New Day Craft Merges with Fountain Square Brewery

Local mead and cider maker to join neighborhood craft brewer

On May 20, 2019 New Day Craft merged with Fountain Square Brewery. Both brands established themselves in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis, Indiana. Today, the brands ship packaged craft beers, meads, ciders, and spritzers across Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and most recently New York City. According to leadership of both, the two brands have been associated for nearly a decade. Precise terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

“We have been pouring New Day for years,” said Luke Nelson, General Manager at Fountain Square Brewery, “Their products satisfy our sophisticated, non-beer drinkers.”

New Day has a loyal niche following. At 7am on Saturday, May 11, 2019 a line began forming outside the New Day Craft tasting room along Prospect Street. At noon they released their Three-Eyed Magpie, a limited-edition specialty mead that was three years in the making, and sold out in just over an hour. Brett Canaday, COO and head mead and cider maker, said this release marks the half-way point to their release of seasonally popular, Imperial Breakfast Magpie, an espresso infused, black raspberry mead aged 14 months in bourbon barrels. Releases will stay on schedule and are likely to expand their reach. Canaday emphasized the importance of unique formulations, quality ingredients and a high level of quality control. He expressed extreme confidence in the team at Fountain Square Brewery to carry the mantle forward. The production teams at Fountain Square Brewery will begin apprenticeships under Canaday immediately.

“When Brett and I started this journey 15 years ago, our vision was to make mead of excellent quality that was approachable to a wide audience. Staying true to that ethos, New Day Craft is now a leader in our industry, with a dedicated following and a rapidly increasing footprint. We couldn’t be more excited to be combining forces with Fountain Square Brewery to take the New Day brand to its next level of achievement!” Tia Agnew, CEO, New Day Craft

Fountain Square Brewery has undergone a rebrand in the spring of 2018. The focus became “Celebrating Life’s Greatest Moments.” This nostalgic, celebratory branding beautifully compliments New Day’s forward looking “Find Your Way” tag line. The leaders indicate excitement about making new memories together.

Brad Smith, CEO at Fountain Square Brewery will lead the combination. Canaday and Agnew will begin new careers after a transition period of undefined duration. A joint celebration is planned at both tasting rooms on Friday, June 7th in conjunction with First Fridays activities.