Full Sail Brewing employees have approved the sale of the company to Oregon Craft Brewers Co., an investment group put together by San Francisco private equity firm Encore Consumer Capital.  The potential sale had been announced two weeks ago by Full Sail CEO Irene Firmat and executive brewmaster Jamie Emmerson.  The company has had an employee ownership program since 1999, which had employees holding 58 percent ownership of the company, leaving them the deciding vote on a potential sale.  Firmat says she and Emmerson have committed to stay with the company for at least a year.  She added one of the reasons this offer was attractive was Encore’s commitment to continuing Full Sail’s culture, noting the company does not already own a brewery and Full Sail will be able to stay independent, and will need the expertise of all of Full Sail’s employees.  In an e-mail, Scott Sellers of Encore Consumer Capital said Full Sail will continue to be the operating company, doing business as usual with its customers with no change to the company name.  Sellers added Full Sail’s Session brand in particular is very well positioned for future growth, with the new investment group believing growth in craft beers will be driven by sessionable beers that appeal to a broader consumer taste profile, and the Session brand will continue to be a leader in that trend.