Funky Buddha Joins Constellation Brands

Now hopefully I can find last snow in 6 packs. I honestly don't see constellation brands as being nearly as bad as ab buying a brewery.

 

No, spirits was not part of the deal. The old owners retained the distillery and rebranded as Cutwater.

 

That would appear to be the case for BA threads?

Cheers!

 

Increased distribution they say today. It is a small regional brewery. Increased distribution would equal more production. They ruined the beer they will say tomorrow.

Foreseeable outcome here on BA.

 

On a different thread, someone provided an "evil scale". ABI was highest (worse) on the scale at 666 (), MillerCoors lower, Heineken even lower, etc.

 

So Jeff, are you saying this is not your first rodeo!?!

Cheers!

 

Agreed ... I see it as a positive. If sold to ABI you'd see Maple Bacon Coffee Porter brewed in Jacksonville and flood the shelves everywhere right next to non-Chicago brewed Goose Island IPA and Ft. Collins brewed Elysian Space Dust.

 

There certainly are limits. I'd happily sacrifice the shelf presence of a few local Michigan breweries who seem to be successful simply by virtue of selling local beer to locals in exchange for a few of Funky Buddha's offerings.

 

Betting it will be 4 packs and priced at $16.99 or similar to what all those Ballast Point sixers sitting around on shelves cost

 

Expansion? I guess they now have capacity at Ballast Point (maybe get back some of the write down of the debt). The rest from Mexico then?

 

Spoke with an investor in Constellation Brands yesterday. He said their product line-up is actually getting priority with many MolsonCoors distributors over house brands due to the growth in Corona and aggressive push of Ballast Pt into new markets. Coors is trying to counter Corona with Sol, but the Constellation volumes are so heavy at this point that Coors is having to fight for shelf space with its own distributors.

This is an outsiders view from channel checks, and I'm sure people here can provide an insiders perspective, but it definitely has some validity to it.

 

Not sure what the difference is, if AB would of bought Funky Buddha out, the world would be ending right now. But a Company that bought the Modelo brewery from ABI to produce Corona which ABI owns (except in the U.S.) is OK. Constellation was the Company that just distributed Corona in the U.S. before the Modelo buyout. They didn't produce beer or even own a brewery. AB gave them the golden ticket of buying the Corona rights in the U.S. and the brewery in Mexico to make the beer. I don't see the difference between Constellation brands and ABI.

 

Is this a pretty common sentiment? Honestly asking, I've only had a few bottles here and there via trades, obviously my sample size is small.

 

Makes sense. Constellation sells at a higher price with higher margin. On top of that, many of their brands have momentum (I think Constellation is the share leader in So Cal and probably some other places). That equates to higher revenue share at a distributor, so nach gonna get a lot of focus.

 

I think overall quality has dropped as it used to be everything they made was awesome and now it's very hit or miss. They still have some great beers like Last Snow and MBCP and variants, and some other stuff here and there. Often the beer doesn't justify the price point. I always make sure to sample each batch on tap (or a single bottle) before buying additionals.

 

I do really enjoy reading what Funky Poo-Bahs have to say!

 

ABI isn't the mega-corp that took Ballast Point's brand and put them on these dreadful pre-made cocktail cans:



Seeing that "dedicated to the craft" slogan on these cans makes me wanna barf.

Constellation is definitely worse than ABI.

 

Only at the corporate level

 

I live in the Sarasota area, but travel to Miami a few times a year. Funky Buddha has become my favorite brewery in Florida, in large part because of all of the unique beers they come out with on a regular basis.

I have noticed a few instances where the quality has dropped. I liked the Lemon Meringue Pie from them last year and got multiple bottles. This year I thought the flavor was weak, not as tart, and didn't even finish the bottle I had.

I haven't had Sticky Treats before this year, so I can't compare to how it was before. I didn't really get a strong "sticky treats" flavor, but it was still a good blonde ale. I also felt that French Toast was way better out of the bottle than on tap.

I still think they make a lot of good stuff, and look forward to every release. I hope that this sale doesn't mean they will have fewer monthly releases. I feel like that happened with Cigar City, and that they released more bottles and variations before their sale.

 

It's almost like selling product that moves and with desirable margins is more important to these distributors than whoever their ownership happens to be...