Aquisitions
Tilray acquires Terrapin Beer, Hop Valley, Atwater, & Revolver from Molson Coors
Tilray Brands has acquired Terrapin Beer Company, Atwater Brewery, Revolver Brewing, Hop Valley Brewing Company from 98 Coors, officially announced today.
Tilray Brands is expanding their beer and beverage portfolio again by acquiring four breweries from Molson Coors, including Terrapin Beer Company, Atwater Brewery, Revolver Brewing, and Hop Valley Brewing. This deal comes exactly a year after Tilray bought Shocktop, Breckenridge Brewing, 10 Barrel Brewing, and Blue Point Brewing among others from Anheuser-Busch.
Most notably with this deal, SweetWater Brewery and Terrapin Beer Company – both Georgia companies, will be owned by the same owner for the first time.
Financial details of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
Ecliptic Brewing sells
Ecliptic Brewing in Portland, Oregon has announced the brewery has been sold.
Ecliptic Brewing announced this week that the brewery has officially been sold, per the brewery’s owner and brewmaster John Harris.
In an Instagram announcement, the Harris stated the last two years of brewery operations have been challenging – citing the pandemic, rising cost of goods, and overall economic climate. “It has gotten to the point where we are no longer able to continue operations, and the company has been sold,” the statement reads.
“A Bigger Entity.”
Harris mentioned in the statement that the sale will allow the brewery to pay back debts with a “bigger entity” – which has now been disclosed as Great Frontier Holdings that includes Ninkasi Brewing and Wings & Arrow Beer Company.
The restaurant will be open through Saturday, November 18th.
The Ecliptic Brewing beers and production will presumably continue on through Great Frontier Holdings channels.
Ecliptic Brewing opened their “Mothership” restaurant and brewery in October of 2013. In November 2021, Ecliptic took over Base Camp Brewing’s space in southeast Portland- renaming the location “The Moon Room.”
Anheuser-Busch sells off 8 brands to Tilray
It seems like only yesterday that the beer industry would spend their days and weeks wondering who Anheuser-Busch would buy next. It all started when A-B bought Goose Island back in 2011. Fast forward to today, Bud Light is no longer the #1 selling beer in America, and Anheuser-Busch is selling off breweries they once acquired to a cannabis company.
Shock Top, Breckenridge Brewery, 10 Barrel Brewery, Redhook Brewery, Widmer Brothers Brewing, Square Mile Cider Company, Blue Point Brewery, and Hi Ball Energy have been sold to Tilray Brands Inc. in an all-cash deal that will close by the end of 2023.
Tilray also owns Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewery, Alpine Beer Company, Montauk Brewing Company, and Green Flash Brewing.
By Tilray’s estimates, this acquisition will put them as the 5th largest craft brewing company in the United States, upfront 9th. Combined, the craft brewing portfolio is worth $300 million.
According to Andy Thomas, the president of Bud’s “The High End,” the brewery’s segment of craft breweries they have purchased (Goose Island, Wicked Weed Brewing) stated in a press release that Tilray approached Bud earlier this year about acquiring these brands – which would pre-date Budweiser’s massive multi-billion dollar crash this summer after a failed marketing move with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
Ty Gilmore, the president of U.S. Beer at Tilray states this transaction will push their beer production from 4 million case equivalents to 12 million.
Tilray is headquartered in New York City, with operations in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America, with an annual revenue of $628 million dollars in 2022.
NoFo Brewing acquires Tantrum Brewing
NoFo Brewing, located just north of Atlanta, has acquired Cleveland, Georgia-based Tantrum Brewing. The deal was closed this morning.
NoFo is acquiring the brewing equipment, 10,000+ square foot building, and 5.3 acres of land owned by Tantrum, located just two miles from the base of popular North Georgia hiking spot Mount Yonah.
This is NoFo’s third location in just over three years of operation, as the brewery will open a taproom in Gainesville, Georgia this summer. This move is part of NoFo’s strategy to dominate the North Georgia market.
“North Georgia is a special place for NoFo, and we think our brand will be an excellent addition to White County and the surrounding area. We look forward to serving customers in Cleveland very soon,” says Joe Garcia, Co-Founder and CEO.
Tantrum Brewing will retain its recipes and intellectual property. NoFo will not be brewing or maintaining any of Tantrum’s current lineup.
MORE: FULL CIRCLE BREWING ACQUIRES SPEAKEASY
The Cleveland facility has a 30-barrel brewhouse which NoFo expects to have online by June. The sale will be complete on May 15th and will start re-branding the facility immediately. A distillery will be added to the site sometime this year as well.
NoFo tells Beer Street Journal that their annual capacity will hover around 4,000 barrels annually after this purchase in 2023, only distributing in Georgia through Modern Hops.
The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. NoFo Brewing Cleveland will be located at 1939 Helen Highway, Cleveland, Georgia.
Full Circle Brewing Acquires Speakeasy Ales & Lagers
Full Circle Brewing has merged with San Francisco-based Speakeasy Ales and Lagers. Together the two, along with Sonoma Cider Full Circle acquired in 2020, combine to be the largest and most distributed black-owned brewery in the United States.
In 2017, Speakeasy Ales & Lagers ceased operations citing “outstanding debt & difficulty securing capital investment.” By May of that year, Speakeasy announced a sale to Hunters Point Brewery, a company founded by former beverage distributor Ces Butner.
