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.
DBI Beverage Company has added 1.7 million new cases to its operation in San Jose, Calif., following the official closure of M.E. Fox & Company Inc., a local competitor that, in September, announced it would sell its beverage distribution business to DBI and Anheuser-Busch InBev. In a statement, DBI Beverage said it purchased the distribution rights and related assets of M.E. Fox, including brands from 26 different suppliers. Among them, notable craft standouts include Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada, North American Breweries and Hangar 24.
At last, a brewery based in the East will expand its brewing capabilities out West. Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing said it plans to build a secondary brewing facility in the Pacific Time zone by 2017 and, although it hasn’t decided on a final location, the company has identified California as a potential landing place.
Craft Brew Alliance today released its third quarter earnings results, which were highlighted by yet another flat depletion performance. Third quarter net sales increased $2.6 million, to $54.7 million (5 percent over the comparable period in 2014), but CBA is struggling to grow beer volumes as thousands of emerging brands continue to erode the market share of larger, more established craft outfits.
Firestone Walker is expanding at home, investing upwards of $15 million to increase brewing capacity at its Paso Robles, Calif. brewing facility. In an effort to double brewing capacity and reduce what co-founder David Walker described as a “hectic” brewing schedule, Firestone Walker will integrate a new 250-barrel brewhouse into its existing production facility.
Sam Calagione’s relentless attempts to brand Dogfish Head beyond beer have put the company in front of millions of new craft beer consumers and helped make the company into one of the most successful craft breweries in the U.S. His latest, a collaborative web series with First We Feast, a food culture site owned by New York-based Complex Media, features Calagione creating beers with famous athletes, musicians and chefs.
At some point, every brand needs a facelift. Even the iconic Harpoon IPA. First introduced in 1993, Harpoon IPA hasn’t changed its look in more than 20 years, except for a few subtle tweaks back in 2009. But with new category entrants challenging the stalwart New England craft brewery’s position on retail shelves, Harpoon executives decided it was time to evolve.
Boston Beer Company today reported third quarter depletions growth of six percent and net revenues of $293.1 million, a nine percent increase over the same period last year. During an earnings call, the company credited the success of its Traveler Beer, Coney Island Root Beer and Twisted Tea brands — which offset declines from its flagship Samuel Adams brand — as the primary growth drivers in the quarter.
Meet Braxton Brewing: a family-run brewery founded in Covington, KY by two brothers, Evan and Jacob Rouse, their father, Greg Rouse, and one insanely experienced brewmaster, Richard Dubé. Brewbound followed the Braxton team to the Pacific Northwest, to document, on film, what it’s like for a group of scrappy startup brewers to be granted an all-access pass inside one of the country’s largest craft beer outfits. In episode 001 of Brewbound’s new documentary series, viewers will be introduced to the Braxton crew and get a taste of the intense, three-day learning experience awarded to winners of the Startup Brewery Challenge.
Today, Brewbound is excited to release the first glimpse of a project many months in the making: Learning Curve, an online documentary series produced in collaboration with Good Beer Hunting, showcases the entrepreneurial adventures of craft beer companies throughout the U.S.
The combination of low interest rates, explosive growth, and a surplus of buyer capital has led to a transformative time in the craft beverage alcohol industry, particularly in craft beer. As transaction advisors to the beverage alcohol industry, we’ve worked on numerous transactions over the last several years. This experience has afforded us the opportunity to understand the investment rationale of buyers as they evaluate entering, or growing, in the beverage alcohol industry. While there are many factors that are considered when making an investment in a beverage company, one common thread in all transactions is the strength of the brand.
