Cannabis company Tilray buys Montauk Brewing

I wonder what you could’ve seen for a poll 10 year back if you asked which will happen first.

Weed gets into craft beer.

Treehouse offers unlimited cans to go

 

Check out their stock

Execs throwing darts at a chalk board at this point

 

#1 craft brewer in Metro NY ????? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

 

Laugh all you want but the sales success of Montauk is incredible.

@jesskidden

 

That made me wonder as well. If (and this is a big "if") that #1 actually has some numbers behind it and isn't just puffery (or overly selective), then maybe it has to do with volume being sold in the metro NY area. Correct me if I'm wrong, while Brooklyn has a bigger volume output, that output is going to a wider market than Montauk. It's definitely not a case of them discounting Matt's beer because Montauk would suffer immensely with that logic.

 

I've seen it reported that the beers have come out of Wachusett Brewing Company and Two Roads from New England. I wouldn't be surprised if the actual Montauk brewery only produces for their taproom. Their beers seem to have incredible staying power in supermarkets in my area. Their sales team and branding designers have probably done wonders for them. Having said that, the post-sale plans for the brand expanding to other markets might be a case of biting off more than can be chewed... but their current success was a surprise to me so...

 

Montauk is far from NYC (about 3 hours by train, minimum 3 hours by car). .Montauk beers seem to be more visible in my part of Suffolk County than other craft brewers' (but probably behind ABInbev Blue Point). One of my favorite beers, Montauk Driftwood (British Pale Ale style), has recently been available only winter and spring, and now, with new owners, might move more quickly to the final chopping block.

 

I would never have thought that Montauk would be considered #1 craft beer in "metro" NY. Even when I go out east, I don't really see their taps. Perhaps a handle per bar. I see more Greenport Harbor out east, Great South Bay in Western Suffolk.

 

Earlier, the beers were contract-brewed, and the location of the originating brewery was noted on the cans (12 oz cans, no bottles). For the last couple of years, all the Montauk cans only identify the Montauk location. I didn't notice any change in the Driftwood Ale that I drink regularly. Their packaging is fairly simple with consistent designs. That runs counter to the craft trend toward psychedelic colors and weird, barely decipherable names.

 

That’s not an indication of them having stopped contract brewing though.