High Falls Brewing Company

Website

http://www.highfalls.com/

High Falls Brewing Company, located in Rochester, New York, is the fifth largest brewing company in America, and the brewers of JW Dundee's Honey Brown Lager, Michael Shea's Irish Amber, Genny Light, the Genesee Family of brands and Koch's Golden Anniversary. High Falls distributes its fine products across 41 states and Ontario, Canada.

High Falls also brews beer for other beer companies, such as the Boston Brewing Company (makers of Sam Adams beer). As much as 50% of the output of High Falls' brewery is for other firms. High Falls also distributes beer for other companies, some as far away as New Zealand, which may explain why trucks bearing the brands of other breweries (such as Coors) are sometimes seen on their premises.

High Falls Timeline ¹

2000 Genesee is reorganized as High Falls Brewing Co.
2005 High Falls starts brewing beer brands from Australia and New Zealand, the first of several foreign beers it will introduce to America.
2008 Under the direction of a new chief executive officer Norm Snyder, High Falls institutes the first public brewery tours of the 151-year-old company. Reservations can be made online.
February 21, 2009 - KPS Capital Partners Buys Brewery ²: sale of High Falls to KPS was facilitated by a sweeping agreement announced Feb. 13 that relieved High Falls of some of its financial obligations. KPS agreed to pay a $3 million federal business loan the city arranged for the brewery. The city and county, meanwhile, forgave a total of $9.8 million in back taxes and water bills, accepting $500,000 each to settle those obligations from 2007 and earlier. The city and county also agreed on amounts they would accept for 2008 and 2009. With the newly organized entity, KPS will go after a takeover of LaBlatt.
June 6, 2009 - $10 Million Investment Seeks to Return Genesee Brewery to its Glory Days ³: The parent company of High Falls Brewery is committing $10 million into the turnaround of the local brewery. It's part of a plan to return the company to the "glory days" of The Genesee Brewing Company. North American Breweries is designating the money for a variety of upgrades and repairs to the plants equipment. - High Falls begins making the transition to its original name of The Genesee Brewing Company.

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2006-05-21 13:13:06 Contract brewing saved High Falls (Genesee) and other regional breweries like Saranac (Utica Club). —TomMaszerowski

2006-08-29 21:14:03 Does anyone know if they provide tours of their brewing operation? —AdamDewitz