep coming up with crazy ideas and pushing boundaries. It means the dream doesn’t just vanish.”
Fans will be able to find Unknown beer in stores where its products are served currently, with more options to come. The CBV Brewery & Taproom in Newton will act as the new home for Unknown. Patrons can enjoy many of the quirky small-batch beers that made the brewery so beloved, as well as beers from other CBV brands such as Bay Cannon Beer Company, D9 Brewing, and Steam Theory Brewing Co.
“It’s been a tough couple of years for the craft beer industry,” said Gore. “A lot of incredibly talented breweries are facing impossible circumstances, not because they don’t make delicious beer or have dedicated fans, but because of events beyond their control. For us, being able to keep Unknown alive and growing is exactly the reason why CBV was created and why we love what we do.”
The Unknown team will work closely with the CBV brewers and hold them to the same standards of culture and craft that they perfected during almost a decade of operation. “Unknown as the taproom or a P.O. Box may be gone, but the idea of living each day in the Unknown remains,” said Shell. “To try anything and question everything and to live without boundaries is a hard culture to kill. CBV is picking up our question mark battle flag and marching forward into a new Unknown, and I’m excited about the brand’s future.”
Interested in learning more about CBV and its current partners? Click here for additional information.
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About Community Brewing Ventures
Community Brewing Ventures (CBV) is an organization focused on helping small breweries overcome the challenges that oftentimes prevent them from growing to meet the demand for their beer. By working with contract brewing partners across the Eastern US, they can bring great beer to new customers who otherwise may never have had the opportunity. Most importantly, the small breweries that CBV works with stay independent, continuing to drive the innovation and creativity that makes craft beer so special.
CBV grew out of D9 Brewing Company, one of the Southeast’s fastest-growing and most exciting breweries. Seeing the opportunity to apply the lessons that he learned through growing his own business to helping others in the industry, founder and CEO Andrew Durstewitz realized that the gap between how big a brewery can become, and how big it should become, was often insurmountable. CBV can take on the more labyrinthine elements of logistics and operations, allowing the small breweries to continue doing what they have always been so good at: creating value for the customer.