You wake up to a flood of texts from friends and cider fans: “Is Ace Cider going out of business?” Maybe you spot a Reddit thread lighting up with all-caps panic: where’s my hard cider fix gone? The whispers get louder every time a favorite brand blinks off the shelves — and Ace, one of America’s oldest independent cideries, just made folks especially nervous.
But hang on. Before you start stockpiling bottles or swapping brand allegiances, take a breath. The story is juicier than a Honeycrisp harvest, packed with turns, a dash of business brinkmanship, and one family legacy clinging tighter than the foam on a fresh-poured pint.
Let’s set the record straight. Ace Cider, despite a dodgy couple of years and some big-league corporate turbulence, is not out of business. You’ll still find Ace ciders on shelves (maybe minus that Pumpkin seasonal, temporarily). Here’s how it went down — and why Ace is still kicking, maybe even stronger.
How Did Ace Cider Get Here? A Quick Walk Down the Aisle
For decades, Ace Cider was a garage-to-giant kind of story. Founded by Jeffery House in 1993 in Sebastopol, California, they fanned out with eye-popping flavors long before “hard cider” was a staple at every bar. Grapefruit, pineapple, guava — the line-up reads more like a juice bar menu than a beer aisle. By 2020, Ace was nudging out mass-market labels and showed up everywhere from Whole Foods to gas stations.
But business is never a straight road, and the last four years brought more drama than the average daytime soap.
Ownership Swaps: From VWE (Vintage Wine Estates) to the Budweiser Connection
Here’s where things get twisty. In 2021, Ace was bought out by Vintage Wine Estates (VWE), a publicly traded wine heavyweight. To outside eyes, this looked like a sweet deal — more resources, bigger distribution, a safety net for a small family business.
Reality? VWE soon found themselves squeezed by inflation, shipping headaches, and falling wine sales. By mid-2024, they threw in the towel and filed for bankruptcy. When this happens, companies like Ace get caught in the wildfire.
Suddenly, Ace wasn’t just another SKU in a sprawling portfolio — it was on the auction block. If you’re picturing a smokey room filled with suits wielding spreadsheets, you’re not wrong.
Jeffery House, the original founder, wanted his baby back. He and his family scrambled together a bid, hoping to buy Ace out from VWE’s bankruptcy mess. It was gutsy. It was hopeful. It almost worked.
In the end, they were outbid by a big-money player: the Lipton family, a third-generation Budweiser distributor group. They saw value (and maybe a frontier for beer-and-cider synergy). The House family lost the bid. But, in true entrepreneurial style, Jeffery House didn’t take the loss as game over.
The Return of the Founder: Jeffery House Steps In Again
Most business stories stop after a loss. Not here. Instead of licking his wounds, House approached the new owners. The Liptons, savvy to both legacy and market needs, brought him in as head manager.
This is where you see the sweet spot of small business grit. House went from founder to ex-owner to, now, management figurehead — keeping the knowledge, the partnerships, and the “soul” of the cidery in place.
You could call that a comeback. House immediately outlined his vision: protect Ace’s classic recipes, expand national reach, and keep that family-run culture, even under corporate wings. He’s aiming big — “to get Ace back to its rightful spot among the hard cider royalty,” he’s been saying to longtime staff and distributors.
Current Operations: Still Pouring at the Source (Sebastopol, CA)
Crisis mode? More like business as usual now. Ace continues to churn out their signature ciders from the original Sebastopol facility. If you road trip through Sonoma County, you can actually see the original cannery — still humming, still packing pallets destined for every corner of the U.S.
Some fans noticed their favorite flavors missing this fall, though. The ACE Pumpkin variety, a cult favorite, got paused during the ownership handoff. Why? Simple supply chain hiccups (classic in distress sales), recipe rights reviews, and a little breathing room as the new owners stabilized.
But don’t start panicking. The plan is to have all products, including Pumpkin, “back in full swing” by fall 2025, House says. All other flagship products are still in rotation, which means no nationwide outages or sudden brand collapse.
National Distribution and Product Reach: No Signs of Retreat
Step into any Safeway, Total Wine, Kroger, or quirky corner bottle shop… odds are, you’ll still find Ace on the shelves right next to the mega-brands. By most estimates, Ace holds a top-three spot in the U.S. for independent cider sales — and no distributor is dropping them.
