Firestone Walker snaps up Stone Brewing
The Central Coast craft brewery scene got a bit hoppier on April 21 after Firestone Walker Brewing Company announced that it would be snapping up well-known brand Stone Brewing, along with four of its hospitality locations.
Firestone and its partner, Duvel Moortgat USA, acquired Stone from Sapporo USA, the top-selling Asian beer brand in the U.S. Though financial details were not disclosed, Sapporo acquired Stone in 2022 for an estimated $165 million.
Though he could not share details of the financials, Firestone CEO Nick Firestone told the Business Times that the deal is “by far the largest deal we have done.”
“Stone was founded 30 years ago, just like us, and it’s an iconic Southern California brand that has been built it into a household name and they’re strong in IPA, which is an area that we’re not strong on, so there’s really a lot of reasons why this just made good sense and why it is an amazing deal for Firestone,” he said.
The acquisition includes four Stone Brewing hospitality locations: Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens at Liberty Station in San Diego, as well as taprooms in San Diego (Little Italy), Oceanside, and Pasadena.
The Liberty Station location will continue to operate as both a hospitality destination and an active brewing facility, maintaining Stone’s physical presence in San Diego, Firestone said. It is also the largest restaurant in San Diego County.
“What we don’t want to do is go down there and rebrand it as a Firestone location. The Stone hospitality footprint will remain Stone Hospitality. That’s the heartbeat of Southern California. It’s the heartbeat of Stone, and we’re going to keep it alive,” Firestone said.
One thing that will likely change is that production of the Stone portfolio will gradually transition to Firestone Walker’s brewery in Paso Robles, alongside Duvel USA’s Boulevard brewery in Kansas City, said Firestone.
Firestone also said that, as a result, they will look to add several of Stone’s employees across the four locations when the deal closes in May, adding to its team of 400, about 250 of which are based here on the Central Coast.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of really exciting opportunities for us to collaborate, make beers together, and really highlight each other,” Firestone said. “But right now, our philosophy is to just be very thoughtful about whatever decisions are next.”
The U.S. craft beer industry is undergoing a severe decline, with many popular brands closing in recent years. Sapporo even noted that it had seen declining sales for the Stone brand in 2025.
Despite the trend, Firestone Walker is doing well.
For one, this is Firestone Walker’s second acquisition in less than a month, as a few weeks ago, it announced it had acquired the western wing of the 400-year-old Austrian brewery Trumer Pils. The company’s first acquisition came in 2021, when it acquired the Cali-Squeeze brand from SLO Brewing Company.
“We have built in Paso an extraordinary brewing facility with technology, with efficiency, with scale, and it’s a big, hungry beast, and we have to keep it fed, so that is why we will be moving the production of a big bulk of Stone’s volume into Paso,” Firestone said.
“This deal really increases our scale in Southern California, which is the biggest beer market in the country. There’s a lot of passionate beer drinkers down there and there’s a lot of fans of Firestone Walker and a lot of fans of Stone and so putting those two together just sort of increases not only our relevance, but our ability to provide fresh beer.”
Firestone said that adding that extra production will also lead to more jobs on the Central Coast.
“We are in growth mode to meet the demand and that is exciting news for the county,” Firestone said.
Sapporo USA will continue producing the Stone Brewing portfolio at its Escondido, California and Richmond, Virginia, breweries, with the company undecided on what it will do with the holdings long-term.
Arlington Capital Advisors served as the exclusive financial advisor to Sapporo USA.
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