allanmorgan
Well-Known Member
Great insight and a great article. Woke me up to what I wasn't paying attention to.
Now I am. BMC's motives are darker than they appear.
Lagunitas sells to Heineken , another good brewery sells their soul to corpor...
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Great insight and a great article. Woke me up to what I wasn't paying attention to.
Now I am. BMC's motives are darker than they appear.
Singletrack
Because it's judgement that defeats us.
And this one-
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers is happy to announce that the company’s brewing equipment and beer brands have been purchased by Hunters Point Brewery, a new company founded by Ces Butner, former owner of Horizon Beverage Company in Oakland, CA. Beers by Speakeasy Ales & Lagers will continue being produced at the San Francisco brewery, securing twenty years of independent brewing history and tradition. The deal was finalized on May 8, 2017, and terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
“I worked with Speakeasy Ales & Lagers for five to six years as a distributor,” said Ces Butner. “We were one the first companies to expand their distribution beyond San Francisco. There was a tremendous amount of growth and interest in the Speakeasy brands. It was one of the best craft breweries we worked with and the beer quality is very high. I thought it would be a shame if the brand, and one of the few production breweries left in San Francisco, disappeared because of financial problems. Keeping Speakeasy’s San Francisco born and brewed tradition alive is very important to me.”
Sam Cappione has been appointed Vice President and General Manager to oversee all aspects of company operations. The eight employees who remained at Speakeasy Ales & Lagers during the sale of company assets will continue working at the brewery. Additional staff will be hired in the next few weeks and months to fill key positions in operations, sales, packaging, the tap room, and brewing departments. The tap room will be opened as soon as possible.
There will be no changes to the Speakeasy beer lineup at this time. According to Ces Butner, “The beer quality will remain the same and we have every confidence that the current distribution network and territories will stay intact. We’ll be working closely with all the distributors. Right now we just need to revive the Speakeasy brands, and I’m prepared to do just that.”
Speakeasy Ales & Lagers is happy to announce that the company’s brewing equipment and beer brands have been purchased by Hunters Point Brewery, a new company founded by Ces Butner, former owner of Horizon Beverage Company in Oakland, CA. Beers by Speakeasy Ales & Lagers will continue being produced at the San Francisco brewery, securing twenty years of independent brewing history and tradition. The deal was finalized on May 8, 2017, and terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
“I worked with Speakeasy Ales & Lagers for five to six years as a distributor,” said Ces Butner. “We were one the first companies to expand their distribution beyond San Francisco. There was a tremendous amount of growth and interest in the Speakeasy brands. It was one of the best craft breweries we worked with and the beer quality is very high. I thought it would be a shame if the brand, and one of the few production breweries left in San Francisco, disappeared because of financial problems. Keeping Speakeasy’s San Francisco born and brewed tradition alive is very important to me.”
Sam Cappione has been appointed Vice President and General Manager to oversee all aspects of company operations. The eight employees who remained at Speakeasy Ales & Lagers during the sale of company assets will continue working at the brewery. Additional staff will be hired in the next few weeks and months to fill key positions in operations, sales, packaging, the tap room, and brewing departments. The tap room will be opened as soon as possible.
There will be no changes to the Speakeasy beer lineup at this time. According to Ces Butner, “The beer quality will remain the same and we have every confidence that the current distribution network and territories will stay intact. We’ll be working closely with all the distributors. Right now we just need to revive the Speakeasy brands, and I’m prepared to do just that.”
WallyTheConfused
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Bugger !
I hope they do not touch the IPA or the Imperial Stout, because I think their Stout, is one of the best ones on the market.
Cheers All
I hope they do not touch the IPA or the Imperial Stout, because I think their Stout, is one of the best ones on the market.
Cheers All
BrotherDave
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Lagunitas = grapefruit flavoured ****e. Maybe Heineken will improve them.
FloppyKnockers
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Good for them. I can't wait to sell out. I have nothing for sale, but that won't stop my dreams.
Beerquestion7
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So what. Nothing changed at NB. My grains still come from Wyermann my yeast from Wyeast.
bobeer
Fermentation Specalist
The only thing that bugs me about these big buy outs is how the 3 tier system works. Someone said that Inbev and the like are taking advantage of an age old system that needs to be done away with and by them doing so only draws more attention how broken it is. Hopefully we will do away with the current distributing system so it's more of an even playing field for everyone involved.
