Anheuser-Busch will not acquire Craft Brew Alliance

I'm glad they're sharing their joy of brewing.

 

Saw this on reddit, it’s actually cheaper for them to pay the 20 million and then buy them after, since the original deal had them paying about twice the value of what it’s worth now

 

We can probably also factor in the fact that Moody's downgraded their stock last Dec. because of "financial stress."

 

I suppose we should track this and see if they decide to fully purchase CBA in the near future.

Cheers!

 

Yeah, I didn't really understand the conventional wisdom that this deal was likely to go through, but I thought I must be missing something. I never thought this deal made sense for AB InBev strategically. The business was overpriced, and AB InBev already is excessively invested in craft beer given the dimming prospects in the sector for nationally and regionally distributed breweries. The only powerful brand in Craft Brew Alliance is Kona, and the stuff that pH, Omission, and Square Mile are doing, while it seems to have some market potential, is superfluous to work that AB InBev is doing elsewhere among its wholly owned subsidiaries. Aside from the surprising Platform Beer Co. deal, it's been years since AB InBev bought an American craft brewery, and I'll for now chalk that one up as an isolated deal given the idiosyncratic advantages of Platform and not a sign of renewed interest in the American craft beer sector by AB InBev. I also thought the Craft Brew Alliance stock price was awfully low if investors really were expecting a buyout.

 

Kona is the only brand that is trending up, why would you buy a bunch of dying brands with declining volume for a premium.

 

Oh good, I can still buy Longboard Lager and Long Hammer IPA in all their partially-craft goodness.

 

Same - I drink 2/3s of each bottle and drain pour the rest.

 

I agree with your assessment of the situation. Many of my AB distributors seemed to think the deal was imminent. Some even bought up a bunch of stock. I didn't want anything to do with it, seemed like a terrible investment and over-pay for AB.

 

I noticed the "About CBA" part of the press release didn't mention Redhook, and I haven't been seeing it around lately. Is it part of CBA? I thought it was...my first craft beer favorite, back in the late 80s...

 

I personally have not seen any Redhook beers lately but frankly this is not a beer I look for. According to the Redhook website there are Redhook beers available in my area – for example:

“Long Hammer IPA - 4 6pks - 12oz bottles”

My understanding is that neither of the two Redhook production breweries (Washington state and New Hampshire) are operating today.

Cheers!

 

Pretty sure the Portsmouth, NH brewery is still running (and brewing many CBA beers), but CBA rebranded it as the Cisco Brewery.

Google Maps even shows that the road leading to it is still called "Redhook Way".

 

But are Redhook branded beers brewed there?

Do you happen to know where Redhook branded packaged beers are produced (AB Breweries?)?

Cheers!

 

Looks like they've listed Portsmouth, NH as well as Woodinville, WA (now closed), Portland OR, Memphis (City Brewing Co.) and Ft. Collins CO on their labels during the last few years. I guess you'd have to check the coding on the bottles/cans to figure out where it actually came from. At this point, it's all just another CBA beer - regardless of the brand name on the label or brewery (contract or owned).

 

A few years ago Red Hook began being brewed at CBA’s Portland facility. Their brewery in Woodinville was doing contract brewing for Pabst, but I believe it has been sold to a winery.