Fans outraged over sale of iconic independent Byron Bay brand Stone & Wood to beer giant Lion

Fans have accused Stone & Wood of being hypocritical following its sale to beer giant Lion because of comments over the years about “independence”.

Iconic Australian beer brand Stone & Wood has announced its sale to international beer company Lion in a move that has caused major upset among many of its loyal fans.

The Byron Bay brand revealed on Thursday its parent company Fermentum had been absorbed by Lion in a deal reportedly worth a whopping $500 million.

Fermentum Group, founded by Brad Rogers, Ross Jurisich and Jamie Cook, will hand over all of its brands including Stone & Wood, Two Birds, Fixation, Little Dragon and Sunly Seltzer.

“With a pounding heart and a lump in our throat, the founding families have decided to hand the custodianship of Fermentum (and its family of businesses – including Stone & Wood) over to Lion,” a post from the Stone & Wood Facebook page read.

“As a founder of a business, from day one you know that at some point down the road you will have to hand it over to someone else.”

Fans are upset at the sale of iconic Byron Bay beer brand Stone & Wood. Picture: Facebook/Stone & Wood Brewing

The post highlighted the brand’s desire to build a new brewery and find a suitable custodian willing to continue with its “legacy, its people, its culture, its brands, and continue to drive the business while staying true to its purpose”.

According to Stone & Wood, Lion agreed to keep existing employees, continue using local suppliers, and maintain the brand’s focus on quality.

Lion was also apparently committed to Stone & Wood’s environmental and social values, and allowed it to maintain its “holistic total stakeholder approach” throughout the sale.

Additionally, it revealed existing team members had received a “good reward” from the sale by way of their ownership, and would continue to be employed under Lion.

Stone & Wood said it would be making a $5 million donation to the inGrained Foundation and a $1 million donation to Big Scrub Landcare.

Fans unhappy about the sale

There was a mixed response to the announcement online, with many accusing the formerly “proudly local and independent” brand of being hypocritical.

“Pretty f***ed given the amount of times you called out other breweries for selling out. Enjoy the paycheck and thanks for nothing. Won’t be supporting or buying from S & W again,” one person wrote in a comment.

“All your messaging over the years about staying independent seems a bit hollow now. Such a shame,” another said.

Stone & Wood announced on Thursday its sale to Lion. Picture: Facebook/Stone & Wood Brewing

Stone & Wood co-founder Jamie Cook criticised several brands in 2017 after they sold out, saying “the whole industry” suffered as a result of such transactions.

“There’s a loss of trust between drinkers wanting to engage with small independent businesses on the basis that’s who they are and that’s who they represent. For them to all of a sudden use that loyalty to cash in their chips, that breaks the trust,” Mr Cook told Brews News at the time.

Hundreds of customers were disappointed at the brand seemingly backtracking on its earlier promises to remain independent.

“Guess no more Stone & Woods for me. Independent beers or nothing. Another sad day for the industry,” one said.

“If you hadn’t of championed the ‘proudly local and independent’ cry since your inception and hadn’t ragged on others for ‘selling out’, most people would just be congratulating you guys, but this just seems like such a hypocritical move given your past history,” another wrote.