Smuttynose Brewing Company, one of the pioneers in craft brewing in the USA, will be sold at a bank auction on March 9. Smuttynose’s owner Peter Egelston, who founded the brewery in 1994 in Hampton, New Hampshire, said the company’s financial models were based on 20 years of consistent growth but the brewery had recently lost sales due to increased competition of new openings of craft beer breweries in the area and all over the US. After the last enlargement in 2014 the brewery is capable of producing 75,000 barrels (88,000 hl) a year but has only utilized half of the capacity last year.
The sale includes the facility on the historic Towle Farm in Hampton, a restaurant located next to the brewery and the Smuttynose brand. The brewery takes its distinctive name from Smuttynose Island, an island 6 miles (10 km) off the coast of New Hampshire close to the brewery’s home in Hampton.
