Disney in Escrow to Buy Stroh Brewery Site

Walt Disney Co. says it is in escrow to purchase the site of a closed Stroh brewery in Van Nuys, but Disney and Stroh Brewery Co. declined comment on reports that the purchase price is $33.5 million.

Alan Epstein, vice president of Disney Development Co., said the 38-acre site--a few miles west of Disney’s Burbank headquarters--would be used by Disney personnel, but he declined to elaborate.

The brewery was built in 1954 by Jos. Schlitz Co., which was acquired by Detroit-based Stroh in 1982. Stroh, citing its lagging beer sales in the West, closed the facility early last year.