With that said if I grew a business from nothing and a bigger company wanted to buy me out for a ridiculous amount of money of course I'd sell. I'd sell it then reinvest my huge payday into a bigger/better business so I could sell that one too.
Either that or I'd live out my days on my own island away from all this nonsense and no one would ever hear from Bobeer again.
With that said if I grew a business from nothing and a bigger company wanted to buy me out for a ridiculous amount of money of course I'd sell. I'd sell it then reinvest my huge payday into a bigger/better business so I could sell that one too.
Either that or I'd live out my days on my own island away from all this nonsense and no one would ever hear from Bobeer again.
I've started buying from NB since Rebel Brewer shut down. I'm pretty happy with the service.
Wait a minute...
I've been assimilated!!!
InBev has even got their filthy mitts into my homebrew.
BASTARDS!!!!!!!
Murphys_Law
Well-Known Member
I've started buying from NB since Rebel Brewer shut down. I'm pretty happy with the service.
Wait a minute...
I've been assimilated!!!
InBev has even got their filthy mitts into my homebrew.
BASTARDS!!!!!!!
By this time next year you'll only be brewing Bud Light and Bud Light Lime clones!
akthor
Well-Known Member
Come on guys let's be real. You spend blood sweat and tears not to mention your life savings and more plus take on mountains of debt starting a business.
Then someone offers you far more than you ever thought to buy it. Enough to for you and your family for generations to live free and happy.
Who wouldn't take some of these deals craft breweries have been getting? Honestly?
Especially now that the market is saturated. Brewery numbers increase, the amount of money spent on beer has not. You have more breweries competing for the same amount of money. Life is going to get tough for many.
I say congrats to anyone who builds their dream and is able to sell it on their own terms for more than they probably ever imagined.
Then someone offers you far more than you ever thought to buy it. Enough to for you and your family for generations to live free and happy.
Who wouldn't take some of these deals craft breweries have been getting? Honestly?
Especially now that the market is saturated. Brewery numbers increase, the amount of money spent on beer has not. You have more breweries competing for the same amount of money. Life is going to get tough for many.
I say congrats to anyone who builds their dream and is able to sell it on their own terms for more than they probably ever imagined.
capthanson
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Red Hook is finding out the hard way. They are closing their doors and I have to say I'm not sorry. In or around 1980 they opened up in a friend of mine's warehouse and was the best beer ever. They just got better and better as they expanded to The Fremont Trolley House. Then Budweiser bought interest and forced them to make mediocre beer to make more profit. Just plain no reason for anyone to drink mediocre beer anymore!The good news is that they are opening a new micro brewery and rumor has it that they are going to focus on quality again. "Ya Sure You Betcha"!!
Just got back from two weeks in Amsterdam this past Thursday, and coincidentally met the Lagunitas rep in my favorite bar (lived there for eight years). He said that they 'were working with Heinken' but didn't mention that they'd actually been completely bought by Heineken.
Michael
Michael
I live down the street and know the brewery very well. Tony McGee will still operate Lagunitas and still design future beers but now under Heineken. Their goal is to create a "craft beer" division, which will be under Lagunitas for worldwide distribution. They mainly just operate out of Petaluma, CA and Boston right now with more in he works in Europe, potentially Amsterdam.
But it is sad to see a small local brewery grow so large and be bought out by a corporation as large as Heineken. C'est la vie!
At least we still have Russian River Brewing Company
Well they didn't come out with Aunt Sally until after they sold the first 50% in 2015 so...maybe this means you wont have to wait til your back in the states...
Fair enough. Since the months before the US presidential election, I've been getting more political and more willing to act on political beliefs, so where buying a craft beer half-owned by Heineken wasn't a big deal to me the last time I was in the States, it's more of an issue to me now.
starsman20
Well-Known Member
Don't fool yourselves. There is not a single person on this forum that if they started a brewery business and grew it so it could be sold for millions and millions of dollars wouldn't sell. Most of these breweries are started from the beginning with that intent. No one starts a business to lose money.
