San Francisco Business Times features Dokkaebier brewery deal

Speakeasy, Federation brewery deals shake up Bay Area beer scene

Read article at San Francisco Business Times

Federation's taproom at 420 Third St. in Oakland will soon be rebranded into Dokkaebier's first taproom and feature a selection from both brands as well as Hella Coastal — Oakland's only Black-owned brewery. For now the taproom is open and serving beers from both sides of the merger.

As part of the Dokkaebier-Federation merger, the parent company will continue producing Federation's craft beers and retain its workforce. An alternating proprietorship or "contract brewing" relationship that Federation had with Hella Coastal and another brewery, Brewing with Brothas based in East Palo Alto, will continue as part of the deal, enabling those brands to use the now Dokkaebier owned facility to produce their brews and achieve greater scale.

Dokkaebier, founded in 2020, describes itself as one of the country's fastest growing Asian breweries in the U.S., developing and releasing more than 40 craft beers distributed to more than 400 restaurants and major retailers such as BevMo!, H Mart and Whole Foods. Under the leadership of a new product strategist, Avery Glasser, the brewing company is aiming to grow its network
into thousands of stores by the end of 2023.

In its merger announcement on Thursday, Dokkaebier shared another new hire in Hayden Fulstone, co-founder of drink-mix company Liquid I.V. — acquired by Unilever in 2020 — who has joined Dokkaebier as an adviser on growth strategy.