Two Years After Selling to Anheuser-Busch, Elysian Soldiers On

It’s been two years since AB InBev, aka Anheuser-Busch, bought Elysian Brewing. At the time, this news caused uproar. How could one of Seattle’s oldest and best-respected breweries SELL OUT? was the refrain among many craft-beer drinkers. The reverberations were felt far and wide. Many bars stopped carrying Elysian.

But Elysian soldiered on well after the outrage had died down. Two years later, the company—one of dozens of American craft breweries that were bought by much larger entities—is planning several remodels to its Seattle facilities as well as setting a course for national distribution of its beer.

We had the opportunity to talk with Elysian’s Joe Bisacca, who just signed on for another three years working for the brewery he co-founded. “I don’t know anyone who could give me as much authority and flexibility as I currently have and put up with all my shit,” he tells us. “It’s cool seeing the brand I came up with 22 years ago actually doing well.”