Stone Brewing
Escondido, California, USA · Est. 1996
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Once the most aggressively independent voice in craft beer, famous for Arrogant Bastard before selling to Sapporo in 2022.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1996Founded
Stone Brewing begins brewing in Escondido, California.
- 2022Sold
Sold to Japanese giant Sapporo in 2022.
- 2026Sapporo sells to Duvel Moortgat
Sold on in 2026 by Sapporo to Duvel Moortgat and Firestone Walker, four years after the Japanese group bought it. Production moved off the Richmond site. Stone spent years as American craft's loudest opponent of selling out, and has now been sold twice.
The People
Behind the beer
Built Stone's confrontational brand identity.
The brewing half of the partnership from 1996.
The Beer Library
Beers
Arrogant Bastard Ale
Year-RoundAmerican Strong Ale
The label opens by telling the drinker they are not worthy of it. Insulting your own customer turned out to be an extraordinarily effective way to sell aggressively hopped beer in 1997.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone IPA
Year-RoundIndia Pale Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.stonebrewing.com/beer/year-round-releases/stone-ipa. Official current product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Buenaveza Lager
Year-RoundLager
California Pass 187. Aliases: Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager. Official current product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Delicious IPA
Year-RoundIndia Pale Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.stonebrewing.com/beer/year-round-releases/stone-delicious-ipa. Official current product page.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Delicious Hazy IPA
Year-RoundHazy India Pale Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.stonebrewing.com/. Current official brewery beer listing.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Delicious Double IPA
Year-RoundDouble India Pale Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.stonebrewing.com/. Current official brewery beer listing.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Delicious Tropical IPA
Year-RoundIndia Pale Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.stonebrewing.com/beer/year-round-releases/stone-delicious-tropical-ipa. Official current product page; released 2025.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Pilsner
Year-RoundPilsner
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.stonebrewing.com/. Current official brewery beer listing.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Cimmerian Portal
Year-RoundAmerican-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://cdn.worldbeercup.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/23075637/WBC26-Winners-List-2.pdf. 2026 World Beer Cup Gold; winning facility listed as Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens - Liberty Station.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Stone Lifeblood
Year-RoundAmerican-Style Brown Ale
California Pass 187. Aliases: https://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/2025-winners/. 2025 GABF Bronze; winning facility listed as Liberty Station.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →On the record
Awards
- 2026
Gold — American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout
World Beer Cup
- 2025
Bronze — American-Style Brown Ale
Great American Beer Festival
Only awards we could attribute to a named body and year appear here. An empty section means unresearched, not unawarded.
Follow the money
How it changed hands
2 recorded moves- 1996Founded
- 2022Sold
Sold to Japanese giant Sapporo in 2022.
- 2026Sapporo sells to Duvel Moortgat
Sold on in 2026 by Sapporo to Duvel Moortgat and Firestone Walker, four years after the Japanese group bought it. Production moved off the Richmond site. Stone spent years as American craft's loudest opponent of selling out, and has now been sold twice.
Today the chain tops out at Duvel Moortgat.
2 organisations
Connected suppliers & bodies
- world beer cupAwarded2026Gold — American-Style Black Ale or American-Style Stout
- great american beer festivalAwarded2025Bronze — American-Style Brown Ale
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Stone Brewing is controlled by Founder / family.
Duvel Moortgat Sustainability Report 2024 · Duvel Moortgat · 2024
BreweryMedium reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Stone Brewing
- Who owns Stone Brewing?
- Stone Brewing is owned by Duvel Moortgat. Stone Brewing is based in Escondido, California, USA.
- Is Stone Brewing still independent?
- No. Stone Brewing is owned by Duvel Moortgat and is no longer independent.
- When was Stone Brewing acquired?
- 2022. Sold to Japanese giant Sapporo in 2022.
- When was Stone Brewing founded?
- Stone Brewing was founded in 1996 in Escondido, California, USA.
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