Jane Sablich has spent three years helping run Speciation Artisan Ales’ taproom, and now she’s buying the Grand Rapids craft brewery and winery known for its wild ales and spontaneously fermented beers.
The asset sale to Sablich, Speciation’s taproom manager, is set to close April 1. Owner Mitch Ermatinger, who opened the brewery in 2017, will stay on in an advisory role.
The sale marks a rare employee succession in an industry where closures have outpaced openings for two consecutive years, with smaller craft breweries struggling to compete in a saturated market…