Utah Brewers Cooperative

After operating for nearly a year without a CEO, the Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective has appointed long-time beer executive Tony Short to its top leadership post. The Fireman Capital-backed brewery consortium — whose brands include Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Perrin Brewing, Three Weavers, and Utah Brewers Cooperative (Wasatch and Squatters) — had been without a chief executive since last May, when David Pillsbury exited the company after about six months on the job. At the time, Canarchy promoted chief operating officer Matt Fraser to the role of president.

Squatters Craft Beers expands on their 30-year history of innovation with the introduction of Grandeur Peak Spiked Sparkling Water – the first offering of its kind in Utah.

After growing dollar sales 14.8 percent last year, the Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective’s double-digit growth trends are continuing in early 2019. Off-premise dollar sales of products from the Fireman Capital-backed brewery consortium — whose brands include Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Perrin Brewing, Three Weavers, and Utah Brewers Cooperative (Wasatch and Squatters) — are up more than 29 percent through February 24, according to IRI’s multi-outlet and convenience store channel.

The Mountain West Conference (MW) has announced a new multi-year partnership with Salt Lake City-based Squatters Craft Beers and Wasatch Brewery, known collectively as Utah Brewers Cooperative, which will serve as the official “Drink Responsibly” campaign sponsor for the MW.

Squatters’ number one selling brand – Hop Rising Double IPA – will wear a pink can for the entire month of October. Squatters Craft Beers has pledged to donate $0.05 for each special can sold during the campaign. New in 2018, Squatters will double down and donate a portion of proceeds from special pink-canned Full Suspension Pale Ale 12-packs.

Midway through 2018, the Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective is outpacing the overall U.S. craft beer segment. The Brewers Association (BA) reported last week that growth for small and independent U.S. brewers had “stabilized,” with production growing 5 percent through the first six months of 2018. The Fireman Capital-backed brewery consortium — whose brands include Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Deep Ellum, Perrin Brewing, Three Weavers, and Utah Brewers Cooperative (Wasatch and Squatters) — is growing faster than the category, with off-premise sales up 15.4 percent in the total U.S. multi-outlet and convenience store channel year-to-date.

Texas’ Deep Ellum Brewing was sold to Fireman Capital-backed Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective for an undisclosed sum, founder John Reardon confirmed to Brewbound. The transaction, which closed on Friday, June 8, will give Dallas-based Deep Ellum a much-needed capital infusion to finish a $3 million expansion and immediate access to increased brewing capacity at Colorado-headquartered Oskar Blues Brewing’s satellite production facility in Austin, Texas.

The Mountain West Conference announced today a new multi-year partnership with Squatters Craft Beers and Wasatch Brewery (collectively, Utah Brewers Cooperative) which will serve as the official “Drink Responsibly” campaign sponsors for the MW.

After growing two percent in 2017, Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective – a consortium of beer companies formed by Oskar Blues and Fireman Capital Partners following investments in Cigar City Brewing, Perrin Brewing and Utah Brewers Cooperative – has brought in a pair of C-level executives to “develop necessary and scalable infrastructure” within the organization.

Cigar City, a leading independent brewery based in Tampa, Fla., has agreed to sell controlling interest to Boston-based private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners, which already owns majority stakes in Oskar Blues, Perrin Brewing and the Utah Brewers Cooperative outfit that includes the Wasatch and Squatters brands. Together, the five craft breweries make up what the firm calls United Craft Brews LLC., a holding company and special purpose fund set up specifically for craft brewery acquisitions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close within the next 90 days.

Add Boston-based Fireman Capital Partners to the list of investors developing a taste for craft beer. The group, which is chaired by former Reebok owner Paul Fireman, has purchased a majority interest in Utah Brewers Cooperative. Though not quite a household name, Utah Brewers Cooperative is the result of a 2000 merger between two Utah-based… Read more »