I don't think anyone doubts that most people would take the money. If my neighborhood micro brewery was bought out I'd be really happy for those guys. Unfortunately, in this instance the impact goes beyond just those guys getting a big payout. It's about InBev getting stronger and being able to close out a lot of small brewers. 10? 20? 100 brewers nationwide? Hard to say how many, but for every sellout to InBev comes with them getting closer to owning what choices you have to drink. InBev doesn't care - guarantee you on that. Actually, ALL they care about is being your only choice for beer.
It's especially bad in the case of Wicked Weed - they were considered one of the most respected cornerstones of craft brewing. Taking them down was like taking down Moby Dick. That sent a message to every brewer no matter what size. Sure, for some that message will be, "hope we're next!" and for others they will see that their chance to compete on a level playing field might be slipping away.
It's especially bad in the case of Wicked Weed - they were considered one of the most respected cornerstones of craft brewing. Taking them down was like taking down Moby Dick. That sent a message to every brewer no matter what size. Sure, for some that message will be, "hope we're next!" and for others they will see that their chance to compete on a level playing field might be slipping away.
It's important to consider who you are selling to. Selling to InBev stifles the market for the small guys. I know many brewers who would not sell to InBev for any amount of money, because doing so hurts their friends and the entire craft beer market.
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Hah. Easy to say when you haven't been offered.
None of us know the true language of the deal/contract. If I had a brewery that started small and got as big as Lagunitas I'd want to sell it too. All the hassles of being a big business can be taken care of and the brewers can brew again (with a billion $ in their pockets) instead of dealing with everything else. I say wait and see, if the beer changes to something you don't like stop buying it. It will also be interesting to see how good the seasonal beers are.
I think Sucks is the best hopped beer I have ever tried and Pliny the Elder is just another big IIPA. When I think about it I don't buy Lagunitas because my capper doesn't work on the bottles and they get tossed. So to each his own.
I think Sucks is the best hopped beer I have ever tried and Pliny the Elder is just another big IIPA. When I think about it I don't buy Lagunitas because my capper doesn't work on the bottles and they get tossed. So to each his own.
I disagree. Heineken ruined Bohemia, which was one of the few great production brews until Heiny bought them and cheapened down the recipe with adjuncts and less hops. Bud has done the same thing to a few of the formerly revered craft brands they bought, turning them into watered-down versions of their previous selves. I don't begrudge the owners for getting paid, but I also don't begrudge the fans when they see the imminent end of an era of a great pioneer brand. I have been a big fan of Lagunitas for producing great beers and keeping prices fair for years, and am sad to see them go.
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I think it would be interesting to see actual proof of claims like these.
When a macro bought beer "changes" it is deemed to because they bean counted ingredients for maximum profitability.
But when craft beer changes, from year to year, it's accepted as being a natural product bound to the will of seasonal changes in ingredients, blah, blah.
Can anyone actually prove that the X beer (Bohemia) recipe changed after acquisition? I suspect it does happen, but not near as drastically, or as often as most claim.
Norselord
Well-Known Member
Do you mean the Mexican beer Bohemia?
If so, that is a direct competitor to the Heineken brand, and i wouldn't be surprised if Heineken tweaked their processes to adapt to what Heineken sees as their strength (brewing mass market lagers).
Lagunitas is not going anywhere. You can still be sad, if you really want; but don't do it because you think they are going somewhere.
In a way I am happy the internet didn't exist when Bob Dylan went electric - my God, that would have been some epic salt.
Good article.
Well, you're talking about companies that fiercely guard their processes and recipes so I don't think they'd be too forthcoming, in particular about anything that cheapened a recipe. However, when they produce an all malt beer, they post that all over the label.
I'd also be interested to see proof, but it would take a leak (no pun or double entendre intended).
The proof is in the mug. The fact is that most anyone who is a fan of a beer or drinks it regularly can taste a change. Those with BJCP, Cicerone etc. certifications can even tell you what was actually done to the recipe just from drinking it. Adjuncts and lower hopping rates aren't difficult to spot.I remember fans complaining vociferously about Sculpin changing from batch to batch long before the buyout, so I'm not sure craft brewers really get more benefit of the doubt as you suggest. But it is true that to a certain extent craft brewers are more at the whims of nature, while big brands employ a lot more science to compensate for any variance in ingredients.
