Four Corners Brewing Company is independent again. After a five-year run with Constellation Brands—the parent company of Corona, Modelo, Pacífico, and wines like Meiomi, Robert Mondavi, and The Prisoner—the brewery’s founders bought it back this June, returning the Cedars-based company to its local roots.
They’ve got big plans to return Four Corners to its original spirit. But what does that mean? What does it mean for a brewery to become independent again after a big takeover, and how does that affect us as drinkers and fans?
For the average beer-loving visitor, there wasn’t anything wrong with Four Corners during its ownership by Constellation Brands. You probably only noticed a few hiccups. The brewery didn’t offer beer to go, like almost every other Dallas taproom, because Constellation’s international size exceeded the limit imposed by Texas legislators. It didn’t throw its own events, instead playing host to events by outside groups. And—if you looked closely enough—Four Corners’ beer mix wasn’t changing as quickly as it had before.
That, says co-founder and partner George Esquivel, was a sign of deeper behind-the-scenes effects of corporate ownership.
“[Pre-acquisition] we were turning stuff around in 15-16 weeks from having an idea of a beer to getting it out to market,” he explains. “And [with Constellation] it was every bit of nine months for us to get something new out the door. So to compete with brewers of our size who were cranking stuff out—we were way behind the curve.”
For visitors, that’s the main effect of re-independence: the brewery’s irreverent, part-Hispanic personality will be on display through constant experimenting with new recipes and seasonal options. Instead of waiting for layers of approval in a corporate hierarchy, or worrying about playing to a large market, the Four Corners team can try stuff for fun.
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“This becomes a means of self-expression,” Esquivel says. “We get to do more of that with a lot more of freedom. Having the band back together, thinking of stuff, saying ‘we should do it,’ and doing it with a lot more speed.”
There’s never been a physical barrier to that kind of experimentation. Four Corners’ brewery site—Esquivel calls it a “campus”—has plenty of room in its two buildings. The larger one, closed to the public, is the big production brewery that makes your at-home six pack of El Grito lager. The smaller building houses the taproom, an events space, and, right behind the taproom bar, a smaller brewhouse where the team tries its more eccentric ideas. Gesturing at it during our conversation, Esquivel says, “I’d say there’s 50-plus beers that come out of here during a year. There’s a lot of R&D that we’re doing there, and I think it’s become a little more intentional.”
The public bar’s 20 taps are often made up of about half core Four Corners classics (Chingón IPA, Local Buzz, and the gang) and about half newcomers and seasonal rotators. With the ability to make a quick batch, throw it on tap, and see how the public reacts, Four Corners is better able to measure the success of different varieties of IPA, or new lighter spritzes and fruity beers, which are more popular among younger customers.
Oh, yeah, and over to the right of the bar is the beer-to-go fridge. That’s new, too. You can grab a variety pack, seasonal releases (with snazzy white labels), or the Four Corners classics.
For Dallasites, the other big change at the taproom will be the return of Four Corners’ events. “I’m wearing my Día de los Puercos shirt right now,” Esquivel says, unzipping his fleece to prove it. “We’ll bring back Taco Cons, that sort of stuff.” After our formal interview ends, we start debating more ideas to get regulars out on the taproom’s patio.
Being part of a bigger corporation wasn’t all bad news for Four Corners. Far from it: Constellation helped the brewery invest in more production capacity and what Esquivel calls “some kick-ass packaging equipment.” (Speaking of packaging: no, the cans with 360-degree tops are not coming back. The metal manufacturer stopped making them, and even if they did make them again, Four Corners received some defective cans that blew up.)
Constellation pushed the brewery to expand to other markets with a large Latino customer base, including Los Angeles, an effort that failed during the pandemic but left capacity to spare. And, although Constellation reps used to handle distribution, they left Four Corners with a healthy network of clients and a whole lot of shelf space. Chingón wasn’t on my neighborhood grocery’s shelves until the first sale—and after the sale back, it’s still there.
“The great news is, our distributors were really excited that we have the team back and we were focused,” says Matt Waller, one of the brewery’s partners. “We know that we’re a Texas-based company and that’s where we’re going to focus on growing. And that’s enough.” Waller adds that the brewery’s goal is to climb into Texas’ top 10 craft breweries by sales, maybe eventually the top five, and carry its identity across the state. But Texas is enough now. Gone forever are Constellation’s efforts to transplant the brand elsewhere.
“I don’t see us going beyond our border anytime soon,” Esquivel says. “There’s plenty of Texas to go.”
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