Molson Coors Beverage Co. announces plans to close iconic brewery off the 210 Freeway in Irwindale

IRWINDALE, Calif. - Nearly 500 people will be without jobs come September after the Denver-based Molson Coors Beverage Company on Monday announced its plans to cease production at its brewery in Irwindale.

Molson Coors stated that it entered into an agreement with Pabst Brewing Co. which gives them an option to purchase the Irwindale facility, located at 15801 W. First St.

The Irwindale brewery, which brews numerous beers including Coors Light, Miller Lite and Miller High Life, is a familiar site to so many Southern California motorists on the 210 Freeway.

The brewery opened in 1980 and employs approximately 470 people. In 2019, it produced 4.8 million barrels and shipped products to 261 distributors. Other brands brewed at the facility include MGD, Steel Reserve, Miller 64 and several brands for Pabst. According to a blog post by Miller Coors, the Irwindale brewery is the company’s lowest-volume brewery in the U.S.

“This move will allow us to optimize our brewery footprint while streamlining our operations for greater efficiency across the network,” said Brian Erhardt, Molson Coors chief integrated supply chain officer. “While it was a very difficult decision, we have extra capacity in our system and Irwindale’s production can be absorbed by other breweries in our network.” 

Over the next nine months, products currently produced in Irwindale will be transitioned to other breweries, primarily in Golden, Colo., and Fort Worth, Texas.