Thin Man Update

After years of working to find a sustainable future for Community Beer Works, Thin Man
Brewery and Smoldered Society Beer Company, we have made the difficult decision to wind
down operations. Our current plan is for the Chandler Street Breweries Taproom to close
immediately.

There is no single event that brought us to this decision.
For several years, the business has operated at significant financial losses. Throughout that
time, ownership continued investing in the company while our team worked to find a sustainable
path forward.

The acquisition of Thin Man Brewery was part of that effort. So was bringing three beer brands
and their production together, consolidating operations, significantly reducing overhead,
rebuilding distribution, and ultimately opening the Chandler Street Breweries Taproom nine
months ago.

Chandler Street did not create the financial challenges facing the company. It represented our
largest effort to overcome them.

At the same time, the environment in which we operate has become increasingly difficult. The
craft beer category has contracted, operating costs have continued to increase, consumer
habits and discretionary spending have changed, and the business has experienced significant
challenges within its distribution network.

Despite continued investment and restructuring, we have not been able to reach a point where
the operation is financially sustainable. Continuing to fund losses at their current level is no
longer viable.

That is the financial reality behind this decision.

It is not, however, the entirety of the story of these breweries.
Community Beer Works began brewing on Buffalo’s West Side in 2012 and became part of a
generation of breweries that helped build Buffalo’s modern craft beer community.
Thin Man Brewery followed several years later, developing its own identity and reputation locally
and well beyond Western New York.

Smoldered Society Beer Company added a third distinct voice to the portfolio.
Over the years, beers produced by these teams have been distributed across multiple states
and recognized at the Great American Beer Festival, World Beer Cup and other competitions.

In 2026, even as we were confronting some of the most difficult financial circumstances in the
history of the company, Pumpkin Spice Whale earned a gold medal at the Great American Beer
Festival.

We think there is something important in that.
The quality of the beer didn’t disappear because the economics became difficult.
Neither did the talent, creativity or commitment of the people making it.
Ultimately, however, great beer and passionate people cannot by themselves make an
unsustainable business sustainable.

Thousands of people have passed through the doors of Community Beer Works and Thin Man
over the years. Hundreds of people have had some part in brewing, packaging, selling,
delivering, designing, cooking, serving and pouring these beers. Friendships were made here.
Careers started here. Collaborations happened here. People met here, celebrated here and
made these breweries part of their lives.

That is a legacy much larger than a balance sheet.

To our employees, past and present: thank you.

To our customers, distributors, retailers, bars, restaurants, collaborators, neighbors and friends:
thank you.

And to Buffalo: thank you for giving us the opportunity to make beer here for all these years.