Sierra Nevada Brewing acquires Sufferfest, San Francisco brewer of gluten-removed beers

Cans of Sufferfest's gluten-removed beers. Cans of Sufferfest's gluten-removed beers. Photo: Courtesy Of Sufferfest Photo: Courtesy Of Sufferfest Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Sierra Nevada Brewing acquires Sufferfest, San Francisco brewer of gluten-removed beers 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Sufferfest Beer Company, a San Francisco craft brewing company known for its range of gluten-removed ales and lagers, has been acquired in full by Chico's Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

The breweries announced the sale on Monday; the price was not disclosed. It is Sierra Nevada's first acquisition.

The purchase underscores the continuing popularity and growth of the emerging category of gluten-free and gluten-removed beers. The sales of such specialty beers are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent between 2018 and 2022, highlighting the notion that drinkers are increasingly making health-wise decisions in their purchasing.

Sufferfest was founded by one such drinker, Caitlin Landesberg, in 2016. Landesberg, a Bay Area native and active trail runner, sought to make a gluten-free beer that both fit her health-conscious lifestyle and didn't sacrifice flavor in favor of utility.

"I'm not a serial entrepreneur, I didn't see a gap in the market," she says. "I was just a runner who loved beer and wanted to solve a problem for my friends. It really just grew exponentially and exceeded all my expectations."

Landesberg crossed paths with Sierra Nevada by chance last fall, when she and Sierra Nevada President and CEO Jeff White were seated at the same table before they each presented at a beverage industry conference. White recalls the revelatory impact of watching Landesberg speak about her San Francisco company's health-conscious approach to making beer.

"It was one of those smack-myself-in-the-head moments," he recalls. "It was just like, gosh I wish I thought of that. It feels so right."

Citing Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman's pay-it-forward ethos, White says he made himself available to Landesberg for help.

"Here was this company, really young, energetic and positive," he says. "I thought, I've seen a lot of things, maybe I can help them, give them advice, counsel, warnings."

Landesberg had already been courting offers from prospective investors and other strategic partners, but nothing had appeared an attractive enough offer — until she met White.

"I didn't think I was going to be in this scenario and certainly not this soon," Landesberg says. "I definitely believed that Sufferfest would align with a partner at some point because of the nature of this business and the economies of scale that we face ... This wouldn't have happened with any other brand. The fact that they're family-owned and have a value base and their own North Star, I felt this was the right partner."

For his part, White is excited to expand Sierra Nevada's offerings to meet a new audience.

"What we can bring to Sufferfest (is assistance) to grow and be all that they want to be, quicker," he says.

The partnership is also notable for Sierra Nevada because it's the company's first. As White explains, the Chico brewing company had fielded many opportunities in the past to acquire or invest in other breweries, but they "just never took the swing" because the right option never materialized.

But Sufferfest demonstrated shared values and was exploring "a space that's going to explode."

"This is Sufferfest's third year," he says. "This isn't someone who saw a trend and jumped on it, this is someone who was there before it was a trend. Being real innovators and pioneers aligns with our history."

Sufferfest's employees will continue to operate in their current roles, and brewing operations will at some point in the near future move from Colorado, where they currently contract brew, to Sierra Nevada's Chico brewhouse. Landesberg will now report to White, though she is excited to have more flexibility in her position now that the company has "Sierra Nevada as the wind at our backs."

As for where Sufferfest goes next, Landesberg has big aspirations.

"We serve a community of people who care about what they put in their body," she says. "For that reason I see our beer in every fridge where you are enjoying that post-sweat, earned-your-beer occasion. That's really the vision — being the go-to beer for athletes. And now we can go to every state to find the right community at the right time."

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

