Triton Beverage Group is building a craft platform in southeastern Massachusetts.
Less than two months after acquiring Plymouth-based Mayflower Brewing, the parent company of Hog Island Brewing has acquired Hyannis-based Cape Cod Beer, the oldest craft brewery on the Massachusetts peninsula.
“This marks a major milestone for our team as we bring together three of Massachusetts’ most respected coastal breweries under one locally-owned, independent banner,” Triton CEO Mike McNamara told Brewbound.
Todd and Beth Marcus founded Cape Cod in 2004, and will continue to run the brewery and its taproom through the end of the summer, they wrote on Facebook.
“We truly believe that this transition will provide an opportunity for Cape Cod Beer to grow and continue making a positive impact in our community,” the Marcuses wrote. “It was extremely important for us to find a partner who would honor our brand, our people, and our commitment to this place we call home. We believe we have found that in Triton.”
A “final transition” of brewery ownership to Triton is expected “sometime after Labor Day,” they added.
The Cape Cod portfolio, which the brewery had been self-distributing, has moved to the Sheehan Family Companies’ Massachusetts distributors. L. Knife & Sons will carry the brand in its home market, while Seaboard Products will sell it in Northeastern Massachusetts and Craft Massachusetts will cover Boston and the rest of the state.
Triton is “very excited” to continue Cape Cod’s line of hard seltzers (5% ABV) and sugar-based ready-to-drink seltzer cocktails (12% ABV), which launched in January, McNamara told Brewbound.
All three Triton breweries will continue to operate in their own locations, according to a press release.
Cape Cod has 12,000 barrels of annual capacity, according to its website. The brewery’s account base skews more on-premise, with about 350 bars and restaurants selling its offerings compared to 150 packaged goods stores, the company detailed on its website.
Cape Cod’s output declined 17% in 2024, to 4,146 barrels, according to the May/June issue of the Brewers Association’s (BA) New Brewer magazine. The brewery’s volume was as high as 6,242 barrels in 2016 and hit a more recent peak of 5,523 barrels in 2021, according to BA data.
Despite last year’s production decline, Cape Cod has the largest output of its Triton siblings. Mayflower produced 3,378 barrels last year, and Hog Island produced 916 barrels, according to the BA.
Massachusetts has become a hotbed for craft M&A. At the end of 2024, two of the region’s largest craft platforms – Mass. Bay Brewing and FinkestKind, the parent companies of Harpoon and Smuttynose, respectively – merged to form Barrel One Collective. The platform features several legacy New England craft brands, including Wachusett, Long Trail, Otter Creek and Catamount. Barrel One was the 13th largest craft brewery in the country by volume in 2024, according to the BA.
Weeks before that deal, Norwood-based Castle Island announced it acquired the intellectual property of Cambridge Brewing Company, which closed its brewpub after 35 years.
In November 2024, Woburn-based Lord Hobo merged with Portland, Maine-based Lone Pine Brewing. With the backing of Lord Hobo’s principal investor Valterra Partners, the merged company plans to build out a larger regional craft platform.
Framingham-based Hendler Family Brewing (HFB), parent company of Jack’s Abby Craft Lagers, acquired Worcester-based Wormtown Brewery in April 2024, followed by Everett-based Night Shift Brewing in October. The platform was the 32nd largest craft brewery in the country by volume in 2024, according to the BA.
Massachusetts was home to 228 craft breweries in 2024, which ranked it 16th in the country, according to the BA. There were 4.3 breweries for every 100,000 legal-drinking-age adults, ranking the commonwealth 25th for breweries per capita nationwide.
The Bay State’s craft brewing industry generated $1.52 billion in economic impact and produced a combined 379,774 barrels of beer in 2024, per the BA.