Category Archives: Brewery Purchase

A craft brewery was purchased by a non-craft entity

The outsize (emotional) impact of New Belgium going Crafty

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New Belgium Brewing Logo

Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing recently announced that it has been purchased by Lion Little World Beverages, which is the U.S. branch of the Japanese alcohol giant Kirin.  Kirin owns over a hundred beer brands worldwide, primarily in Asia and Australia.  They also own a 25% stake in Brooklyn Brewery.  They are decidedly Corporate.  The 100% stake Kirin is acquiring means that New Belgium loses its Craft status.  Indeed, it will be required to removed the Independent Craft Brewers seal from its labels.

For fans of independent craft beer, this might be the most painful Crafty buyout yet. Feels real bad. This sale went public just before Thanksgiving, but it has taken me awhile to get my head around the implications.

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Ballast Point comes back to Craft

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Travel with me if you will back to the heady days of 2015.  Game of Thrones and Modern Family ruled the airwaves.  Ballast Point was at the height of its popularity.  Their wildly popular Sculpin IPA was available almost everywhere.  Caught in the twin mid-decade beer waves of explosive growth and selling out to Corporate Beer, Ballast Point was purchased by Crafty brand aggregator Constellation Brands for an unfuckingbelievable $1,000,000,000.00.  That’s “billion” with a “b.”

Enter Kings & Convicts, an privately owned craft brewery in the North Shore of Chicago that last year brewed less than 2000 barrels of beer.  They have purchased Ballast Point (minus their new production facility).  Financial terms were not disclosed, but it’s a private sale, financed by friends, family, and bank loans, so it’s pretty clear that they paid a bit less than a billion dollars. Continue reading →

Dogfish Head sells to Boston Beer Company

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Like many fans of craft beer, Dogfish Head was the gateway drug that got me hooked on small, independent brewing. 60 Minute IPA was one of my first infatuations as a lover of craft beer. I had a downright love affair with 90 Minute. For many years, DFH was synonymous with craft beer. They were the guys pushing the envelope, changing what was possible in brewing.

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Smuttynose Brewing Company Sold at Auction

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SmuttynoseNew Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewing Company has been purchased by Runnymede Investments LLC, a private “family owned and operated” investment group that is headquartered five miles from the brewery.  The sale occurred at an auction held at the brewery, for $8.25 million.   Runnymede purchased Smuttynose from The Provident Bank, who had bough the brewery in March at a foreclosure auction. Continue reading →

Avery Brewing sells minority ownership stake to Mahou San Miguel

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Avery Logo in the Upside DownBoulder, Colorado’s Avery Brewing Company has sold a minority stake to Spain’s Mahou San Miguel.

Mahou San Miguel, which is family-owned, is the largest Spanish brewing company.  They own 45 beer brands, few of which are widely available in the U.S.  MSM already has a presence in the US craft beer market, having bought 40% of Founders in 2014.

Avery had been rapidly ramping up production in recent years, and was known to have been seeking a partner.  Their press release didn’t specify the size of the purchased stake; if it is 25% or greater, Avery will no longer be considered a Craft brewer by the Brewers Association. 

Is the crafty beer acquisition era over? No!

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I recently observed that it had been several months since the last acquisition of a craft brewery by Corporate Beer, and wondered if the era of crafty beer acquisitions was over.  A day later, AB InBev answered with a resounding “No!” by purchasing Australia’s 4 Pines Beer.

To Australian fans of craft beer, you might want to read up what’s been happening in the US craft beer market over the last five to ten years, since AB InBev seems to be using the exact same playbook in Australia that they used here.  May I suggest that you start with a reminder of why true Craft matters, and also how acquired breweries’ rationalization are largely bullshit. Continue reading →