Tag: craft-beer

Stone Brewery’ closure and Legend’s pivot: What’s next for Virginia craft beer?

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CHANGING THE CRAFT
Stone Brewery’s closure and Legend’s pivot: What’s next for Virginia craft beer? | Guest column
BILL PIKE
Jun 29, 2026

Thanks to Times-Dispatch reporters Sean Jones and Eric Kolenich for reporting about changes in Richmond’s craft brewing community.


Recently, stories about the closing of Stone’s brewery and a shift in the brewing process at Legend Brewery caught my attention.


I’ve never forgotten my first beer at Legend, nor will I forget my final beer at Stone.

Last beer at Stone (Photo Bill Pike)

In terms of square footage and brewing capacity, Legend and Stone are opposites. However, both breweries were part of the rapid expansion of craft breweries across Virginia and America.


During this unprecedented growth, it was hard to imagine that craft breweries would oversaturate and peak out. The changes at Stone and Legend are also being felt throughout America.

In their annual report, the Brewers Association noted that in 2025, “production declined amid softer beer sales nationwide.” Despite this decline, “craft beer outperformed the broader beer category, and craft beer market share edged higher.”


For craft brewers still in the game, this is good news. But what this truly means is that brewers will need to continue to find ways to maintain the integrity of their quality while keeping their loyal customers happy.

Speaking of happy, the closing of the Stone Brewery is not a happy one. Good, competent, and dedicated employees lost their jobs.

Signage outside the former Stone brewery after its closing (Photo Bill Pike)

In 2022, the large Japanese brewer Sapporo purchased Stone. Four years later, Sapporo decided to sell Stone.

This is the second time that Sapporo has bought an iconic American brewery. In 2017, Sapporo purchased Anchor Steam Brewing in San Francisco. Thanks to what some employees and industry experts called Sapporo’s poor management decisions, Anchor Steam was closed in July 2023.


Now, the former Stone Brewery will be brewing Sapporo’s lightweight beers. I hope Sapporo doesn’t have plans to purchase and destroy any more American breweries.

I’m glad that Legend has worked out an arrangement with another Richmond brewery, Hardywood, to keep brewing Legend’s best-selling beer, their Brown Ale. This is an excellent example of the quiet camaraderie found amongst brewers.


Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ve seen the end of changes in the craft brewing industry in Virginia or America.


The first brewers to set up shop in America also experienced success throughout the Northeast and Midwest. Those early brewers also developed loyal followers and welcoming halls for gatherings.

Today, some of those brewers like Miller, Coors, Budweiser and Yuengling are still around, but they’ve had their struggles, too.I’ve always admired the creativity and ingenuity of craft brewers. Their cleverness helped them to survive the pandemic.

I sense craft brewers are always thinking and working to figure out how to sustain, innovate and keep their loyal followers. Every week, craft brewers are not sitting still. Whether it’s a new beer, a collaboration with another brewer, providing local entertainment or offering hot trends in food, craft brewers keep pushing.


I’d like to know if that constantly pushing mentality could be used to help other businesses and organizations that are struggling. Could those inventive marketing strategies be applied to help declining churches rethink their outreach action plans?


Craft brewers have also been good at finding ways to give back a percentage of their sales by investing in good causes in their own backyards.


Might craft brewers be interested in expanding those community investments? In the art of brewing, lots of science is involved. Is there a way for the science of brewing to be applied to develop brewing apprenticeships or scholarships through our local community colleges and beyond?

In the same way, might our Richmond craft brewers be willing to create a series of beers that capture the goodness of Richmonders and their accomplishments? Could a portion of those sales be used to establish scholarships for students? Some bold Richmond brewer might develop — Michael Paul Williams Pulitzer Pilsner, Maggie Walker Penny Lager, Jonathan Austin Juggling IPA or Arthur Ashe Love 40 Saison.

Can craft brewers survive this downturn? I want to say yes.


But my yes is linked to their ability to understand how they became successful. This requires an exhaustive internal and external review of their strengths and areas for improvement. At the heart of that assessment lies their ability to pivot not only quickly, but with rational thinking.


In truth, I’m not a daily, weekly or monthly visitor to craft breweries. But when I do venture out, I love it when the people in those tasting rooms are a true cross-section of our communities.

For those special moments of diversity, I hope that our craft brewers survive.

Note from author: I was honored to have this op-ed piece published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The piece first appeared in the on-line edition on June 29, and it was published in print on Wednesday, July 8, 2026. The two photos included here were supplied by me. Neither appeared with the Richmond Times-Dispatch editions. Thanks, Bill Pike

Annual email: The Wind That Shakes The Barley

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For most of you, I will guess that you do not receive a weekly email from one of the local craft breweries where you live.

