New Holland Announces Distribution in Maryland; Bell’s Taps Tennessee; Alaskan Brewing Realigns in Southern California and SweetWater Changes Hands in Alabama.
J.J. Taylor Distributing, Minnesota’s largest beer wholesaler, has announced plans to acquire Day Distributing Co., an employee-owned wholesaler based in Maple Plain, Minn.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally issued guidance on menu labeling requirements for retail chain operations and small breweries are likely to take a financial hit. The new menu labeling rules require restaurants and foodservice establishments with more than 20 locations to disclose the caloric value and supplementary health criteria of beer, as well as other food and drinks, sold on-premise and will take effect on Dec. 1, 2016.
As reported earlier this week, Anheuser-Busch InBev has formally announced plans to takeover SABMiller, a transaction that would consolidate roughly one-third of the world’s beer supply under the parasol of a single manufacturer.
Oskar Blues yesterday reported strong growth through the first eight months of 2015, as the brewery continues to add capacity, expand its portfolio, and fill out its national sales footprint. Year-to-date, depletions are up 28 percent, the company said.
On Monday, the Dallas-based brewery filed a lawsuit against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), challenging the constitutionality of a state law that prohibits licensed breweries from selling beer to go from the point of production. Currently, wineries, distilleries, and even brewpub restaurants can legally sell their wares for off-premise consumption.
Anheuser-Busch InBev’s long-rumored takeover of SABMiller is underway. In a statement, the world’s largest beer company confirmed Wednesday that it had approached SABMiller, the world’s second largest beer company, about a “combination” of the two companies.
Vermont’s Farrell Distributing has struck a deal with G.Housen Inc. to acquire its entire portfolio of beverage brands in Vermont. G.housen is based in Keene, N.H., and also operates a third distributorship in Massachusetts. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed and the transaction is expected to close on October 30, the two companies said.
Even after leaving the craft beer industry more than a decade ago, Russell Heissner always imagined himself returning. Now, after three years of planning, that time has finally come.
In an effort to cut costs amid declining sales, MillerCoors will close one of its eight U.S. brewing facilities, the company announced today. MillerCoors plans to close its Eden, North Carolina location in September 2016. A transition plan is still being finalized, but MillerCoors will “gradually” begin exiting the facility in early 2016, a company spokesman told Brewbound.
What feels like the worst kept secret in craft beer industry circles was finally revealed yesterday, as MillerCoors announced it would acquire a majority stake in fast growing San Diego craft brewery, Saint Archer Brewing. Financial terms were not disclosed, but a recent Wall Street Journal valuation estimate, which pegged craft brewery multiples at $1,000 per barrel, could mean Saint Archer fetched as much as $35 million
Continuing its expansion along the East Coast, SweetWater Brewing yesterday announced new distribution agreements in New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Another California-based craft brewer has sold. Tenth and Blake, the craft and import division of MillerCoors, today announced it would acquire a majority interest in San Diego’s Saint Archer Brewing Company. The transaction is expected to close in October 2015. Financial terms were not disclosed. Saint Archer launched in 2013 and has grown rapidly in its short few years in business. It expects to sell 35,000 barrels of beer in 2015.
Executives from the nation’s largest domestic and import beer companies convened on Capitol Hill today, taking part in a day-long meeting featuring presentations and panel discussions from industry leaders, legislators and lobbyists alike. Included on the agenda were discussions of industry wide tax reform (as outlined in the bipartisan Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act), FDA menu labeling disclosures and the Beer Institute’s newly established federal “Beer PAC.”
