A Hint of Corruption; A Snowy Owl Goes on the Endangered List

I arrived at Portland International Airport last night at 11pm, or 2am on the East Coast time to which my body is currently adjusted. I immediately deplaned, leaving my coat with the notes to brewery tours at Jack’s Abby and Sacred Profane tucked in a pocket. By the time I realized the error and returned, efficient Alaska employees had already buttoned up the gate and departed.

All of this is a preamble to today’s rare post of newsy bits—and why I’m outsourcing content today. While I wait with fingers crossed to see if the coat comes back to me, let’s chew on these items.

Shady Tree House?

The Worcester, MA Telegram and Gazette had the fascinating report on a lawsuit filed against Tree House, the golden brewery that seems immune to downward market pressure.

“One of the owners of Tree House Brewing has sued two of its founders in Superior Court, alleging lucrative real estate deals left undisclosed, forged documents and ‘excessive’ salaries. According to a civil lawsuit filed Nov. 15 in Hampden County Superior Court, Eric Granger, who owns about 2% of the shares in Tree House, alleges a pattern of behavior from Tree House’s majority owners, Nathan Lanier and Damien Goudreau, that has caused him and the brewery financial damage.”

These kinds of lawsuits are pretty common, and aren’t often newsworthy. Some of the accusations seem like more than just money-tussling, however—and hint at corruption behind Tree House’s massive success. Granger alleges that the Tree House owners hid the company’s assets, withheld tax information, and diverted assets into two holding companies. Meanwhile, the owners enjoyed a lifestyle unknown to the average brewery owner: “These salaries and bonuses, according to the lawsuit, exceeded $4 million from 2017 to 2020. And Lanier and Goudreau, according to the lawsuit, have since 2018 purchased about a half-dozen luxury cars.”

These are only allegations. Maybe Granger is just a disgruntled owner frustrated about money. Beyond potentially dubious behavior, the article shines a light on the massive wealth Lanier and Goudreau have earned off those long lines outside their taprooms. The image of a couple working class dudes in beards and tattoos doesn’t fit this picture.

Nearly every brewery I’ve encountered is transparent about their production and business, but Tree House has been notably secretive. I have no idea who their head brewer is (officially it’s Lanier) and I’ve never seen the kinds of profiles that are common with breweries like Tree House. If the company gives brewery tours to media, I’ve never seen their reporting. The way the brewery manages its public image and restricts outside reporting aren’t innately bad—mystery, clearly, has been great for business. Combined with these allegations, however, it raises serious questions in my mind. Tree House’s status and success make all of this an important story, and I’ll be watching to see how it evolves.

Schneeeule in Trouble

An article at the German beer site Hopfenhelden describes what are probably the last days of the wonderful Berlin-based Berliner Weisse brewery Schneeeule. It was always a shoestring operation and I was always worried it was going to close. But I didn’t anticipate the precipitating cause to be a bad landlord that won’t let them out of their lease. (For some reason, translation software still does a bad job with German, so I’m not quoting from the article.)

In 2019, I went to Berlin and got to meet Andreas Schnitz, the business half of the team supporting brewer Ulrike Genz. They committed themselves to revive proper Berliner weisse in Berlin and made no other styles. I was so impressed I gave Scheeeule one of the profiles I used to highlight especially important breweries in the latest edition of The Beer Bible:

Genz’s story began in 2012, while she was studying at Technischen Universität Berlin—but visiting VLB regularly. A professor at the school brought a keg of Berliner to a summer gathering. “So I tried for the first time real one of these beers, and I simply fell in love with it,” Genz said, describing the experience. “It was not that heavy in alcohol, and the next day was perfect. The taste was so nice.” At that point, the only commercial example was from Kindl, a debased version sweetened with artificial syrups—nothing like true Berliner weisse. The only way she could taste it again was to brew it herself—so that’s what she did.

There’s still some chance they can save the brewery, but it’s slim. If you are an independently wealthy investor who wants to see a small amount of money help preserve an important cultural artifact, contact them and help.