Avery Brewing Co. Announces Sale of Minority Stake (30%) to Mahou San Miguel

Anyone know the actual % they mean by "minority partner"?

I assume since they don't say, that it's above the 25% Brewers Association Craft Brewer definition level?

 

It's 30%.

http://www.eleconomista.es/empresas...ricana-Avery-Brewing-tras-adquirir-el-30.html

 

Good for Adam!

 

Same as Founders then.

Going back to the OP press release - I wonder exactly what this statement means.
"Avery was the 3rd fastest growing Top 50 craft brewery in 2016"

By percentage barrelage from the previous year? They weren't on the Top 50 list in 2015 and they were #48 in 2016.

 

I like Avery and will continue to drink their beers happily!

 

There goes another one...

 

Uncle Jacob can buy new teeth. Bite me again, Big Jake.

 

Another hit to the ol' craft beer growth charts at the Brewers Association!

(Which, at this point, is of decreasing usefulness in measuring the market...)

 

Although, according to the Brewers Association, this is no longer a Craft Brewery, it is not owned by a beer conglomerate seeking to destroy Craft Beer. I see no issue with continuing to drink their beers.

 

Will Avery still be pouring at EBF LA in December and EBF Boston in February?

 

Hmmm. I wonder what the small craft-inspired Spanish breweries privately think about Founders' launch in Spain.

 

Tin-foil hat game is strong...

 

Probably the same thing that all the small Craft Breweries in the Carolinas think about New Belgium and SN dropping into their playground... At some level every large brewery, whether independently owned or not, is a threat to the smaller guys. And then the smaller guys become a threat to the big guys as they crank out new and innovative beers and the flagships of the 80s struggle to keep a following.

When ever one of these acquisitions happen I, personally, look at who purchased them. Firestone Walker and Boulevard owned 100% by Duvel Moortgat... that is an independent non-craft brewery that owns these well know Craft favorites. Hop Valley, nope, Miller/Coors. Not sure why we are all okay with FW and not Avery.

 

Did I miss something? Does this Spanish brewery knock out Craft in its area, if so please enlighten me (legit, not a snarky comment), as I don't know anything about them except what the press release above says.

 

Duvel Moortgat is considered "Craft" by the Brewers Association - listed at #6 for the 2016 Rankings.

"We" ? If you're a member of the Brewers Association or, at least, base your opinion on their definition, it's San Miguel Mahou's yearly barrelage that eliminates them from being "Craft".

 

Thanks, that is good to know. Was not aware that the BA had applied the Craft moniker to older European breweries that weren't part of the Craft Beer movement in the states or an outflow of the movement in other countries. Learn something new every day.

 

I don't have a problem with Firestone being part of Moortgat (Duvel, etc.) or Boulevard or Ommegang. They didn't sell their brewery, they formed a partnership. They have a stake in the larger company that includes all of those brands. They haven't engaged in any of the predatory practices that ABInbev and others have. If this Spanish brewery is only purchasing a minority stake in Avery, it's clear that Avery continues to have control over their enterprise.

 

They must've been busy working out this deal considering we just got Avery back in the state last week and the first shipment was 4,5 and 6 month old IPAs.

 

They've been in NM for a year or two now. I rarely grab for their beers. Too similar to all the others. And yes. Old ipas. I think this just reinforces their eagerness for international growth. The owners get a nice little pay check and get the help to grow overseas. This does little as far as us growth imho. Sucks that none of these guys want to grow organically or do it alone. Just don't lie to us. The paycheck must be really really nice. The whole company could go under and the owners are set for life.

As far as I can see from their website, they are in 38plus states and two countries. They've probably maxed out of US growth and saw the writing on the wall. Crazy and sad reality for so many breweries. That their only chance at survival is non stop growth. Definitely not sustainable. I don't want to see places fail but it is bound to happen soon

 

Maybe this will lower their prices.

 

Cool, this bodes well for increased access to their diabetic shock inducing stouts

 

Good for Avery. Selling to big Beer is better than selling to private equity. And good on him for giving a piece of his check to his long tenured employees. I’ll definitely grab a bottle of theirs for the weekend.

 

Slightly dissapointed, still love Avery ... this is the new norm in craft beer ... One of many annoying trends.

 

Maybe we'll get fresh White Rascal. Shit on the shelves right now is from February.

 

Exactly what I was thinking. I never cared of them because their price/quality ratio.

 

I'm curious to how you know this. They are big (11M+ barrels), they have expanded into other countries. Their history is similar to other large breweries we have here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahou-San_Miguel_Group

 

Correct. The Brewers Association made a statement around the time of our announcement that we (BLVD) were joining the Duvel Moortgat family indicating that we would retain our designation as a craft brewery. They did so because Duvel meets the tenets of a craft brewer as established by the BA. The reason that a brewery like Lagunitas (owned by family-owned Heineken) or Founders is no longer considered craft is that the production volume of their respective parent breweries exceeds the 6 million bbl cap.

 

If the beer tastes good, and the price is right, ill drink it. Theres too much semantics anymore on who owns what, and too many brewers to keep track. And i dont really care.

 

So if you know nothing about them, like I asked, how do you know "...it is not owned by a beer conglomerate seeking to destroy Craft Beer." as you stated in the post? I'm saying I don't know, that's why I asked you how you know that. If its just your opinion, you should state it as such.

 

I was going based off of the press release:

Appears as though I was wrong to assume that all the things stated wasn't just another brewer trying to put the proper spin on it all to look like they didn't just sell out.

 

I don't know either way - its either gonna be business as usual, worse case scenario or somewhere in between. I guess we can just hope for the best.

 

Yeah, hoping for the best. I don't drink much of their beer since there is so much amazing and fresh beer available to me. I understand the desire to solidify your financial future as a brewery owner (not much stability there). I just wish brewers that sell, join forces, etc, would be honest about it all and just say, "Yes, I sold, I got paid, feel free to not buy my beers anymore, I had to do what was best for me and my family and staff."

 

If we project from what came out of the Founders sale of 30% to the same group I'd expect things to continue pretty well. After all 30% ownership doesn't come close to a controlling interest. So the original ownership would still be running the show in both cases.

 

Why would you think they are lying to anyone about their reasons for selling 30%?

 

I don't view 30% as selling out though I can understand someone being upset over who is the purchaser.

 

Not specifically aimed at Avery. My statement is aimed directly at those who sell the company and then write large articles and press releases about how they are still craft (ie, Tony saying he still smokes pot all the time so we shouldn't care about him selling 100% to Heineken). My point is that I wish brewers (in general, not Avery specifically) that sell some or all of their brewery would just be honest about the sale, how much they own, whether they are considered Craft under the BA definition, and put it on their labels/packaging/branding. If you do it, own it.

 

Well, the Brewers Association production volume cap has its limitations.

A closer look at the numbers shows that the BA metric is not a clear dividing line between "small" and "large", since it makes no distinction between moderately small and gargantuan.

The production volume of Mahou San Miguel (officially, a BA bad guy) is only about 3x Boston Beer Co (officially a BA good guy).

The production volume of Heineken International is about 12x Mahou San Miguel (36x BBC), and ABInBev is about 34x Mahou San Miguel (100x BBC).

My sources are various and may be a bit inaccurate, but I suspect close enough to make the point... Mahou San Miguel is A LOT closer to "small" than it is to ABInBev.

 

Still love Founders, and I will still love Avery.
Cheers