Ipswich and Newburyport Brewing Merger

Discussion in 'New England' started by meefmoff, Feb 1, 2019.

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  1. meefmoff

    meefmoff Pooh-Bah (1,922) Jul 6, 2014 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Just got this in an email from Ipswich (I couldn't' figure out how to copy the press release itself). Not as big of a deal as some of the recent mergers but along the same lines. Does anyone know if Newburyport was already contract brewing there?

    ===============================
    Following a growing national trend of craft brewery mergers, we're pleased to officially announce our partnership with Newburyport Brewing Co.

    From the press release:

    The partnership will allow both breweries to maintain separate product portfolios, taproom spaces, and events while utilizing shared resources for production, sales, and marketing.

    “We’re extremely excited about our new partnership with Newburyport Brewing – in a very short time the brewery has become an iconic New England brand, and we’re pleased to be able to help them meet their production goals,” said Ipswich Ale Brewery President, Rob Martin. “This relationship is also great for us, it enables us to utilize their 7-barrel system to innovate and experiment within our own product line.”

    “Working together to bring world-class beer to the market will now be both more efficient and more fun,” said Chris Webb, Co-Founder and CEO of Newburyport Brewing. “We are currently building a new brewery on the oldest farm in the industrial park in Newburyport. Our vision is to create an amazing destination brewery that will combine our love of music with the ability to innovate and brew small batch beers.”

    Newburyport Brewing Company will begin production at the Ipswich brewing facility on February 4, 2019.
     
    #1 meefmoff, Feb 1, 2019
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  2. Aaron58

    Aaron58 Zealot (641) Dec 16, 2007 Massachusetts

    I beleive NBPT was contracting at Isle Brewers Guild in Pawtucket
     
    #2 Aaron58, Feb 1, 2019
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  3. Newport_beerguy

    Newport_beerguy Pooh-Bah (1,860) Feb 24, 2011 Rhode Island
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Correct, NBPT was at the Guild in Pawtucket. Following the Guild's social media it seems there has been a run on the number of Night Shift taps lately so this must have been in the works for a little while, and the tanks are now re-proportioned.
     
    #3 Newport_beerguy, Feb 1, 2019
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  4. keithmurray

    keithmurray Pooh-Bah (2,967) Oct 7, 2009 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah

    Dear Ipswich,

    What in the f*ck happened to your Oatmeal Stout in the state on Connecticut?

    Keithmurray
     
    #4 keithmurray, Feb 3, 2019
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  5. SunDevilBeer

    SunDevilBeer Pooh-Bah (1,945) May 9, 2003 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    Sounds like a win-win partnership.

    I’m a longtime fan of Ipswich beer, particularly the Ipswich Oatmeal Stout & in more recent years the Route 101 IPA. Dig the old school English style IPA & Ale on occasion too. But they could definitely use some more experimental beers (read: cloudy IPAs) which the NBPT small system will enable them to do.

    As for NBPT, I’ve always just thought their beer was just OK. I’ve enjoyed a few visits to their small taproom & have seen some decent bands there. Sounds like their new taproom will be worth a visit.
     
    #5 SunDevilBeer, Feb 3, 2019
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  6. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Sounds like the deal is closer to an "alternating proprietorship" deal between the two that will include "shared... sales, and marketing" (not typical of most AP's), rather than an actual merger of the two companies, based on the BREWBOUND article Massachusetts Breweries Strike Strategic Partnership:

     
    #6 jesskidden, Feb 3, 2019
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  7. meefmoff

    meefmoff Pooh-Bah (1,922) Jul 6, 2014 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Thanks for that link - much more informative than the blurb I had. I was pleased to read the following:

    "The addition of Newburyport’s contract business will take Mercury to roughly 90 percent capacity utilization, Martin said."

    It certainly seems like Ipswich has been smart in how they've handled the changing landscape for regional breweries. Hopefully that will continue.

    ETA: I wonder if they went looking for this sort of partnership to make up for the loss of Clown Shoes' contracts since they joined Harpoon?
     
