K2 Brothers Brewing buys Young Lion Brewing brand 

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Young Lion Brewing Company will be resurrected through K2 Brothers Brewing, who will take over brand production.

Opened in 2017 as part of the Pinnacle North development in Canandaigua, Young Lion was one of the largest breweries in the Rochester area, with a 30-barrel capacity brew house. In November, brewery owner Jen Newman announced a finalized deal to sell the brewing operation to New York City-based Other Half Brewing Company, which operates another brewery in nearby East Bloomfield.


Newman sought to keep Young Lion alive without a brewery through contracting the brand. The agreement with K2 outlines the brewery bought all the recipes and branding for Young Lion. Newman will also be hired by K2 to lead the brand, though her exact role in the organization is still being finalized.

“They have this exciting, new large facility and we had a brand that the community wanted to keep going,” Newman said. “It was just a natural fit to have production happen there.”

Earlier this month, K2 opened its third — and by far, most ambitious — location at the former Freewill Elementary School in Walworth. That brewery features a 20-barrel capacity brewhouse and sprawling fermentation capacity, which takes up the entirety of the school’s former gymnasium.

During its run in Canandaigua, Young Lion had done some contract brewing for K2. Both breweries shared a distributor in Wright Beverage. Brad Kennedy, who is cofounder of K2 alongside his brother, Kyle, said the move to purchase Young Lion was an obvious choice.

"The Young Lion Brand has had a positive and unique impact on Western and Central New York's craft beer industry,” said Kennedy. “It was a natural fit for K2 to become Young Lion's new home.”

K2 opened in 2017 on Empire Boulevard in Penfield. Since then, the brewery has been on an ambitious growth path, opening both a taproom in Buffalo and the Walworth facility. Newman described K2’s expansion as “something magical.”
Young Lion was known in the region as a producer of an array of classic American styles, including its IPA and Pilsner, as well as an eclectic mix of sour ales.

Newman said it’s a relief to keep the brand alive.

“I put a lot of love into this brand over the last seven years, and the fact that the community still wanted it to continue and the fact it has a wonderful home, it’s bittersweet,” she said. “All the puzzle pieces fell into place.”