Publicly Traded Craft Breweries

Bump.

I was going to post this same thread but then, using the handy search function, found this one already in existence.

To add to the conversation, have any new publicly traded breweries come on the market since December 2013 (date of the last post in this thread prior to mine)? Is this viewed as a growing trend as more breweries grow and expand distribution? Pros? Cons?

 

Big Rock Brewery (BRBMF) has been publicly traded for years, but it was not mentioned before... http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-price/?symbol=BRBMF

 

No, I'm not talking about buying beer.

I'm talking about buying ownership in big name craft breweries. Average investors, like me, do this every day with publicly traded companies (stock) and mutual funds.

Craft beer market share has been gaining on big beer for some time now. Take a company like Founder's. They have a significant foothold in craft beer. Targeting most of the popular styles. Their product line "All Day IPA" is specifically targeted at major products like Bud Light, Miller Lite, etc. Its clever! I think there is a lot of potential for a company like this.

It's the type of investment where I'm interested in putting money. But I can't buy stock in Founder's! I'm also wary of buying stock in a big beer player like AB Inbev or SABMiller. They are losing market share and their portion of business in craft isn't large enough.

What are the options to get my money into big time craft beer?

 

Sam Adams is publicly traded. Other than that you can't most of them are family owned or owned by the employees.

 

I owned stock in Boston Beer Co. (SAM) for a few years and got a pretty nice return off of it. Not sure if it is too large for what you're looking for. The stock price is now much higher than when I bought it. They not only own Samuel Adams but also Angry Orchard Cider and Twisted Tea.

 

I would think your best bet would be to invest in a brewery that is just opening and needs cash. You could probably leverage yourself part ownership if you were willing to invest the startup costs.

The midsized ones I am pretty sure are pretty tightly held.

 

What they said. If you're savvy, best to keep an ear out for startups of for a brewer who's looking to expand and is in need of capital. Of course, this also depends on how much you're looking to invest, too. If it's a capital investment rather than just buying stock in a company, you're probably looking at a larger investment if the brewery is going to give you a percentage ownership.

 

You should do some more research. InBev is doing just fine. They released quarterly numbers today actually. There is still plenty of money to be made off of InBev. They are losing market share in the US but growing elsewhere. Shares are up 14% this year. If you have a 401k with mutual funds in I almost guarantee you own InBev already. All I'm getting at is be an informed investor. In the craft space you need to be an angel investor or buy in at start-up.

 

Thanks for the start-up suggestions. I admit, I'm weary of a startup. It is a lot of risk to stomach. I'm really trying to focus in established places with a lot of growth potential. I'll take a closer look at Boston Beer Co too.

The reason I don't want AB Inbev isn't because I think they are doing badly. It's because of where I think the greater potential lies. To me, its with a company like Founder's, not AB Inbev.

 

There is also Craft Brew Alliance, Inc. (Ticker Symbol: BREW). They brew a number of beers, including Kona, Widmer Brothers, & Redhook. P/E is very high and very low market capitalization. I wouldn't call this a great investment.

 

You live Michigan? You can try LocalStake. There is a brewery on there about every week.

 

Emerging markets my friend. Emerging markets.

 

Kick starter ?

 

It seems everybody is opening a brewery in MI. Find one and review the business plan. If that looks good, plunk down a large chunk of change. Be prepared to wait a long time to see the first return.

Founders almost went bankrupt, so be prepared to lose money, as not every brewery makes it big.

 

I'm almost positive you can't sell ownership on Kickstarter.

For the OP, try BUD, BREW, and SAM; all publicly traded companies.

Why BUD? Let's be honest, they are going to continue to pour money into craft acquisitions. They pay a decent dividend too. I've actually been looking at buying some shares.

Why SAM? They are up nearly 300% since 2011. Their P/E is high and they don't pay a dividend (BUD does) however. I personally would probably not put my money there, primarily because I'm not a huge fan of their product.

Why BREW? Well....not sure I can say why. You can look at the numbers, but I suspect they have underperformed vs the S&P 500 over the last 5 years. Though it looks like revenue growth over the last five years is 10%+ so there is some growth...

If you want to invest in non-public companies, you need a few things. 1) Decent amount of seed capital; $100K+ 2) Connections to companies looking to grow. 3) Patience

Food for thought.

 

If you're looking to invest a big sum perhaps you should look into starting a brewery. Here in Bloomington a guy started a craft bar and expanded it into a brewery. He hired the brewer from another state. If you have the funds and some business savvy you can find the right people.

 

Start.ups.

 

Oh that's what "stock" means....

If you don't want to invest in the previously mentioned stocks, and don't want to / can't invest (which is understandable) in a non-public brewery, then perhaps forgo the beer nerd angle in this particular part of your life and invest in something else.

 

You can try investing in a DRIP ( direct reinvestment program) . Two breweries that have plans are The Craft Brew Alliance, and Boston Beer.

 

lol, its not about the stock price, its about the predicted earnings per share in comparison to the price of the stock, as well as the industry it is in, and the other companies that do business that can be compared to sam adams