Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Mendocino Brewing Acquires Butte Creek

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Ukiah’s Mendocino Brewing announced today that it’s acquired Butte Creek Brewing and “will be brewing these beers at its state-of-the-art brewery at Ukiah, CA.” Butte Creek was originally founded Chico, California, in 1998 by former brewers from Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

From the press release:

Butte Creek Beer — “The Official Beer of Planet Earth.”

Butte Creek’s mission statement has been: “At Butte Creek Brewing, we handcraft award winning earth-friendly organic ales and lagers. Since 1998, we have been committed to producing organic products focused on quality, balance, and true hop flavor. We support organic farming and promote sustainability in our community. We fight against global warming by reducing our carbon imprint.”

Mendocino Brewing CEO, Yashpal Singh, had this to say about the acquisition. “We’re proud to be the brewers of ‘The Official Beer of Planet Earth’. We fully endorse and will pursue Butte Creek’s mission. This acquisition blends perfectly with our own policy of brewing quality, full-bodied ales for the discerning beer lover.”

Mendocino Brewing Company will brew and market Butte Creek brands under its dba Butte Creek Brewing Company.

Anchor Sale Completed

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It appears we’re in for a day of beer business news. Anchor Brewing Co. today is officially Anchor Brewers & Distillers, LLC, with the deal to purchase the brewery and the Anchor spirits division now completed by the Griffin Group. They’ve also announced a strategic partnership with Berry Bros. & Rudd, the UK’s “oldest wine and spirits merchant,” which was founded in the 17th century.

From the press release:

“Today marks a major milestone, culminating our work with Fritz Maytag to maintain the time-honored legacy of Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco,” said Tony Foglio, Chairman of Anchor Brewers & Distillers.

Keith Greggor, CEO of Anchor Brewers & Distillers continued, “In addition to fostering the culture of craft brewing and artisan distilling in San Francisco, there is an undeniable affinity for Anchor beers and spirits around the globe. To support this interest, we’ll be advancing our commitment internationally through a partnership with Berry Bros. & Rudd.”

With a primary focus on the spirits portfolio, Anchor Brewers & Distillers has established a strategic partnership with Berry Bros. & Rudd, Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant with a history that spans over 300 years. Through the strategic partnership, Anchor Brewers & Distillers will introduce two of Berry Bros. & Rudd’s award-winning spirits not currently available in the US exclusively in San Francisco in the Fall 2010.

“This is an ideal partnership for Berry Bros. & Rudd as Anchor Brewers & Distillers shares our passion and dedication for fostering the heritage of hand-crafted, premium spirits brands, while also making them available to a growing global market,” added Jeremy Parsons, CEO of Berry Bros. & Rudd Spirits.

With the closing of the acquisition and the partnership with Berry Bros. & Rudd, Anchor Brewers & Distillers is further reinforcing its intention to establish a “Center of Excellence” in San Francisco for craft brewers and artisan distillers from around the world. Much like Berry Bros. & Rudd’s No. 3 St. James’s Street in London, whose doors first opened in 1698, the Anchor Brewers & Distillers “Center of Excellence” will serve as an epicenter of development, education, entertainment and innovation, all designed to further contribute to the culture and heritage of craft beer and artisan spirits.

“Throughout Anchor’s history, quality, tradition and innovation have been cornerstones to its success. There has been an evolution of Anchor’s ownership over the last 140 years with each owner contributing to the ongoing legacy of Anchor,” added Fritz Maytag. “Tony and Keith share that commitment wholeheartedly, as well as a commitment to evolving the Anchor legacy by partnering with companies like Berry Bros. & Rudd that have embraced those same values for over 300 years.”

In addition, the San Francisco Chronicle has more details in Anchor Brewing acquisition is official, in their business section.

A Done Deal: NAB Buys Magic Hat & Pyramid

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The deal that was rumored late last month is now completed. North American Breweries has bought the Magic Hat, Pyramid and Portland breweries. The deal includes three breweries, five alehouses and one retail store.

From the press release:

According to Rich Lozyniak CEO of North American Breweries, the new beers add craft brewing credibility, and variety to the beers currently offered by the company. “We are really excited to add Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan’s beers to North American Breweries. All three brands have a rich history of craft brewing that helps us gain acceptance in that tight-knit community,” said Lozyniak. “By having more beers to offer our customers, wholesalers and retail accounts, we can better compete with the multi-national mega brewers who dominate the U.S. beer industry.”

