Okay, maybe the confusion is all on my side, but I’m confused. SABMiller announced the purchase from McKenzie River Partners of Steel Reserve, the leading high gravity beer. High gravity beers are essentially a euphemism for malt liquor. But the McKenzie River Partners that I knew also owned or at least controlled in some fashion Black Star Lager from Great Northern Brewing Co. of Whitefish, Montana.
The original Black Star Lager label and today’s label.
I knew at some point that Steel Reserve became the focus of the company but Black Star all but disappeared from the Bay Area, where at one time it actually did pretty well. I confess when the focus changed to malt liquor, I stopped paying attention. I don’t generally think much of high gravity beers — Dogfish Head’s Malt de Liquor notwithstanding — so I tend to ignore news about them. For this reason, this move by Miller to buy even the leading malt liquor for an astonishing $215 million makes little sense. Also in the deal is Sparks, a caffeinated alcoholic malt beverage with added caffeine, guarana and ginseng. But the spin machine makes these two brands sound like Miller’s salvation. I guess time will tell.
From the press release:
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