Scottish craft beer maker Innis & Gunn today announced the $3.5 million purchase of the Perth, Scotland-based Inveralmond Brewery. Financed entirely with capital raised via the company’s crowd-funded “Innis & Gunn BeerBond” program last year, the acquisition of Inveralmond gives Innis & Gunn access to a brick & mortar brewing facility, which it lacked, as well as control of more than a dozen labels currently produced and marketed by Inveralmond.
Brewbound is excited to announce that there will be a special edition of the traveling Brew Talks meetup series on Wednesday, May 4 during the 2016 Craft Brewers Conference in Philadelphia. In partnership with Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Brewbound will host two thought-provoking panel discussions with executives from the country’s top craft breweries and a pair of retail experts. A special one-on-one conversation with Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione will also be featured.
Three years after announcing it would build a third brewery and taproom in the Los Angeles area, Firestone Walker this week said it would open its new facility in Venice, Calif. with just one hitch — it isn’t permitted to brew on-site any beer quite yet. Located in two adjacent buildings on Washington Boulevard, the so-called “Propagator” campus will function as a research and development brewery for the country’s 13th largest craft brewery.
Brown Distributing, a Florida-based beer wholesaler that sells products from more than 60 U.S. craft breweries across the entire state, is in the process of selling the rights to a variety of craft brands in some of its central and northern markets. The company, which lists beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic products from more than 130 suppliers on its website, began informing craft brewery owners of its decision to transfer their brands on Monday night.
The Brewers Association (BA) today released its annual rankings of the top 50 U.S. breweries based on 2015 sales volumes, and once again Ballast Point Brewing emerged as the biggest mover amongst the industry’s largest craft producers. Climbing 20 places from 31 on the “Top Craft Brewing Companies” list, Ballast Point is now ranked as the 11th largest U.S. craft brewery, according to the BA. Although the organization’s official production figures will not be made available until next month, the San Diego-based brewery had projected 2015 volumes to be about 290,000 barrels.
Less than three months after choosing West Sacramento, California as the site of his next brewing venture, former Knee Deep Brewing co-owner Jeremy Warren has found a home for his new company, Revision Brewing. Warren plans to open Revision’s 20-barrel brewhouse at 1000 Riverside Parkway later this summer.
Antitrust regulators in South Africa have once again requested an extension to probe Anheuser-Busch InBev’s impending $106 billion acquisition of the world’s second-largest beer company, SABMiller. The nation’s Competition Commission, which reviews potentially monopolizing transactions in South Africa, today requested a fourth 15-day extension to complete its assessment of the so-called MegaBrew merger.
Narragansett Beer CEO Mark Hellendrung, the man who resurrected the iconic 125-year old lager brand in 2005, is making good on his pledge to bring production of the beer back to Rhode Island. In an open letter to drinkers posted on his company’s website, Hellendrung wrote that ‘Gansett was “coming home” to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, about 20 minutes from where the company was founded in 1890.
A pair of former Arizona beer distributor executives today announced the launch of a new consultancy aimed at helping U.S. craft brewers and wholesalers with strategic business planning. Kimberly Clements, the former owner and CEO of Tucson-based Golden Eagle Distributors before the company was sold to competitor Hensley Beverage in January, and her former vice president of sales and marketing, Daniel Lust, have formed PINTS LLC.
Truly Spiked & Sparkling, a new hard seltzer label produced by craft beer maker Boston Beer Company, has hit liquor store shelves. The company, best known for its Samuel Adams, Angry Orchard, Twisted Tea and Coney Island brands, is expected to make a formal product announcement next Tuesday. Rollouts in 15 additional states — New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, New York, Colorado, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Kansas and Maryland — are also planned or underway, according to the brand’s Facebook page.
Sun King Brewery president and co-founder Omar Robinson will sell a portion of his stake in the business when he retires next month. Simultaneously, Sun King will also turn over minority interest to incoming president Robert Whitt, who will “buy a portion of Omar’s stock over the next few years,” co-founder Clay Robinson told Brewbound. Oregon’s Cascade Brewing, meanwhile, has appointed Tim Larrance as its new vice president of sales and marketing.
Pabst Brewing Company yesterday announced an expanded partnership with C&C Group plc to distribute and sell Pabst brands throughout the UK and Ireland. Per the agreement, C&C will act as the “exclusive distributor” of several Pabst brands, including its flagship offering, Pabst Blue Ribbon, as well as labels like Lone Star, Schlitz, Old Milwaukee and Ballantine IPA.
Columbia Distributing, one of the country’s largest beverage wholesalers with operations in Oregon, Washington and California, yesterday announced that CEO Gregg Christiansen would retire in 2018. “I’ve had a great run,” Christiansen said in a press announcement. “I’ve been fortunate to work in this industry for over 30 years. I’ve worked with very talented people and helped build many excellent brands. Most importantly, I’ve had fun doing it.”