Along with the new craft beer offering, North American Breweries also imports and sells Imperial, Labatt Blue and the Labatt family of beers. Out of its Rochester brewery it makes and sells the historic line of Genesee beer, Dundee Ales & Lagers, the Original Honey Brown Lager and Seagram’s Escapes.

“The industry has taken a turn away from the mega brewers. We have a collection of regional and heritage brands that position us well among today’s beer drinkers,” said Rich Lozyniak. “At a time when the overall beer industry is in decline, we’re growing across brands which essentially created a great opportunity to collaborate with some of the best craft brewers in the business.”

According to the company, the heritage and brand position of Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarnahan’s will be closely guarded. “The credibility that these brewers have developed in the craft beer segment is key to our success. We will work hard to carefully maintain and grow what was passionately created by people who love to drink and brew beer.”

The new brands mean the addition of three new breweries, one each in: Portland, Oregon; Berkeley, California; and Burlington, Vermont. Magic Hat is the 10th largest craft brewery in the country, while Pyramid is the fifth largest. Both companies have a strong following of loyal consumers who love the craftsmanship that go into each unique beer.

Together Magic Hat, Pyramid and the Portland Brewing Co. (MacTarnahan’s) employ about 600 people. Currently, North American Breweries has approximately 500. “We’re a hardworking group of people with a strong track record of brewing beer, building brands and executing in the marketplace,” said Lozyniak.

Interestingly, the press release also includes NAB’s plans and their promise, presumably to consumers and fans of the brands they’ve purchased. That’s not something I’ve seen before, and it suggests they understand how brand perception effects how a particular brand performs, especially to beer geeks in the craft beer world.

North American Breweries’ Plans for Magic Hat, Pyramid and MacTarahan’s

  • The beer will remain the same: it will be brewed by the same people in the same breweries, using the same recipes, ingredients and commitment to artisanship as it has always been.
  • All breweries, Alehouses and the Artifactory will remain open. They provide a unique opportunity to sample and showcase the company’s best beers and brewing capabilities. Through the retail locations, we can talk to customers about the beers they want us to make.

North American Breweries’ Promise

  • We will communicate regularly and openly to our employees and at times — the media — about our business.
  • We put a very high value on our people and believe they are key to helping us compete with the mega, multi-national brewers who dominate the U.S. beer industry.
  • We will grow our brands by introducing them to new consumers and in new geographies through a focused sales and distribution effort.
  • We believe in working with one another to make our company great. We regularly adopt best practices company-wide.

Bus Crashes Into Monk’s Cafe

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NBC News Philadelphia is reporting that a SEPTA bus and police car slammed into Monk’s Belgian Cafe. They’re saying “the bus came through the front door of the popular Monk’s Cafe right before last call. Remarkably, no one was hurt.” (Thanks to Todd Alstrom for the story tip.)

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Monk’s co-owner Tom Peters is on video telling part of the story.

View more news videos at: http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/video.

Latest Gallup Poll Reveals Drinking At 25-Year High With Beer #1

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The annual Gallup Poll into American drinking habits was recently released. According to this year’s results, 67% of adults imbibe, a 1% increase from last year, and the highest percentage in 25 years. Also, the percentage of American abstaining hitting what looks to be the second-lowest number, 33%. Only around 1978-81 looks to have had fewer abstainers, which is great news since studies have shown that moderate drinkers tend to live longer than abstainers.

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As has been the case in all but one suspect year, beer is the most consumer alcoholic beverage. I suspect, because even in the year people “reported” drinking more wine — 2005 — beer still outsold wine 4 to 1.

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There’s some other interesting data about the demographics of current alcohol consumers. For instance, not surprisingly, there are more older abstainers. People with more education also drink more, and those with the least education comprise the majority of abstainers. Protestant Christians, followed by Catholics, have the largest number of abstainers.

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And finally, by age and gender, men drink more beer, as do older people, regardless of gender. Somewhat surprisingly, the area of the country with the highest percentage of beer drinkers is the Midwest, followed by the East coast, the West coast with the South having the least.

