Jack’s Abby to Purchase Wormtown Brewing
April 26, 2024 – Wormtown Brewery has a new buyer today, after fellow Massachusetts brewery Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers announced that it would be purchasing the Worcester-based organization.
The deal was announced in a press release published this afternoon. The brewery will be rolled up into a new organization called Hendler Family Brewing Company, named after the Jack’s Abby owners, brothers Jack, Eric, and Sam Hendler.
Jack’s Abby and its sister brand, Jack’s Beverages Co., will also fall under the new organization. The brothers started Jack’s Abby in Framingham, Massachusetts in 2011, and has grown to become the 38th biggest craft brewery in the country, according to the Brewers Association.
Wormtown was founded a year earlier by Ben Roesch, Tom Oliveri, and David Fields. They faced controversy beginning in 2021, after allegations were made highlighting the company’s toxic culture. Allegations included one of the owners coercing three female staff members into going to a strip club against their will. One Asian American employee was also targetted, with Roesch allegedly claiming he was going to brew a rice beer called “Me So Thirsty” in her honor.
The other owners of the company announced that they would be “stepping back” after the allegations surfaced. Kimberly Golinski was brought on as president of the company that year. Golinski will be leaving the organization following the merger.
Wormtown’s Worcester brewhouse will shut down, although its taprooms will stay open. Production will shift to the Jack’s Abby production facility in Framingham.