Goose Island Sells The Brewpub Where It All Started To Anheuser-Busch

By Emma G. Gallegos in Food on Feb 19, 2016 9:05PM

Here's the 1800 Clybourn Avenue location (Google Maps)

Five years ago Anheuser-Busch bought out Goose Island except for one thing: the brewpub where it all started on Clybourn Avenue in 1988. Today the Chicago Tribune reports that now AB InBev has purchased that from brewery founder John Hall, too.

In 2011, the company didn't have a lot of interest in the brewpub, and it was illegal for them to purchase it. But now the company sees the value. And to comply with state law the brewpub will now be classified as a "taproom." Fulton Street Brewery, the production brewery operating as Goose Island Co., will become the parent company of the Clybourn location. The terms of the deal haven't been made public.

Goose Island President and General Manager Ken Stout assured the Tribune that little will change at the Clybourn location, and the kitchen will stay open. Some of the equipment might be upgraded, which hasn't happened since the brewery opened in 1988. Clybourn and Fulton will be able to collaborate more.

He told the Tribune, "We've got to get a handle on things, but we made this purchase with full intention of continuing John's great tradition."

Related:
The Honk Heard Round The World: Goose Island One Year After The Sale