Half Acre acquiring Maplewood

Woah this is wild! I hope this means the Glen Ellyn is A. still happening and B. will feature drafts and bottles from both.
Half Wood? LOL

 

HA acquiring Maplewood or a merger? Or some variation?

Here's the text from the HA post, anyway:

 

Chicago’s choices- Deep Wood or Half Wood

 

The beer triangle is beginning to look like the Bermuda Triangle….

 

Kind of a strange post. Not sure what to even guess will occur with this merger. Is it a merger even?

 

Did they just not have capital to expand and are seeking to partner with HA for investment?
https://chicagocitywire.com/maplewo...-million-tif-loan-for-logan-square-expansion/
You aren’t talking about doubling capacity if you don’t have a market for it….right?

Or did the Head Brewer leaving not that long ago signal problems with the operation?

 

Can’t wait for the inevitable “BA Cuppa was better before the merger”

 

I can’t see what HA get out of this unless they just want the extra capacity as an easy expansion.. you brew Maplewood product there until you ramp up demand for HA distro and then you scale back brewing Maplewood there while upscaling HA until the point where all capacity is used by HA and Maplewood gets phased out of production.

 

So did this announcement just dig the grave for the distillery portion of Maplewood? It's a bit vague as to what's actually happening here.

 

Doubtful on this front, and even if that’s the case, there are far easier solution than a merger

 

What planet are you from with this speculation

 

My guess is that the Maplewood head brewer left because he knew a merger was coming, not the other way around

 

Maplewood has those...mixed drink things and their spirits (I have not had the former, but my wife did not enjoy the can she tried. I thought their barrel strength bourbon was solid), so maybe that's part of the value to HA?

I hope this doesn't mean a decrease in their available BA stuff, because Maplewood can be a fun one for me to find on shelves.

On the other hand, Maplewood is also closer to me than HA, so in my fevered mind this means the vague possibility of Navaja appearing right off Belmont. Praying for more options, right @eppCOS?!?

 

Man, I'll admit this post gave me half wood vibes.
I'll wait to hear more but tough times out there... shit.

 

That would be fucking awesome, if they brewed it anymore. I heard they couldn't afford/source hops for Navaja? But that might have been some evil witch news from last time I was there...

 

Ah, apparently both brands will continue to work independently.

 

lol there it is!

 

So along with Constellation Brand's investment - which can't be reaping much reward given Constellations sales projections constantly being lowered - they're now joining up with a small(er) niche(er) brand?
And Suncatcher can't exactly be raking in the millions... I don't understand the logic behind any of these moves.

There's absolutely no way Half Acre needs more capacity at this point.
That can't be a reality.

 

Planet earth where breweries are going out of business left and right and 50 years of brands buying out competitors only to see the secondary brand go out of business. Why would you spend marketing dollars and resources towards a second brand when you get more bang for your buck pushing it on your own product? The physical assets are worth more than the Maplewood brand. Getting rid of a competitor will benefit HA more than running competing brands in the same market. What does HA get out of this merger? Liability? Makes no sense.