    #7 meefmoff, Feb 3, 2019
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  8. pbrian

    pbrian Pooh-Bah (2,118) Feb 8, 2001 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah

    Add Route 101
     
    #8 pbrian, Feb 3, 2019
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  9. EnronCFO

    EnronCFO Pooh-Bah (2,193) Mar 29, 2007 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    The Ipswich 1620 IPA is great when fresh. But they don’t date the cans so hard to know
     
    #9 EnronCFO, Feb 3, 2019
  10. SunDevilBeer

    SunDevilBeer Pooh-Bah (1,945) May 9, 2003 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah

    Same with 101 - though the difference is that the 101 is date marked but mysteriously never super-fresh.
     
    #10 SunDevilBeer, Feb 4, 2019
  11. LukieBL

    LukieBL Initiate (0) Jun 10, 2015 Massachusetts

    Ipswich seems to have a good handle on how to survive long term in the craft beer world. Their model seems to evolve and make good moves consistently, this being another, good for them.
     
    #11 LukieBL, Feb 4, 2019
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  12. Sweatshirt

    Sweatshirt Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2014 New Hampshire

    I had a good eight month run at lincoln liquors when they ordered just enough for 101 to always be fresh. They made one big order and everything went to shit.

    I think the future is to have one non-ipa flagship and rotating IPAs through the year. I feel like ipswich could thrive under that model.

    1620 is great, handled corrrectly it could take off .
     
    #12 Sweatshirt, Feb 4, 2019
  13. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,242) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I feel like the future model (current model for some) is to rotate all your beers.

    If Ipswich Oatmeal Stout was rotated (or even more spread out as a seasonal), I'd grab it more often. Right now there's so much beer out there I don't consider it most of the time. The 7% ABV plays into it as well though. If it were more sessionable I'd be more inclined to buy it more often.
     
    #13 AlcahueteJ, Feb 5, 2019
  14. Sweatshirt

    Sweatshirt Initiate (0) Jan 27, 2014 New Hampshire

    I'm all aboard the session train but if Ipswich Oatmeal wasn't the abv it is, I do feel it loses something.

    Also from recent purchases, the abv had dipped into the 6 range.
     
    #14 Sweatshirt, Feb 5, 2019
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  15. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,242) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Oh yeah I agree. I was just saying I tend to purchase more beers that are lower in alcohol (especially in bulk). So if it was lower, I'd be more inclined to buy it more often.

    That's interesting the ABV has dipped. Kind of odd, I can't ever remember it being below 7%.
     
    #15 AlcahueteJ, Feb 6, 2019
  16. meefmoff

    meefmoff Pooh-Bah (1,922) Jul 6, 2014 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Three days into the merger and already the old standards are going to shit!!
     
    #16 meefmoff, Feb 6, 2019
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  17. pbrian

    pbrian Pooh-Bah (2,118) Feb 8, 2001 Connecticut
    Pooh-Bah

    Their website has it listed exactly at 7%. And that photo is obviously not of that beer! Haven't seen it in CT in forever though :angry:

    https://www.ipswichalebrewery.com/Stout.PAGE.html
     
    #17 pbrian, Feb 7, 2019
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  18. LukieBL

    LukieBL Initiate (0) Jun 10, 2015 Massachusetts

    Yeah I usually have one of the nice newish 6 pack boxes of cans in my fridge. Have not noticed a dip in ABV
     
    #18 LukieBL, Feb 7, 2019
  19. AlcahueteJ

    AlcahueteJ Grand Pooh-Bah (3,242) Dec 4, 2004 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Ha yeah what is that? That beer doesn’t even look good.
     
    #19 AlcahueteJ, Feb 7, 2019
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  20. meefmoff

    meefmoff Pooh-Bah (1,922) Jul 6, 2014 Massachusetts
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Weird indeed. I sent them an email, so we'll see if they have one of those black hole contact accounts or not.
     
    #20 meefmoff, Feb 7, 2019
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