Fargo Brewing Company has been acquired by Minnesota’s True North Brewing

Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum By Stephanie Dickerson Today at 12:26 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? FARGO — A familiar Fargo Brewing beer is expected to make its way back onto tap lists and liquor store shelves just in time for the holiday season. Stone's Throw Scottish Ale, one of Fargo Brewing Company's original and best-known beers, is expected to return in early to mid-December after Minneapolis-based Fulton Beer acquired the Fargo Brewing brand. ADVERTISEMENT The revival is part of a growing partnership of independent breweries under True North Beverage, a collective founded by Fulton that aims to help established regional beer brands continue growing while maintaining their identities. In a Fulton Beer blog post published Nov. 9, the company announced it had acquired the Fargo Brewing Company brand, “bringing one of North Dakota’s original craft beer favorites back to market.” The connection between Fargo Brewing and Fulton goes back more than two decades, to the college days of Fargo Brewing co-founder Aaron Hill and the founders of Fulton. “I went to college with the guys who founded Fulton,” Hill told The Forum. “They were kind of like our big brother when we started as the brewery in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, called Sand Creek. That was actually how Fulton started too; they contract brewed with Sand Creek.” Before becoming a Fargo business, Fargo Brewing Company started in 2010, brewing at Sand Creek in Wisconsin before expanding and establishing its downtown Fargo brewery and taproom at 610 N. University Drive in 2013. Hill cofounded Fargo Brewing alongside Jared Hardy, John Anderson and Chris Anderson. During its 11 years in business, Fargo Brewing became a fixture in the community, hosting street fairs, concerts and special events throughout the year. Like Fulton, Hill described Fargo Brewing as a business that prioritized its community, local customers and relationships. ADVERTISEMENT “Not chasing flashy things, but you know, kind of trying to be a staple in the community,” he said. Dave Wallis / The Forum The company's branding also promoted the city. Its name highlighted Fargo, while some of its tap handles were designed to resemble the Fargo Theatre marquee. Hill, who frequently traveled throughout the Midwest promoting the brewery, said he felt he was representing more than just a beer brand. “I would travel all over, I mean all over the Midwest, with Fargo kind of slapped all over for me, and I felt like we weren't just selling beer, you know, we were selling the community too,” he said. The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a significant blow to the business, particularly because of its reliance on keg sales to bars and restaurants. “We relied so heavily on selling kegs to bars and restaurants as well as doing our own stuff, so that whole thing just kind of smashed us in the teeth,” Hill said. Fargo Brewing never fully recovered. In April 2024, the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy before announcing its closure in November 2024. A family of independent breweries For Ryan Petz, Fulton Beer CEO and co-founder, the opportunity to bring Fargo Brewing back grew out of years of relationships within the craft beer industry. ADVERTISEMENT Fulton, founded in Minneapolis in 2009, began seriously exploring the idea of bringing together like-minded breweries about a year ago, Petz told The Forum. The concept had been discussed several years earlier, but the timing and partnerships weren't right. In December 2025, Fulton began taking a closer look at how it could work with other independent breweries to strengthen their businesses. Around that same time, Bemidji Brewing approached Fulton about an acquisition. The two companies had already maintained a production partnership for about three years. The discussions helped set the foundation for True North Beverage, which was publicly announced in August 2026. FINNEGANS, another Minnesota-based brewery, had joined the group just over two years earlier. Petz said its addition also grew out of longstanding relationships within the industry. With Fargo Brewing, Petz and Fulton reached out to former classmate and longtime brewing industry friend Hill and the other former owners during the summer to explore the possibility of reviving the brand. "It's just a cool opportunity because it meant something to people, not only the people in the business, of course, but the bars and the restaurants and people who drink the beer," Petz said. "It's a really cool opportunity for us to bring back something that people cared a lot about." The breweries each bring a different regional identity to the collective, Petz said. Fulton is best known in the Minneapolis and Twin Cities markets, Bemidji Brewing has a strong connection to its namesake community, and Fargo Brewing has an established identity in Fargo and North Dakota. ADVERTISEMENT "We're looking for those pieces that fit together and some are bigger pieces, some are smaller pieces, but they all have a purpose," he said. Petz described True North as "a family of brands" rather than an effort to bring together as many breweries as possible. "We're certainly not out there to try to save or bring up every single one, just because it's not possible," he said. Bringing back the beer The first Fargo Brewing beer to return will be Stone's Throw Scottish Ale, a 4.5% ABV beer known for its malt-forward flavor and notes of caramel, toffee, toasted bread, cocoa and honey. The beer will be brewed at Fulton's Minneapolis facility, with the original recipe being brought back with help from Hill and other former Fargo Brewing owners. Petz said recreating the brand has required some additional work because the Fargo company had been closed for two years. Original recipes were kept safe, and some historical materials were available through the former owners, but since the company's email accounts, social media and websites were deleted, they didn't have everything on hand. "It's different than acquiring a business that was ongoing to this day, because there's a lot of stuff where we're kind of picking up and recreating from what we were able to get," Petz said. ADVERTISEMENT The effort has included recreating the original can designs, with new packaging intended as an homage to the beer's earlier appearance. Contributed / True North Beverage Fulton also plans to bring back the familiar Fargo Brewing tap handles, allowing customers to recognize the brand at bars and restaurants. Petz expects Stone's Throw to return in early to mid-December, although an exact release date had not been determined as of publication. The beer will be available in cans and on draught through Fargo-area distributor Bergseth Bros. Restaurants and bars within the distributor's territory will be able to order it; customers can ask their local establishments about carrying it, and liquor stores like Happy Harry's will soon have them in stock. "I know there's been a lot of interest already, so we're really excited to have the chance to start rolling these out," Petz said. Petz identified Kenny's Lemonade, a popular summer radler, as a likely candidate for a future release. He also mentioned the brewery's Oktoberfest beer, known as O Fest, along with Wood Chipper and Iron Horse as other former favorites that could eventually return. The timing of those releases has not been determined, he said. ADVERTISEMENT A new chapter for Fargo Brewing While the Fargo Brewing brand is returning, its former downtown brewery and taproom has taken on a different identity. The building at 610 N. University Drive is now home to The Shop , a coworking space featuring several businesses, including Sign Badgers, Event Badgers and Bruno's Coffee . Hill said