[UPDATE] Following the voluntary liquidation of West Midland-based craft bewery Backyard Brewhouse last week, its assets, brand, beer and recipes have now been bought by 52 Degrees Brewing Ltd, who currently also own Grasshopper Brewery and the Warwickshire Beer Company.
Speaking with the Express & Star, director Simon Baldwin confirmed that Backyard beer will continue. “We’re very happy that the Backyard brand and beers will continue. They have a huge following in the region and we’re happy to be able to continue that,” he said.
[ORIGINAL STORY]
Brownhills-based company Backyard Brewhouse has been placed into voluntary liquidation, blaming crippling energy costs and the current financial crisis which has made the 15-year-old business unsustainable.
A selection of ales from the Backyard Brewhouse
The craft brewery first opened in 2007 and has won multiple awards for its variety of beers and ales, which it supplied in casks and bottles to numerous pubs, shops and nightclubs.
Speaking on social media, Austen Morgan, one of Backyard Brewhouse’s original founders, issued the following statement regarding the closure.
“15 years ago myself and and good friend Mike started the Backyard Brewhouse. We started out on a 5 brewers barrel kit making about 3,500 pints a week in 2008.
By 2020 we had grown to a highly respected, multi award winning brewery producing 650,000 pints a year. Then Covid happened, and it was tough. By the end of 2021 we knew we still had a viable business but would need some help to survive.
In January 2022, the business was sold in it’s entirety to an entrepreneurial company that where new to the brewing industry. They took the business as a going concern with the desire to drive things forward. For the past 12 months I have remained with the business helping the new owners become familiar with the business, the broader trade and understanding the ins and outs of a cask ale brewery.
Sadly, the efforts of the previous 12 months have not been sufficient to get the brewery to a stable state. The hangover from Covid combined with crippling energy costs and a broader financial crisis have contributed to an unsustainable situation.”