Brace yourselves. More hard soda is on the way. The country’s two biggest hard root beer producers — Pabst Brewing and Boston Beer Company — have simultaneously announced the national rollout of more soda-inspired ales, albeit with very different marketing messages.
Three years after launching in Arizona, Los Angeles-based Fireman’s Brew has announced a new Arizona distribution partnership with six MillerCoors distributors: Crescent Crown Distributing, Canyon Distributing, Finley Distributing, III Counties/Southern Distributing, Nackard Distributing, and Northland Distributing. Crescent Crown Distributing, which purchased the rights to the brand from Alliance Beverage Distributing, will take on the majority of the Arizona distribution.
Constellation Brands will borrow $400 million to help finance the $1 billion purchase of San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing, the company said in a statement. The cross-category beverage alcohol producer has tapped a banking syndicate that includes Bank of America Merrill Lynch, J.P Morgan Securities, Rabo Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Scotia Capital, Barclays Capital and BBVA Securities.
Sweetwater Brewing is on the move in Alabama again, this time transitioning away from Supreme Beverage, a MillerCoors wholesaler in the Northern part of the state, and into the Anheuser-Busch network. The Atlanta-based craft brewery said it has instead signed contracts with four new A-B wholesalers — Turner Beverage, Greene Beverage, Valley Budweiser and Shoals Distributing — for coverage north of Birmingham.
In an effort to improve the labeling requirements of certain gluten-free products, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed new rules on the designation for producers of fermented, distilled or hydrolyzed foods, including beer. The proposed compliance stipulations build on a 2013 ruling that defined the term “gluten-free” for voluntary use in labeling.
New Belgium Brewing is getting in on the gluten-free beer game and plans to introduce a pair of “gluten-reduced” offerings in January. Using an enzyme to break down gluten proteins, New Belgium’s new products boast the familiar “crafted to remove gluten” language on their labels. In a press statement, the company said both of its new “Glütiny” beers meet the FDA standard for “gluten-free” of 20 parts per million.
Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced that Mark Hegedus, the president of New York-based craft beer outfit Blue Point Brewing, will depart the organization at the end of the month. Hegedus has accepted a position with North American Breweries (NAB) and will take over as the president and general manager of Magic Hat Brewing in December.
It took some time, but Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) has officially entered the craft beer business, today announcing the $1 billion acquisition of San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. It’s a blockbuster transaction — the largest ever in craft — and represents an astonishing $3,500 per barrel multiple, as Ballast Point is expected to produce 290,000 barrels in 2015.
Constellation Brands is officially entering the craft beer category, and in a big way. The Corona and Modelo maker today announced it would acquire San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing for a whopping $1 Billion. “The purchase price values the acquisition multiple of the projected calendar 2016 Ballast Point EBITDA in the mid-to-high teens range,” Constellation said in a press statement.
Liquidity options are plentiful for owners of craft breweries: strategic sale, private equity, management buyout, family transfer, leveraged recapitalization. Which path should you take? Harpoon, New Belgium, Odell, Left Hand and many others walked a different path. These breweries chose to implement an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP). ESOPs can be a great exit strategy for craft brewers. Outlined below are the top five reasons why craft brewers should consider an ESOP.
After teasing broader East Coast distribution in September, Maui Brewing has officially expanded its reach throughout Florida, New York and Massachusetts, the company announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, Seattle’s Fremont Brewing is making its first significant foray outside of Washington, extending its relationship with Columbia Distributing to include Oregon, the company announced today.
After nearly two months of negotiations, extensions and industry speculation, global brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev said Wednesday that it had reached a formal agreement to acquire its largest competitor, London-based SABMiller, in deal valued at approximately $106 billion. As part of the deal, dubbed MegaBrew, and in effort to appease U.S. antitrust regulators, the Belgium-based A-B InBev will divest its interest in MillerCoors, a joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors. Molson Coors will purchase the remaining 58 percent stake of MillerCoors that it did not already own for $12 billion.
Add San Diego’s Coronado Brewing to the growing list of established regional breweries freshening up their look. Coronado, complete with a new “stay coastal” motto, is evolving both its consumer messaging and its look as the company enters its 20th year. “The packaging design for the launch of our new cans offered a great opportunity to dive deeper into our coastal story,” said Heather Dueitt, the company’s marketing managers.
After more than two years, Oregon’s Laurelwood Brewing will end its contract brewing relationship with Craft Brew Alliance and shift production to Full Sail Brewing, the company announced today. In a press statement, Laurelwood founder Mike De Kalb said he expects Full Sail, which is based in Hood River, Ore., to take over production in Spring 2016.