Butner will remain on the advisory board going forward as the brands grow together. “I am excited for the passing of the baton to the next generation of Black Entrepreneurs in the craft beer space. I will continue to sit on the advisory board, and look forward to seeing the Speakeasy brand grow and evolve,” Butner says.
All three brands will be run under the leadership of Full Circle Brewing’s CEO Arthur Moye. Altogether, the group has an annual production capacity of 20,000 barrels annually.
“We are excited to apply what we learned from revitalizing Full Circle and increasing sales by 5,000%, to San Francisco’s longest running Independent Brewery. We plan to breathe new life into current brands, and expand its range of products”
Arthur Moye, Full Circle CEO
The three entities will continue distribution through their current networks. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Monster acquires CANarchy, which includes Cigar City & Oskar Blues
If you think the beer industry has cycled through every weird style trend or odd business acquisition, think again. Monster Beverage Corp, makers of Monster Energy Drinks has acquired CANarchy, the craft beer collective. CANarchy includes Oskar Blues, Cigar City Brewing, Perrin Brewing, Deep Ellum, and Squatters and Wasatch Brewing.
It had been heavily rumored that Monster Beverage had intended to enter the alcoholic beverage industry as early as pre-pandemic 2019.
The $330 million all-cash deal sees Monster gaining the 6th largest craft brewing company in the United States, with an annual beer volume of nearly 500,000 barrels. In addition, the beverage company gains instant access to all brewery infrastructure, employee expertise, and distribution channels.
In a press release, vice chairman and co-CEO Hilton Schlosberg of Monster stated, “The acquisition will provide us with a fully in-place infrastructure, including people, distribution, and licenses, along with alcoholic beverage development expertise and manufacturing capabilities in this industry.”
In 2020 it was also rumored that Monster wanted to make their mark in the hard seltzer market, competing with Coca-Cola’s Topo Chico, and Pepsi’s Hard Mtn Dew, a collaboration with Boston Beer that debuts in the spring. Additionally, Monster was in talks with Constellation about a potential merger as well last year.
With the purchase of CANarchy, Monster Beverage picks up nationally distributed Wild Basin Hard Seltzer, Cigar City Limeade Seltzer, Ellum Ranch Hard Seltzer, and Rewired Hard Seltzer by Perrin Brewing.
Monster plans to roll out new beverages later this year, testing them regionally before ramping up to national distribution.
CANarchy will continue to operate independently of Monster Beverage Corp.
UPDATE: The Brewer’s Association, the not-for-profit trade organization representing the craft brewing industry, has issued a statement surrounding the purchase of CANarchy this afternoon.
The Brewers Association (BA) is aware of CANarchy Craft Brewery Collective’s pending sale to Monster Beverage. Based on our current information, CANarchy meets the Brewers Association’s craft brewer definition under the ownership of Monster Energy as presently constituted. In this instance, Monster is not a beverage alcohol industry member, so this new ownership structure does not affect CANarchy’s independence in regard to the beverage alcohol industry. The Brewers Association defines small and independent craft brewers as:
- Small: Annual production of 6 million barrels of beer or less (approximately 3 percent of U.S. annual sales). Beer production is attributed to a brewer according to rules of alternating proprietorships.
- Independent: Less than 25 percent of the craft brewery is owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.
- Brewer: Has a TTB Brewer’s Notice and makes beer.
Bell’s Brewery sells to Kirin, joining New Belgium Brewing
Larry Bell, founder of Bell’s Brewery announced at noon today a sale to Lion, an Australian subsidiary of Kirin, which is currently New Belgium’s parent company. Upon this this announcement, Bell will retire.
Bell framed the sell in his announcement as “joining forces with New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado (and Asheville, North Carolina). New Belgium Brewing sold to Lion almost two years ago this week in 2019. The sale includes Bell’s spin-off venture, Upper Hand Brewery in Escanaba, Michigan.
“By bringing together two of the largest and fastest-growing craft brand families in the country and unifying our companies under a single business model, we’re creating one of the best and largest craft portfolios in the country. Under the terms of the deal, I am selling my stake in Bell’s to Lion, who acquired Colorado-based New Belgium in 2019,” says Larry Bell.
We are committed to keeping Bell’s strong and stable for generations to come, providing world-class beers to our fans every day. Our partnership with @newbelgium New Belgium will allow us to do that.
— Bell’s Brewery (@BellsBrewery) November 10, 2021
This sale will strip Bell’s Brewery’s “craft brewer” status definition set by the Brewers Association, who are currently ranked 7th largest craft brewery in the United States.
Larry Bell started Bell’s in his basement in 1983 on Wheaton Street, which then turned into a homebrew shop on Burdick Street in Kalamazoo. The brewery’s Two Hearted Ale has long been considered the India pale ale in America, in close contention with Russian River’s Pliny the Elder.
Bell says the day to day operations of the brewery and its nearly 550 employees will remain unchanged. Those employees join New Belgium’s 700 employees, for a combined brewery workforce of more than 1,200.
Bell’s Brewery in on track to produce 500,000 barrels (15,500,000 gallons) of beer in 2021. Operations will remain in Kalamazoo County.
Financials of the sale have not been disclosed.
Developing story. Check back for more details as they become available.