Somerdale NJ’s Flying Fish Brewery and Tasting Room has officially closed after a recent bankruptcy auction, which included the brewery’s contents and brand intellectual property.
But the Flying Fish name is likely to live on as Guildford Hall Brewery from Baltimore MD purchased the brewery’s intellectual property, which includes the beers’ brand names, trademarks, packaging, website and some contracts. Their purchase price at $152,500 was the largest of the items sold.
Other big purchases were made during the auction including from several breweries, which I detail at the end of the article.
It appears that the building itself is not part of the auction, and we have no details on what will become of it.
Flying Fish has faced a series of financial problems over the past year or so. An acquisition by Cape May Brewing as early as 2023 was expected to save the brand and the Somerdale facility, but that deal fell through after a deeper review of Flying Fish’s financial situation.
At the end of 2023, Flying Fish moved into bankruptcy proceedings, which led creditors to request that the auction process take place.
Last Thursday, the same day the auction was confirmed… 42Freeway obtained the legal documents giving all the results of the auction, although I was a bit jammed over the weekend to get the story online sooner ! I last wrote about the auction on February 9thwhich was held on Tuesday the 13thth
Patch got their story online before mine… and had a chance to speak with the Guilford Hall Brewery team who said they will continue to sell Flying Fish beers to distributors throughout the East Coast. They also confirmed that they will not be operating out of the Somerdale location.
On Friday, Flying Fish shared on their Facebook Page, The Patch article that said:
Well, at least we went out with a bang last weekend. Thanks to everyone who came out. We appreciate all our customers over the years. We’re sad that we can’t continue operations as before at our Somerdale location, but it’s nice to know that the brand itself will live on.
Flying Fish Brewery – Somerdale
I stopped by last weekend, and yes it was a large and colorful crowd entertained by a local band. While there is still hope for a savior to come along at the last minute to buy the entire brewery and keep everything running, I think most have realized that this will be the last weekend for the beloved Somerdale brewery, while the People are buying cases of their favorite beer for the last time.
On Sunday Flying Fish tried to add some humor to a sad situation by creating their own Halloween Store style meme.
Coming soon… (Halloween Store in the Flying Fish Building). We’re young, but who knows what will happen to the building when its contents are moved to their new homes? Signing off this account now because it’s probably part of the IP that now belongs to the new owners. But I have to leave everyone with a giggle.
Flying Fish Auction Item
The documents for the auction results include 232 different items.
They are prepared with two separate lists; one of the registered auction participants and a second of the item auction result. I had to ditch some of my old excel “Vlookup” skills to combine the two!
The auction ranged from framed photos hanging in an office for $25, to the Flying Fish intellectual property purchased by Guilford Hall Brewery for $152,500. Guilford Hall bought 18 other auction items, but nothing else.
A Miura steam pressure packaged boiler went for $51,000 at Houston-based Cadeco Industries, and looks like a coffee processor. Case by Case Canning from Los Angeles purchased a Pro Brew Beer Can Filling Seaming Line for $48,000. The company offers canning services to breweries.
Frame Group out of Illinois was an active bidder taking 19 items for a total of $96,000. Their business model is equipment rental.
Locally, Bonesaw Brewery was an active participant in the auction purchasing 24 different items for a total of $74,525. Their larger purchases included a Muller stainless steel bright tank for $22,000, a pro chiller for $14,500 and a pair of JV Northwest Fermentation Tanks for $13,000 each.
Cape May Brewing, which last year planned to buy the entire Flying Fish Brewery… entered for seven items totaling less than $10,000. The largest item was a Pentair Gehaltemeter for $4,600.
Mount Holly’s Train Wreck Distillery got 12 items totaling $9,100 dollars. The largest item is a Grain System for $4,200.
Links and Locations
Flying Fish Brewing Co.
900 Kennedy Blvd
Somerdale, NJ 08083
Guilford Hall Brewery
Website
