Firestone Walker Brewing Company has acquired the US rights to Trumer Pils from The Gambrinus Company.
The deal will see Firestone Walker brew the pilsner at its brewery in Paso Robles in California and take on the distribution of the beer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Trumer Pils is owned by Trumer Privatbrauerei, an Austrian brewery based in Obertrum near Salzburg.
The brand’s US business was established by Gambrinus founder Carlos Alvarez, who opted to brew the beer domestically using imported European hops, malt and yeast rather than ship the beer from Europe.
Gambrinus is to begin winding down operations at the Trumer Brewery in Berkeley in California, where the beer has been brewed for the US market since 2004.
Asked if any staff are moving from the Berkeley site to the Paso Robles facility, Firestone Walker CEO Nick Firestone said: “Given the deal was just announced, together with the Gambrinus Company leadership, we are having discussions with select employees but don’t have any final update to share in that regard.”
Mr Firestone said the deal for Trumer Pils “builds on our long-time passion for the lager and pilsner style” describing the beer as “a great California beer tied to a proud European legacy”.
On where Firestone Walker saw the best opportunities to try and grow Trumer Pils’ sales, he added: “Distribution of Trumer Pils is already quite strong, beyond that it’s early days for us and our primary mission is to protect the brand where it’s strong. We do not have a grow-at-all-costs mindset for Trumer Pils. It is an elegant beer and we plan to be thoughtful about our execution.”