But here in Richmond, Virginia, I receive an email from Ardent Craft Ales every Thursday.

The email tells me about new beer releases and special events at the brewery.

Ardent is located in the Scotts Addition section of Richmond.

Over the last several years, this neighborhood has undergone a rebirth. With old commercial buildings being transformed into housing, restaurants, and breweries.

Unfortunately, adequate parking didn’t match the explosive growth.


When our church first started our Pub Theology program, Ardent Craft Ales was our most gracious host.

This time of the year, I’m hopeful to receive an Ardent email announcing the release of The Wind That Shakes The Barley.

On Thursday, February 26, 2026, the email arrived that confirmed The Wind That Shakes The Barely would be available on draft in the taproom.

This Irish oatmeal stout has become a favorite beer of mine.

Last year on the afternoon of its release, I convinced my wife to go with me to Ardent so I could have a pint. She had a glass of wine and we split an hors d’oeuvres.

This year, I missed the opening afternoon, but I was able to have our son tag along with me on Saturday afternoon.

On this last day of February that felt like a spring day, Ardent was busy. Inside the taproom, customers formed two lines. To the credit of the cashiers, the lines moved quickly.

By the time we received our stouts, most seating on the outside deck and inside the taproom were taken. But, we found a couple of chairs at a table and sat down.

A teasing pre-Spring sun came through the window, and it was a perfect afternoon to enjoy a classic Irish brew.

This year’s version of The Wind That Shakes The Barley didn’t disappoint. The brewers made a quality beer.

I don’t possess a sophisticated beer tasting palette so notes of “baker’s chocolate and caramel” don’t register with me. However, I do agree this is a “light-bodied” stout, not has heavy as some stouts might be.

So, I must confess. I love, love the name of this beer. I think The Wind That Shakes The Barley is a perfect name for a beer.


I can imagine the golden field of barley that an Irish farmer has put his heart and soul into with a gentle wind rustling through the thickly planted grain.

According to several sources, The Wind That Shakes The Barley has quite a history in Ireland.

In 2006, this was the title of a successful film about two brothers who join the Irish Republican Army to fight for Ireland’s independence from England. The plot takes an interesting twist as the brothers are on opposing sides during the Irish Civil War.

But the title of the film, actually comes from the song written by Robert Dwyer Joyce. The song is tied to the 1798 rebellion in Ireland.

Mr. Joyce wrote this Irish ballad as a poet and English professor. I listened to several recordings of the song. Each rendering captures the heartfelt passion of the history and the young man and woman portrayed in the tune.

I checked to see if barley is referenced in the Bible, and yes, it has quite a presence. I like this citing from Deuteronomy 8:8: “a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey;”

So barley has been providing for us for a long, long time.

I hope the wind will continue to shake the barley in the fields of farmers around the world.

And, I hope the brewers at Ardent Craft Ales will brew this favorite beer of mine in 2027.

In fact, I hope they never stop brewing this annual beer.

And, I hope, I’m around to enjoy another pint next year.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Photo Bill Pike)

Corporate brewers must learn that loyalty matters

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WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL


Opinion/letters


LETTER TO THE EDITOR


I’ve never been to Chippewa Falls, but I have an appreciation for the beers brewed by Leinenkugel brewers. For me in Virginia, that appreciation never would have occurred without distribution of Leinenkugel beers initially by Miller, and more recently by Molson Coors.

Truthfully, I’m not surprised by the dumping of Leinenkugel’s original brewery by Molson Coors. Big breweries are focused on two goals — surviving and earning a profit.


When big brewers figured out that the craft-beer explosion was chipping into their sales, the big guys responded by purchasing successful craft breweries.


Not all of these acquisitions were successful.


Leinenkugel loyalists might find interest in learning the story of San Francisco’s iconic Anchor Steam Brewery. A few years after being purchased by the huge Japanese brewer, Sapporo, Anchor Steam historic brewery was closed.


Unfortunately, I don’t believe this will be the end of brewery closings in America. Investors, no matter if they are vested in a craft or behemoth brewery, desire to make a profit. For Leinenkugel, I hope there is a solution.


But what I really hope is that Molson Coors executives have learned a valuable lesson from the brewery in Chippewa Falls — loyalty still matters.


Bill Pike, Richmond, Virginia


From the author: Friends, I’m honored that my letter to the editor about the closing of the Leinenkugel Brewery was published in the Sunday, January 26, 2025 edition of the Wisconsin State Journal.

Photo by Bill Pike