Two Bay Area craft beer brands are joining forces: Fort Point Beer Company and HenHouse Brewing Company are merging under a single roof as Fort Point HenHouse Inc. The breweries say they will continue operating as independent brands and retain their individual portfolios of beer and cider, unique visual identities, and taproom experiences.
“The merger enables us to truly future-proof our business while doubling down on our values,” said Fort Point HenHouse CEO Justin Catalana. “Often craft breweries turn to national expansion or corporate acquisition to achieve long-term viability, but Fort Point and HenHouse have never been ones to follow existing playbooks. Through collaboration, we’re able to double our production and sales volume overnight, all while staying independent and maintaining a local focus.”
Craft merger trend
The days of the multi-million-dollar craft beer acquisitions and plans for country-wide expansions are over. And frankly, good riddance. Instead, we are seeing a lot of these smaller scale join-ventures — local, like-minded craft beer brands teaming up for the betterment of both companies. Left Hand and Dry Dock, Lord Hobo and Lone Pine. And so on. It feels like a model more befitting the indie alcohol space.
Christina Shatzen, director of marketing with Fort Point Beer, agrees with that assessment: Totally in alignment with where your head went,” she says via email. “We thought about models that worked in the past – and they just don’t make sense today. There’s a Fort Point or a HenHouse in every city, and people like their craft beer local. We don’t want to compete with hometown brands in Denver or Seattle, we really just want to be a great beer company for the Bay Area. And we actually think there’s still a lot of opportunity to grow locally, even as a mid-size craft brand.”
In 2025 Fort Point HenHouse will produce about 40,000 barrels of beer and cider, positioning it as the 5th largest craft brewery in Northern California, just behind billion-dollar corporations.
Fort Point HenHouse is proud to retain both of their teams, which are simply combining and working as one, a rarity in mergers. With their production, quality, and innovation teams working together at their joint breweries, a production facility in Santa Rosa and an R&D brewery in Petaluma, the brands’ uncompromising standards for flavor, consistency, and freshness will be higher than ever.
Fort Point and HenHouse align on values
The two breweries are also aligned in business success and general vibes. For more than a decade, Fort Point and HenHouse have outperformed craft beer trends—even in the face of industry headwinds. But they are also differentiated in key ways, so that this merger makes sense.
“We share similar values, 91% of our distribution was already the same, and our founders trust each other,” Shatzen says. “Our differences are important too, since we don’t have competing flagships, and our brands appeal to different folks. We’re really optimistic that this is the right path forward, and hope this will become an approach that helps a whole lot of beer companies thrive, their own way.”
The breweries’ five co-founders, who defined each brand’s DNA, will continue in leadership roles at Fort Point HenHouse. The Fort Point co-founders, Justin Catalana, Dina Dobkin, and Mike Schnebeck will maintain their respective roles as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Brand Officer, and Chief Financial Officer. HenHouse co-founders Collin McDonnell and Shane Goepel will assume leadership roles as Chief Sales Officer and Chief Production Officer of Fort Point HenHouse.
“We care deeply about the longevity of our business, creating a great place to work for our employees, and the importance of quality and brand,” said Dina Dobkin. “Ultimately, our shared vision is bigger than just Fort Point HenHouse. We hope to lead the way with a new craft beer playbook, and maybe even build a broader collective of craft breweries in the Bay Area in the future.”
“We’re teaming up to deepen our presence in our home market, the Bay Area. We’re not embarking on territory expansion, which is one of the many things that makes this merger unique” said Collin McDonnell, Chief Sales Officer of Fort Point HenHouse. “With Fort Point based in SF, HenHouse in Sonoma County, highly differentiated flagship beers, and diverse product portfolios, there’s a clear path to local growth. Our brands complement each other–they’re not competitive.”
Fort Point Beer history
Founded in San Francisco in 2014, Fort Point is known for beers and ciders that hit that elusive sweet spot between “interesting” and “easy to love.” Its flagship beer, KSA Kölsch Style Ale, is often regarded as the new SF classic, and this year, Fort Point introduced non-alcoholic versions of KSA and Villager, its SF Style IPA. Fort Point has two locations in San Francisco, its HQ and taproom on Valencia Street and its beer garden at the Ferry Building, both of which serve its full lineup of beer and cider, as well as a menu of classic SF dishes with a very Fort Point spin.
HenHouse history
HenHouse was founded in 2013 in Sonoma County on the belief that everyone deserves fresh, delicious beers that provide entertainment and create community. Best known for its flagship beer, Incredible Pale Ale, and its annual limited release, Big Chicken Double IPA, HenHouse has become synonymous with “freshness.” HenHouse has three taprooms across Santa Rosa, Petaluma, and Novato, each offering its expansive draft lineup, food trucks, and live music.
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