Craft beverage producers received a boost from Congress on Friday as the body pushed through a number of minor provisions that benefit brewers and cider makers which. The new rules were rolled into the recently approved $1.1 trillion tax extender package.
It’s the question on every craft brewery owners mind: who’s next? After a record-breaking year that included 24 different craft brewery transactions (infographic included), it’s no longer a matter of if, but when a prominent craft beer company will announce some kind of sale. In the wake of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s holiday shopping spree — one that saw the company acquire Breckenridge Brewery, Four Peaks Brewing and Camden Town Brewery over the course of three business days — the rumor mill started churning once again. These days, the mill feels more like a turbine.
Another craft-focused contract brewing operation has entered the fray. Great Central Brewing Company (GCBC) broke ground on a new 32,000 sq. ft. contract brewing facility in Chicago last week. Scheduled for a summer 2016 opening, the brewery joins a growing list of craft-minded contract facilities established to help other small producers scale up, instead of focusing on their own in-house labels.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is making its third craft brewery purchase in the last five days, today announcing the acquisition of Colorado’s Breckenridge Brewery. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2016.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is on a holiday shopping spree. Days after it purchased Arizona’s Four Peaks Brewing, the world’s largest beer company today announced a prominent international craft acquisition: London’s Camden Town Brewery.
Boston Beer Company today announced that Frank Smalla, the former senior vice president of finance for Kraft Food Groups, Inc. will join the Samuel Adams-maker as senior vice president of finance on January 4, 2016. Smalla will assume the role of chief financial officer when current CFO, William Urich, steps down in 2016, the company said.
Anheuser-Busch has made its sixth craft brewery acquisition, today announcing the purchase of Four Peaks Brewing, the largest craft brewery in Arizona. Four Peaks will join a growing roster of craft brands, including Golden Road Brewing, Elysian Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing, Blue Point Brewing and Goose Island, all of which are now part of what A-B calls “The High End” business unit.
Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing is reportedly for sale. Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, said that the employee-owned brewery, the fourth-largest in the country, could be valued at more than $1 billion. The decision to explore a sale comes as sales of products like Fat Tire, the company’s flagship, and Ranger, its IPA, are waning.
Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced it would purchase Arizona’s largest craft brewery, Four Peaks Brewing. Specific terms of the transaction were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close during the first quarter of 2016. First Beverage Group acted as the financial advisor to Four Peaks and Spencer Fane provided legal counsel.
For the first time in over a decade, Dogfish Head won’t experience double-digit production volume growth, founder Sam Calagione wrote to Brewbound. In an email, Calagione explained why the company would only be up single digits in 2015: Dogfish Head’s refusal to discount product, zero new market entries and an extended search process for the company’s new vice president of sales were all reasons, Calagione said.
Yet another craft brand is revamping its look. Michigan’s Atwater Brewing today introduced a completely redesigned brand identity and a new campaign — “Born in Detroit. Raised Everywhere.” — which is aimed at setting the brewery “further apart from their competition,” the company said in a news release.
Slow growth isn’t always sexy, but it’s smart. That was the key takeaway during this month’s Brewbound Session, held on Dec. 3 in San Diego — and an idea that many of the day’s presenters honed in on as they shared advice and business lessons with nearly 250 beer industry professionals.
Founders Brewing Company is once again expanding its distribution footprint out west, inking agreements with Reyes Beverage Group and Pacific Beverage for coverage throughout Southern California. Beginning in January, the Michigan-based craft brewery will begin selling its year-round and seasonal offerings in markets like San Diego, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo.
Brewbound is pleased to announce that complete video playback from the 2015 Brewbound Session in San Diego, Calif., is now available for viewing. The entire day is now available on the Brewbound YouTube Channel; individual segments will be published in the coming days.
