{"id":"TBU-ANSWER-00000048","questionId":"TQ-001","questionSlug":"who-owns","entityTuid":"TB-J7530ZF3","entitySlug":"bell-s-brewery","entityType":"brewery","question":"Who owns this brewery?","answerType":"OWNERSHIP","effectiveFrom":"2023","effectiveTo":null,"publicCitations":[{"sourceId":"src-answers-pass03-0007","whatItProves":"That Bell's Brewery, Inc. was absorbed into and merged with New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc. in 2023","accessedDate":"2026-09-07","public":true,"title":"Bell's Brewery merges with the New Belgium brand under Kirin ownership","url":"https://www.westword.com/restaurants/bells-brewery-new-belgium-kirin-12763092","publisher":"Denver Westword"},{"sourceId":"src-answers-pass03-0004","whatItProves":"New Belgium's own account of the Bell's relationship","accessedDate":"2026-09-07","public":true,"title":"NBB & Bell's Brewery","url":"https://www.newbelgium.com/company/bells/","publisher":"New Belgium Brewing"},{"sourceId":"src-answers-pass03-0003","whatItProves":"The November 2021 agreement for Lion to acquire Bell's","accessedDate":"2026-09-07","public":true,"title":"Bell's Brewery and New Belgium Brewing join forces to form a new American craft beer leader","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bells-brewery-and-new-belgium-brewing-join-forces-to-form-a-new-american-craft-beer-leader-301421356.html","publisher":"PR Newswire","publicationDate":"2021-11-10"},{"sourceId":"src-answers-pass02-0006","whatItProves":"Kirin Holdings as the top of the group","accessedDate":"2026-09-07","public":true,"title":"Kirin Holdings — group companies","url":"https://www.kirinholdings.com/en/company/group/","publisher":"Kirin Holdings Company, Limited"}],"timeline":[],"researchGaps":[{"gapType":"MERGER_FILING","description":"The Michigan LARA merger or termination filing for Bell's Brewery, Inc. has not been reviewed. Kirin's disclosure is reported as December 2023 and a Michigan industrial-facility certificate transferred in November 2023; neither is reconciled as a canonical Source, so the merger is dated at YEAR precision.","status":"OPEN"}],"uncertaintyNote":"Asking who owns Bell's Brewery, Inc. has no current answer — that company ended in 2023. Asking who owns the Bell's brewery and brand does: New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc.","relatedAnswerIds":[],"revision":2,"previousRevisionId":"TBU-ANSWER-00000048","createdAt":"2026-09-06T00:00:00Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","canonicalAnswer":"Bell's is part of New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc., within the Kirin group. Bell's former legal company, Bell's Brewery, Inc., merged into New Belgium in 2023 and no longer exists.","directOwner":"New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc.","ultimateParent":"Kirin Holdings Company, Limited","answerStatus":"PARTIALLY","verification":"VERIFIED","lastVerified":"2026-09-07","evidenceStrength":"B","howTallyKnows":"Lion agreed to buy Bell's on 10 November 2021 and the deal closed on 31 December 2021. In 2023 Bell's Brewery, Inc. was absorbed into and merged with New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc., ending its separate corporate existence; a 2026 USPTO record lists New Belgium as the current owner of a Bell's trademark. Tally answers PARTIALLY because the plain question has two different answers depending on which Bell's is meant: the brewery and the brand continue under New Belgium, and the company does not continue at all.","publicationStatus":"PUBLIC","publicationReason":"PARTIALLY + VERIFIED, all named entities resolve","entityResolution":{"resolved":[{"name":"New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc.","type":"COMPANY","id":"newbelgium","how":"exact name"},{"name":"New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc.","type":"COMPANY","id":"newbelgium","how":"exact name"},{"name":"Kirin Holdings Company, Limited","type":"COMPANY","id":"kirin","how":"exact name"}],"unresolved":[]},"claims":[{"claimId":"TBU-CLAIM-00000205","subject":{"tuid":"TB-J7530ZF3","name":"bell-s-brewery","type":"brewery"},"predicate":"OWNED_BY","object":{"name":"New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc.","type":"company","ownerType":null},"validFrom":"2023","validTo":null,"verification":"VERIFIED","evidenceStrength":"B","citationIds":["src-answers-pass03-0007","src-answers-pass03-0004"],"note":"The brewery and brand, since the 2023 absorption.","archiveClaimRef":{"brewerySlug":"bell-s-brewery","field":"companyId"}},{"claimId":"TBU-CLAIM-00000206","subject":{"id":"bells-brewery-inc","name":"Bell's Brewery, Inc.","type":"company"},"predicate":"MERGED_INTO","object":{"name":"New Belgium Brewing Company, Inc.","type":"company","ownerType":null},"validFrom":"2023","validTo":null,"verification":"VERIFIED","evidenceStrength":"B","citationIds":["src-answers-pass03-0007"],"note":"The COMPANY, not the brewery. Bell's Brewery, Inc. ceased to exist; this is a succession, not a transfer of ownership.","archiveClaimRef":null},{"claimId":"TBU-CLAIM-00000207","subject":{"tuid":"TB-J7530ZF3","name":"bell-s-brewery","type":"brewery"},"predicate":"ULTIMATELY_OWNED_BY","object":{"name":"Kirin Holdings Company, Limited","type":"company","ownerType":null},"validFrom":"2021-12-31","validTo":null,"verification":"VERIFIED","evidenceStrength":"B","citationIds":["src-answers-pass02-0006","src-answers-pass03-0003"],"note":null,"archiveClaimRef":null}],"hasInternalEvidence":false,"indexing":{"index":true,"reason":"PARTIALLY + VERIFIED with substantive content"},"canonicalRoute":"/answers/who-owns/bell-s-brewery","apiRoute":"/api/answers/who-owns/bell-s-brewery","relatedQuestions":[{"questionSlug":"is-independent","question":"Is this brewery independent?","status":"YES","answered":true,"canonicalRoute":"/answers/is-independent/bell-s-brewery","apiRoute":"/api/answers/is-independent/bell-s-brewery"},{"questionSlug":"who-founded","question":"Who founded this brewery?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"when-founded","question":"When was this brewery founded?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"lifecycle-status","question":"What is this brewery's current lifecycle status?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"operator","question":"Who operates this brewery or site?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"ultimate-owner","question":"Who ultimately owns this brewery?","status":"YES","answered":true,"canonicalRoute":"/answers/ultimate-owner/bell-s-brewery","apiRoute":"/api/answers/ultimate-owner/bell-s-brewery"}]}