In the aftermath of his alcohol-fueled confrontation and arrest on Aug. 18, Eli LaRue has relinquished his half-ownership of Redwood Curtain Brewing Co., the business he co-founded with Drake Mollberg in 2010.
In a phone interview this morning, Mollberg said LaRue’s behavior is unacceptable.
“Eli has a drinking problem. He needs to focus on himself and his family and really work on becoming a better person.” The two men met as Oregon State University students in the 1990s, according to the HSU Lumberjack.
Mollberg said LaRue’s behavior on Aug. 18 does not reflect the values of the company or its 12 employees. “We want to be a part of this community. We want to grow this community. And we want to offer our deepest apologies to the women who were affected by this.”
Mollberg said he is writing a full apology and submitting an advertisement addressing the issue, both of which will appear in the print edition of the Journal. LaRue confirmed via email that he relinquished his share of the company to Mollberg, who will now be the sole owner. LaRue also resigned from the Arcata Planning Commission, to which he’d been appointed on Aug. 15.
This article appears in The Recyclable Journey.
Eli should just leave after he does all of the legal fines and jail. Personally I’m disgusted.
Just a couple dope growers making sub par beer
Hey! Drunk Dummy shut the fuck up. You human paraquat.
I’d say Eli would do better to clean up and try life again in another town. However, his name and reputation is stuck on the internet forever. A DUI can be forgiven granted it wasn’t malicious or deadly. But to lose control again, that’s a problem that needed intervention.
Wish ya luck Eli. Clean up. You’re 32, not 62 so you have lots of life left. Move to Ohio or something, and don’t ever do that shit again.
Hey “get a life” or should I say Eli, the truth hurts huh? Stop drinking you dope growing booze hound!
Redwood Curtain Brewing Co now has an excuse for Eli; “We brew the beer that will fuck you up!” use a t-shirt put Eli’s mug shot on the front, and the phrase on the back.
New beer idea….”Home invasion triple IPA!” ha
Full Disclosure: I’m friends with LaRue, Mollberg, and have been a longstanding supporter of RCBC since they started. I’m also no stranger to the court of public opinion and the joys of John Gabriel’s Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory (google it if you aren’t familiar). :p
If you’ve had the chance to get to know Eli, you’ll find he really does have a problem with drinking. That’s no secret. Honestly, he’s been in need of help for a while, and I hope this incident shocks him into getting the help he needs. His friends really do care about him, and as for the snarky commentators here and on the last post — love you too. 😛
Drake now has a business to run solo, a newborn kid as of last Sunday (woohoo!), and this on his plate… That’s not just a handful, that’s a f’n challenge of epic proportions.
Eli needs to get the help he needs (and the personal support as well), Drake’s lost his head brewer, and he’s got a local business with 12 employees that needs more support than ever. We’ve also got a household that doesn’t feel safe in their own homes, and all I’ve seen are attacks, criticisms, and hate… Fuck that.
Really, Arcata? I had my problems 12 years ago, got the help I needed, picked myself up and got my second chance. Arcata’s my home. I care about my friends and neighbors. I volunteer my time here. I love this place, and I understand when shit hits the fan, it really does take everyone to come out and help.
Community actually means something to me. If it doesn’t to you, seriously consider selling your house and moving to the city. I don’t think you’d be happy being my neighbor here anyway. 🙁
Arcata is the city and we all got jobs and kids waa. sober up.
“Unanonymous” is doing his best to prove the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.
Good luck to RCBC in finding a brewer. I’m sure that there’s a qualified applicant in the region.
Josh Mohland offers food for thought. There’s always a need for second chances (or, in this case it would appear, third chances). But when you’ve got two slip-ups of increasing seriousness in the same area of your life, it may be time for a little tough love from your friends and a little separation from your enablers.
There’s nothing that says tough love and forgiveness can’t go together.
There are many victims here, but one person would seem to be the main responsible party. There’s nothing that says the responsible party can’t be a victim as well.
Eli made a stupid mistake, not RCBC or Drake. Suddenly boycotting RCBC if you were already a customer is a childish reaction. Eli has left RCBC, end of story, or at least that part of the story. Local craft beer, and especially Drake right now, needs our support. So do those two women. I wish them peace and for Eli to get better.
J0sh, you should at least acknowledge that Eli’s partner had some obligation to take action and intervene with him, if only to protect his business. As it is, how do I know RCBC isn’t enabling other irresponsbile people because the owner doesn’t really care or may even have similar problems himself?
BTW, I voted for you when you ran for city council after talking with you and being impressed with your sincerity.
The saintly Not-a-Native wags his finger in righteous rebuke, and warns of further iniquitous dangers that may lurk at RCBC.
What an asshole.
People are sick and tired of drunk imbeciles destroying their homes, breaking into their houses, and cars. We’re not going to put up with any such idiots. You step one unwelcome step in my house and I’ll put a .44 caliber round right in your head.
@ Not A Native — Eli is an adult and living by his actions. I don’t expect his business partner to be babysitting him 24-7, nor should you. That would be like blaming a spouse for someones misdeeds. Don’t blame Drake for complacency if you don’t know it to be truth.
BTW, I never ran for city council.
Josh, OK since Eli is your friend, did you know about his excessive drinking?
Are you saying the truth is that Drake didn’t know about Eli’s excessive drinking?
Isn’t your finger tired from wagging it so much?
We just had a local alcoholic killed up in the Willow Creek area. I had to 86# him from the store a dozen times for drunkeness. I’ve seen people in just as bad of shape as “Adrian” get sober and change their whole life around. If this gentleman is still alive, then he still has a chance to turn things around. Some people are pre-disposed towards alcoholism. It sucks, but it’s true.
Two Joshes in this thread! 🙂
Sorry I haven’t caught up sooner, been busy at work. @Not a native — I’m the one that ran for city council. Thanks for the vote. 😀 Always happy to chat, though I’m way over politics these days and happy on the econ dev committee. More my style.
I agree with you, and I can’t speak for Drake — but I know from experience that you can intervene all you want, but it’s ultimately up to the individual to get help. That really can’t be forced.
Sucks for everyone involved, but yeah, this is about protecting the business too. Moviedad is also right, there’s always a chance to turn things around. 🙂