Boston Beer Company & Dogfish Head Brewery Are Merging

Discussion in 'Beer News' started by Todd, May 9, 2019.

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  1. jayrutgers

    jayrutgers Zealot (699) Oct 29, 2011 New Jersey

    Innovation, like finding a way to add body to a beer without adding calories?

    They also used their own science lab to replicate the exact sea salt found in the Chesapeake Bay.

    Just come out and say it.

    "Dogfish is too big and therefore I don't find them interesting because stuff on store shelves isn't interesting compared to the same lactose IPA I wait two hours in line for"
     
  2. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I suppose it comes down the the definition of "new"?

    Seaquench was introduced in August 2016 so that beer is approaching 3 years of age. I suspect that many BAs would not view this as being "new".

    Cheers!
     
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  3. officerbill

    officerbill Pooh-Bah (2,228) Feb 9, 2019 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Unit price per quart
     
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  4. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    That is also the situation in my area: Dogfish Head is pricier than comparable Sam Adams products. I personally have stopped buying Dogfish Head products since they are priced too high (for me).

    Cheers!
     
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  5. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Yep, depends on the defintion of new. If that's too old, substitute Slightly Mighty or SuperEIGHT.
     
  6. jayrutgers

    jayrutgers Zealot (699) Oct 29, 2011 New Jersey

    Small brewery that makes a different beer each week: Innovative.

    Big brewery that has a core lineup it ships nationwide but also has a small brewpub that makes different beers each week: Not innovative.

    Because reasons.
     
  7. AZBeerDude72

    AZBeerDude72 Initiate (0) Jun 10, 2016 Arizona

    What is the price? 23.99 or 35.99? Both are cheaper than I have seen, and if the price is $23.99 that is amazing and I would be buying. They go for 10 bucks a bottle here in AZ and have been that way for as long as I can recall.

    Cheers
     
  8. jmdrpi

    jmdrpi Grand High Pooh-Bah (8,245) Dec 11, 2008 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    @jesskidden already basically addressed this above.

    Jim Koch (his title is Chairman, the CEO is David Burwick) personally selects 4 of the 7 members of the Board of Directors (currently he and his wife are 2 of those 4). So effectively he has total control of the company - the public shareholders can't outvote him, and if the other 2 Class B Directors (perhaps Sam Calagione will take of one those spots?) do anything he doesn't agree with, he can replace them.

    From the 2019 Annual Stockholder meeting notice:
    Notice the lack of a plural on Class B Stockholder.

     
    #188 jmdrpi, May 10, 2019
    Last edited: May 10, 2019
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  9. KarlHungus

    KarlHungus Initiate (0) Feb 19, 2005 Minnesota

    I counted to uses of the word 'buyout' in that announcement about a buyout.
     
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  10. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    You have a point here. It seems that quite a few of the small, local breweries have a strategy for producing new brands on a rapid basis (some weekly and others maybe more like monthly). Distributing breweries can't follow this specific strategy, the best they can do is release seasonals or infrequent one-off releases.

    Cheers!
     
  11. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    So, how does the new, expanded Boston Beer Company compete here?

    Cheers!
     
  12. WormGod

    WormGod Zealot (554) Jun 30, 2016 New York

    If DF and/or BBC are making different beers each week in their brewpubs, that is great (and probably innovative). But if they don't ship those beers to my area (and I understand the costs and logistics of why they can't/don't/won't), then that does not help me as a consumer. I'm stuck with the same choices from them that I have had for years. Perhaps innovative was the wrong word to use.

    P.S. I refuse to stand in line for beers.
     
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  13. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Many folks tend to either forget or don't know that before becoming a brewer Koch was a business consultant with an MBA from Harvard business school. He clearly knew how to set up his own corporate structure, etc. so he retained final control while still going public.
     
    #193 drtth, May 10, 2019
    Last edited: May 10, 2019
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  14. OldBrewer

    OldBrewer Savant (1,221) Jan 13, 2016 Canada (ON)

    Actually the price is not unrealistic. Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA has 4 times the amount of alcohol as a regular IPA. At $36 for 4 bottles, each bottle is $9. If we then divide $9 by 4, we get $2.25 per bottle (relative cost comparing alcohol amount only). And that is a quality beer that took a lot of time, effort and ingredients to brew. I would say it's a bargain. And that's at $36! If $23.99 is the discounted price, then you have an incredible bargain at $1.50 a bottle (comparatively by alcohol level alone).
     
  15. ESHBG

    ESHBG Pooh-Bah (2,099) Jul 30, 2011 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    It's an interesting concept and I know not necessarily apples to apples but you see these craft beer companies getting bigger and not much happening with the prices, I figured this would be a little more aggressive to really take a bite out of the competition.
     
  16. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    A "just in case you don't already know" FYI. That has more to do with your local distributors and retailers than the brewery. I'd bet dollars to donuts that if you went to a local retailer and ordered a full case of, say, SeaQuench. They could get it for you. Whether you could get them to bring in a whole case to sell you only a single can or single six pack is a harder call.

    Used to do it all the time back in the days when in PA we had to buy most of our beer by the case. I had a retailer who could and would track down and get me a case of any beer that could be had in PA.
     
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  17. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    I suppose it could be based upon who they view as competition? While the beers from small. local breweries have the benefit of being fresh it seems to be 'popular' to package in 4-packs of 16 ounce cans at non-cheap prices. Maybe the distributing breweries do not think they need to be inexpensive to be competitive?

    Also, in our area other larger, distributing breweries such as Sierra Nevada are not priced cheaply (e.g., a 6-pack of Sierraveza for $10.99) so just price in the ballpark?

    Cheers
     
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  18. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,181) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah Society

    FWIW the manager of a local Retail Beer Distributor would special order beer for me (e.g., Tipopils, St. Georgenbrau) and he was happy to just sell me a 4/6 pack. I personally stopped requesting this because I would see the remainder of the case collecting dust on his shelf (i.e., other customers refused to buy these beers, likely due to the high cost?).

    Cheers!
     
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  19. KarlHungus

    KarlHungus Initiate (0) Feb 19, 2005 Minnesota

    I meant no uses of 'buyout'.
     
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  20. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Same here. Didn't want someone willing to go out of his way to help me find something he didn't have to then be stuck with something he couldn't easily sell. One time when I went in there he had a case of Duvel four packs with free glassware that someone had ordered and then didn't buy. I was tempted to buy that case to use the 4 packs as gifts....
     
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