Speakeasy Ales & Lagers is a

craft brewery Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

that was founded in 1997 by Steve Bruce and Forest Gray in the Hunters Point neighborhood of

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, USA. The company brands its beers with references to 1930s

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...

-era

mobsters A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from '' mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization a ...

and

organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

. ''Prohibition Ale'' (an

amber ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at that time. Diff ...

), the first beer the company produced, and ''Big Daddy IPA'' (an India Pale Ale), are two of the brewery's most popular beers. Speakeasy beer is primarily available in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, but has been distributed to over thirteen U.S. states and internationally. Speakeasy opened a tap room at the brewery in 2013, which is located at 1195 Evans Ave in San Francisco, CA, USA. On March 10, 2017, Speakeasy announced that it had ceased operations for an indefinite period after struggling financially following a 2015 expansion for which they borrowed money from Union Bank. As a result, the company was placed into court ordered

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

and the brewery owner, Forest Gray, was forced out. Two months later Speakeasy Ales & Lagers was sold to Hunters Point Brewery, a

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

owned by Ces Butner, who is a former beer distributor based in Oakland, CA.

Products

Speakeasy Ales & Lagers has produced a large variety of unique beers and are organized into distinct series. The Usual Suspects * Prohibition Ale - Gold Medal Winner at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival in the amber/red category * Big Daddy IPA * Double Daddy Imperial IPA * Payback Porter * Metropolis Lager * Scarlett Red Rye Ale * Tallulah Extra Pale Ale * Payback Coffee Porter * Blood Orange Double Daddy Imperial IPA Session Series * Baby Daddy Session IPA * Pop Gun Pilsner * Suds Session Ale The Limited Series * Black Hand Chocolate Milk Stout * Vendetta India Pale Ale * Untouchable Pale Ale * Betrayal Imperial Red Ale Infamous Series * Blind Tiger Imperial IPA * Old Godfather Barleywine * Barrel-aged Old Godfather Barleywine * Scarface Imperial Stout * Barrel-aged Scarface Imperial Stout * Fixed Fight Barrel-aged Old Ale Syndicate Series: a unique blend of vintage strong ales aged in bourbon barrels no less than twelve months. * Syndicate Series No. 01 * Syndicate Series No. 02 * Syndicate Series No. 03 * Syndicate Series No. 04

Official Website

GoodBeer.com

References

{{reflist Food and drink companies based in San Francisco Beer brewing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Manufacturing companies based in San Francisco 1997 establishments in California American companies established in 1997

Products

Official Website

See also

References