Minneapolis-based Fulton Brewing has announced the acquisition of Bemidji Brewing, effective October 31, 2026. The transaction coincides with the establishment of True North Beverage, a newly formed collective designed to provide shared administrative and production resources for regional craft beverage producers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition formalizes a production partnership that began three years ago. During that period, Fulton provided excess brewing capacity to Bemidji, enabling the smaller brewery to expand its distribution footprint to Duluth, the North Shore, and the Twin Cities without the need for significant capital expenditure at its original site. Under the new corporate structure, Bemidji joins a portfolio that already includes Fulton, FINNEGANS, and N*RC Sparkling THC Waters.
True North Beverage will centralize operations such as production, sales, marketing, and distribution. Ryan Petz, CEO of Fulton and the new collective, explained that the model allows complementary businesses to share infrastructure and navigate rising production costs while maintaining their individual brand identities.
Justin Kaney, co-founder and president of Bemidji, confirmed that the merger secures a path for market expansion that would have been financially unviable as an independent entity in the current market environment. Despite the acquisition, the original Bemidji taproom, which opened in 2012, will remain operational under the guidance of its founders.
Fulton, founded in 2009, intends to utilize the True North Beverage platform as a blueprint for potential future partnerships with other established regional producers facing similar capacity, regulatory, and cost constraints.
