The anti-“woke” beer dude that Glenn Youngkin gave $300,000 of our money to a couple of years ago appears to be just about tapped out.
Virginia Mercury reported today that Alan Beal, the CEO of the Norfolk-based Armed Forces Brewing Company, which unceremoniously closed its doors last month, wrote in an April 4 Securities and Exchange Commission filing and in emails to investors that the company is $1.7 million in debt, and in need of a $2 million cash infusion just to make it through the end of the month.
“We plan to relocate to a city and a state that actually loves American values and is pro-business and absent of any woke mob mentality,” Beal wrote in one of his fundraising emails.
Beal, who Virginia Mercury says has already burned through $8.5 million of investors’ money, cited the same amorphous “woke mob” as the source of his troubles in announcing the shuttering of the company’s taproom in Norfolk last month.
“Unfortunately, our ability to profitably operate in Norfolk was severely affected by the local woke mob – a few individuals in the area who have no love for the traditional American values we hold as a company,” Beal wrote in a Facebook post announcing the closure.
The company never appeared to be anything more than a PR stunt aimed at gullible conservative bros.
A story in the gullible conservative bro online publication Outkick published as the company was making its big move into the Norfolk market in 2023 highlighted increased sales resulting from “Bud Light’s stupidity with Dylan Mulvaney,” referencing the generated outrage from the far right over the brief brand sponsorship deal between the nation’s #1 light beer and Mulvaney, a trans influencer with millions of followers on social media.
Beal told Outkick that sales of its beer increased six-fold in the immediate aftermath of the fake controversy.
The telling line in that story is this quote from Beal:
“Communists obviously won’t like our beer or company values, but who doesn’t want to tribute a service member?”
Apparently, enough people in the Norfolk area for this guy to stay in business.
Youngkin, the MAGA Virginia governor, used $300,000 of our state taxpayer money to lure this guy from Maryland, where it had been based.
Let’s revisit the victory-lap quote from the governor from the press release from 2023 announcing the big pick-up for the state.
“We are proud to welcome Armed Forces Brewing Company’s headquarters and first brewing facility to the Commonwealth,” Youngkin said then. “Armed Forces recognizes that Virginia’s strategic location, business-friendly climate, and strong military and veteran presence in Hampton Roads will lead to success at its new home in the City of Norfolk, and we look forward to a successful partnership.”
Youngkin has been mum on Armed Forces Brewing Company since, which is probably a good idea.
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Chris Graham
