As Beavertown owner Logan Plant told GBH when he revealed that he would be selling a minority stake in his brewery to Heineken, “the show must go on.” And, with 44 of the 90 breweries from the original lineup pledging their continued support, Beavertown is set to press ahead with its Extravaganza beer festival this September. Breweries still involved include Northern Monk, Burning Sky, and New Zealand’s Garage Project.
Protests from other breweries came in the wake of the North London-based brewery receiving a reported £40M ($53M) investment from the Dutch brewing giant in June 2018.
[Disclosure: Good Beer Hunting is partnered with Beavertown on a series of talks, panels, and seminars at the Extravaganza.]
Beavertown’s Brand and Communications Manager Sam Millard—who's one of the lead organizers behind the Extravaganza—says Beavertown will offer refunds to ticket holders who no longer wish to attend the event. Those that still attend will be also offered a £20 refund on the original £65 ticket price to bring the price of the event in line with its reduced offering.
“We’d like to thank all ticket holders for their patience with us during this process,” Beavertown wrote in a statement today. “It was an important step that took time, but one that was necessary to assess the impact on the event and plan the next steps.”
A reported 46 breweries have informed Beavertown of their decision to pull out of the event—including Cloudwater, Jester King, and Modern Times. Additionally, Beavertown has confirmed via Twitter that it will be inviting further breweries to the event. It remains to be seen if this now-reduced offering will still have the same appeal as 2017’s event, which had a beer selection that was described as “unparalleled” by one London-based beer blogger. This year's Extravaganza is set to take place at Printworks in London’s Canada Water on Sept. 7-8.
—Matthew Curtis