Owner puts R.I.'s Foolproof Brewing up for sale

PAWTUCKET -- Foolproof Brewing is on the market, according to owner Nick Garrison.

"After much debate and deliberation, I've decided to seek a buyer for Foolproof Brewing Company," he said Tuesday. "There are a variety of personal and professional reasons for my decision."

Those include challenges to the beer industry with an ever-growing level of competition, he said.

"Our growth in R.I. has been great," he said. It's beyond the borders where the competition makes the business so difficult. 

People are also always looking for the next new thing and that, too, has become a challenge in the beer industry.

Personally, it's hard to walk away, he said, but "I'm pretty burned out and not getting the results I had hoped for."

An early entrant into the craft-beer scene seven years ago with Backyard IPA, Foolproof has grown over the years, to the point where they now have a capacity of 10,000 barrels a year. Garrison said that puts them in the top five producers of beer in Rhode Island.

Four years ago, Foolproof Brewing was among the first to make a collaboration beer, one with Walrus and Carpenter Oysters from Charlestown and chocolates made in Central Falls.

Garrison said the time is right to do this when it's not their busy season.

"Foolproof will continue to operate, brew, and sell beer, but we will be tightening up operations as we seek a buyer," he said.

That means limited available work during the coming months for some of his staff. He hopes other brewers will hire them.

Garrison said he hopes to find someone who wants to grow the brand or start out fresh.

Before starting Foolproof with investors, he was in the defense and aerospace industry. He isn't sure right now what he'll do after Foolproof.