In an effort to find a different use for spent grain — a byproduct of the beer brewing process – Anheuser-Busch InBev, via its ZX Ventures ‘global disruptive growth group,’ has backed a non-alcoholic beverage startup hoping to turn leftover malt into a drinkable product. A-B is hoping that a proprietary fermentation process, developed internally, can transform at least some of the nearly 8 billion pounds of spent grain produced across the beer industry each year into an isolate that will be used in a new line of plant-based barley beverages called “Canvas.”
Four craft breweries have shuttered in less than two weeks, the most well-known of which, Rubicon Brewing Company, had operated in Sacramento for nearly 30 years.
Constellation Brands has acquired fast-growing Florida-based craft beer producer Funky Buddha and, in the process, formed a new “High End Craft and Specialty” business group specifically tasked with overseeing the company’s present and future craft brewery purchases. Financial terms of the deal, which closed yesterday, were not disclosed. The structure is similar to Constellation’s 2015 purchase of San Diego’s Ballast Point Brewing, which was worth $1 billion, Brewbound understands. A sale price was not disclosed, but the all-cash deal is for 100 percent of the company, according to KC Sentz, who co-founded the brewery with his brother Ryan Sentz.
A group led by New Belgium Brewing Company today announced it would acquire San Francisco-based Magnolia Brewing Company as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.
In this week’s distribution roundup: Revolution Brewing expands to Michigan, Boulevard switches wholesalers in Idaho and Dovetail Brewery hits Indiana.
At the Startup Brewery Challenge in June, L.A. McCrae, the founder of North Carolina’s Black Star Line Brewing, took the stage to deliver a passionate, three-minute pitch about a brewery, for certain, but also something more. “Black Star Line Brewing Company is a grassroots, family-centered brewery launching a social movement,” McCrae said at the time.
Japan’s Sapporo Holdings Ltd. announced last Thursday that it would acquire craft brewing pioneer Anchor Brewing Company for a provisional $85 million sum. In his first interview since the deal was announced, Keith Greggor, the owner and CEO of Anchor Brewers & Distillers, the brewery’s parent company, spoke to Brewbound about the circumstances that led to the sale, the current state of craft M&A and his plans for Anchor Distilling.
Minnesota-based Cold Spring Brewing Company has been acquired by Brynwood Partners, a Connecticut-based private equity firm with existing investments in a variety of food and beverage companies. A purchase price was not disclosed and the transaction – which includes Cold Spring’s Third Street Brewhouse and Monarch Custom Beverages divisions — was finalized on August 3, Brynwood managing director Dario Margve told Brewbound.
In this week’s edition of Last Call: BrewDog vows to build a border bar; Minhas sues big beer; Yazoo Brewing offers its brewery and taproom property for sale; and more.
In an effort to democratize the alcohol industry’s data, Drizly — a technology company and mobile e-commerce platform – has launched what it calls its “data distillery.” Unveiled last week, the new data hub offers both consumers and alcohol industry professionals free insights, compiled from millions of orders in the 70 U.S. cities and 25 states where Drizly operates.
During a call with investors and analysts on Thursday, Craft Brew Alliance CEO Andy Thomas characterized the company’s second quarter results as “another win,” even though company-wide depletions dipped 2 percent amidst pressure from more than 5,500 breweries competing for an evolving consumer set that Thomas called “alien.”
