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.
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.
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.
Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) today named longtime board member David Lord as its next Chairman. Lord, who has served as a board member since the company was formed in 2008, will replace outgoing Chairman Kurt Widmer on January 1, 2016.
Earlier this month, Craft Brew Alliance — which produces and markets the Redhook brand, as well as the Widmer, Kona and Omission lines of craft beers — announced plans to open a new Redhook Brewery brewpub in Seattle, the brand’s birthplace.
Pabst Brewing Company has struck yet another strategic partnership, this time with the struggling Vermont Hard Cider Company, a subsidiary of C&C Group plc. The company today announced an exclusive, long-term agreement to distribute, market and sell all of Vermont Hard Cider’s domestic brands, including Woodchuck, Gumption, Wyder’s and Hornsby’s. Pabst will also gain access to Vermont’s portfolio of international cider brands from Ireland and England, including Magners and Blackthorn. Specific financial terms of the transaction — which is slated to begin on March 1, 2016 — were not disclosed, but Pabst will have an option to acquire Vermont’s U.S. cider brands and related assets.
Boston Beer’s newest creation, Rebel Raw – a hazy, 10 percent double IPA clocking in at 100 IBUs – has finally hit retail shelves. Brewed with six pounds of hops per barrel, Rebel Raw – which is packaged in 16 oz. cans and sold in four-packs — is by far the hoppiest beer Boston Beer has ever produced. It’s also unfiltered and being marketed with a 35-day shelf life to promote freshness.
A number of beer industry stakeholders gathered in front of Congress Tuesday to discuss what impact, if any, a merger of the world’s two largest beer companies would have on the U.S. beer landscape. In a prepared statement before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, A-B InBev CEO Carlos Brito shared his company’s outlook on the deal and explained how the transaction would benefit consumers and enable A-B to better compete in foreign regions.
Hard cider has always faced an uphill battle for attention, one that has required entrepreneurs in the space to convince both consumers and retailers that fermented apples should be on the menu. In recent years, cider companies have enjoyed healthy growth. But now a new competitor, hard soda, has entered the fray, and it’s got some cider makers worried about their ability to maintain their position on the shelf.