Sure, the ownership flip was rough. Some regional distributors got nervous. But orders have kept coming. Even as VWE filed paperwork and the new management sorted warehouse messes, Ace’s sales kept humming along — evidence the foundation was strong.
For comparison, cider brands tend to fade fast with messy back-end transitions. Ace’s resilience is rare. If you’re a data nerd, look at category market share: Ace has hovered around a 5-7% share by volume for the last six years, with some flavors cracking the top 10 among all hard ciders nationally.
Why the Loyalty? A Mix of Taste, Nostalgia, and Brand Grit
Cider buyers are a picky bunch. Many remember Ace as their “first real craft cider” — before the craft beer wave hit so big. That’s not just nostalgia; it means households stock Ace by default, come rain or ownership drama.
Product lines like Pineapple and Guava are so popular that some distributors beg for more inventory, not less. Over 6,000 stores in the U.S. keep Ace in at least one flavor, based on recent retail scans.
Ask around in Sonoma County taprooms, and you’ll hear regulars say things like: “If Ace can hang on through this, they’ll be around for decades more.” That’s a street-level indicator you won’t find in boardroom slide decks.
What the Boss Says: House’s Bet on the Future
Jeffery House sums up the new chapter in practical, California fashion: “We’ve been the scrappy underdog since day one. People want Ace because it’s fun, original, and — let’s face it — built on loyalty.”
That’s not just talk. He’s pushing for Ace to return lost products (Pumpkin, limited special editions), and is rebuilding old distributor ties face-to-face. It’s relationship-driven, low-ego work most execs would delegate. But House puts in the miles, from grocery buyers’ offices to brewery festivals, because he believes reliability multiplies over time.
His stated timeline? One to two years for a “full brand comeback.” Realistic, not hype. Start small, over-deliver, and don’t let down the super-fans.
What Does This Mean for Customers? Read Between the Headlines
The fear that Ace Cider would go out of business isn’t random. Anyone who’s watched VWE’s wine brands flounder, or seen decades-old breweries vanish overnight, has reason to be anxious.
But Ace’s approach — keep production local, maintain the original staff, tap the founder’s playbook, and focus on the bestsellers first — is a model for “recovery after chaos.” It’s an old-school entrepreneurial move with a very modern twist: listen, fix, and keep moving.
If you see a missing SKU or a short-stocked shelf, treat it like a rain delay, not a doomsday sign. Every growing business stumbles, especially after a gnarly year.
The Playbook in Practice: Lessons for Any Business Operator
Business at large is full of sexy turnarounds and high-profile faceplants. Ace’s story lands somewhere in the sweet spot: a brand skids into trouble, does some quick triage, and comes out standing.
The standout lessons are refreshingly non-mythical:
- Stay close to your base. Customer loyalty, not just retail contracts, can be your floatation device.
- Legacy founders matter more than you think. They know shortcuts and where the landmines are buried.
- Keep production as local as possible. Cutting costs by moving everything elsewhere can snap the thread of identity.
- Pare down to proven winners first; expand again after you’re steady. (No shame in pausing a seasonal. It’s better than failing at everything.)
If you want a real-world breakdown of what happens when main street brands face financial storms, running a search like “small business bankruptcy” at sites like The Business Back reveals just how rocky these waters get — and the kinds of scrappy moves that pull brands through.
Ace Cider’s Path Forward: Real Talk and a Bit of Bravado
Ace isn’t in the clear forever — no business is. But as of late 2024 into 2025, all the signals point to an ongoing recovery. Production continues at home base in Sebastopol. National distribution is alive and well. The popular ciders are flowing.
Customers haven’t wavered, and the team running the show includes the original founder, which is like having the band’s lead singer back for the reunion tour. The pumpkin may return; the pineapple flows year-round. The drama was real, but so was the response.
The takeaway for you? Hold the panic, watch the company’s own updates, and grab a six-pack with confidence. Ace Cider has weathered worse and (for now) seems ready for another round. If you crave more behind-the-scenes playbooks on how small brands survive big chaos, keep an eye on the industry’s heartbeat — and, obviously, keep some cider chilling just in case.
Keep checking the company’s socials and site for product drop announcements or distribution updates — the real story keeps pouring out week after week.
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