21st Amendment Brewery revived in acquisition by Philadelphia beer company

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21st Amendment Brewery – a fixture of San Leandro for the past 25 years – will keep slinging suds in the Bay Area thanks to Philadelphia's Evil Genius Beer Company.

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. - 21st Amendment Brewery – a fixture of San Leandro for the past 25 years – will keep slinging suds in the Bay Area thanks to Philadelphia's Evil Genius Beer Company.

A second chance

What we know:

The Evil Genius Beer Company acquired 21st Amendment Brewery’s brand, recipes and distribution rights, opening the door for four of the company’s most popular potables – "Hell or High Watermelon," "Brew Free! or Die," "Brew Free! or Die Blood Orange," and "Amendment Lager" – to return in time for the summer.

Other recipes are scheduled to return in the coming weeks and months, and Evil Genius Beer Company advised fans to expect some new products, such as non-alcoholic versions of popular recipes, to come later in the year.

"No rebrands, no recipe changes," said Evil Genius Beer Company co-founder Luke Bowen. "We are making sure the beer people genuinely love stays in their fridges–and ours."

The backstory:

The 21st Amendment Brewery abruptly announced last September that it would be closing its doors.

One co-founder, Nico Freccia, told the San Francisco Chronicle that the decision was made partly due to the fact that sales dropped by 20% since 2021, despite the company being one of the top 50 brewers from 2016 to 2019, according to the brewers' association.