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De Koninck Sold To Duvel

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Not sure how I missed this, but late last week, Duvel Moortgat announced that they had acquired De Koninck. I learned about it from Stephen Beaumont, but the press release has all the details:

Duvel Moortgat nv has reached agreement on the acquisition of 100% of the shares of the Brouwerij De Koninck group. With this acquisition, Duvel Moortgat expands its portfolio of specialty beers; it also aims to reinvigorate the De Koninck beer brand.

Brouwerij De Koninck is located in the heart of Antwerp and has a unique bond with the city. The De Koninck “Bolleke” is most popular in Antwerp and the surrounding area as well as in the Netherlands, but it also enjoys strong brand recognition throughout Belgium. Brouwerij De Koninck started its activities in 1827 when Jozeph De Koninck bought a coach house on the border between Antwerp and Berchem, currently known as “Afspanning De Hand”. These premises were converted into a brewery in 1833. Since then, the image of a hand has been immortalized in the brewery’s logo. Over the years, the Van den Bogaert and Van Bauwel families succeeded in building De Koninck into a valuable brand with a solid local reputation.

Bernard Van den Bogaert states: “This acquisition is a logical step. Because of the small size of our brewery, we have experienced a lack of commercial strength and distribution channels. During the last couple of years, Duvel Moortgat has proven that it possesses the right experience. And the fact that the two breweries have maintained an excellent relationship for generations adds an extra dimension to this acquisition.” Brouwerij De Koninck experienced its greatest success during the nineties, achieving a yearly production level of 130,000 hectoliters. As a result of a shrinking beer market and a strong decline in the pale ale segment, today less than 50% of that volume remains. Duvel Moortgat is also acquiring significant real estate, mainly located in the Antwerp region. This comprises the brewery site, about seven other properties and 63 cafés, including Antwerp icons such as “Den Engel” at the Grote Markt and the “Boer van Tienen” at Mechels Plein. The acquisition also includes beer trader Brouwerij De Valk, based in Wijnegem. De Valk has grown to become a key supplier in the Antwerp region, delivering to hundreds of cafés and restaurants on a daily basis.

Michel Moortgat (CEO of Duvel Moortgat) states: “We are very pleased to be able to incorporate Brouwerij De Koninck into the Duvel Moortgat Group. The “Bolleke” is not only a strong brand but also a quality specialty beer that fits perfectly into Duvel Moortgat’s range (Duvel, Chouffe, Maredsous, Liefmans, Vedett, Bel Pils). Our international distribution, including our own branches in Belgium, the Netherlands, France, the UK and the USA, provides an ideal operating base to progressively develop De Koninck. It did not take us long to reach agreement: family values and traditions are concepts that both breweries feel strongly about.”

De-Koninck
The De Koninck brewery in Antwerp.

Bistro IPA Festival Winners 2010

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Rodger Davis’ IPAX IPA, from Triple Rock in Berkeley, California, was chosen best in show at the 13th annual IPA Festival earlier today at the Bistro in Hayward, California. The full list of winners is below.

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Me and Rodger Davis, brewer of the first place IPAX IPA at this year’s IPA Festival at The Bistro.

No More Gluek Beer

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Cold Spring Brewing in Minnesota announced yesterday that they will no longer brew the historic Gluek brand. Gluek began brewing in 1857, before Minnesota was even a state.

In 1857 on the bank of the Mississippi River in an area which would someday be known as Minneapolis, German immigrant Gottlieb Gluek started the Mississippi Brewing Company. Soon the name was changed to the Gluek Brewing Company, and by 1964 Gluek became Minneapolis’s oldest continuously-operated business.

In 1858 the company brewed 3,996 barrels of beer, and by 1901 the annual capacity was second only to the two “giants” the Minneapolis Brewing Company (later renamed as the Grain Belt) and the Theo. Hamm Brewery of St. Paul.

But after 1964 it fell on hard times and, like many regional breweries, was bought by G. Heileman. The original brewery was torn down but a new one was later built back in Cold Spring, Minnesota in 1997. A couple of years ago, however, they renamed Gluek Brewing to Cold Spring Brewing as fewer and fewer consumers knew or cared about Gluek’s history in the region.

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As an AP story reports:

By September, Gluek will be phased out. But vice president and general manager Doug DeGeest says Cold Spring Brewing is keeping the Gluek trademark, and it’s possible the beer could come back.

DeGeest says it was a business decision to discontinue the Gluek brand. He says the Cold Spring-based company cannot keep up with production and needed to decide which product in its portfolio of beers to discontinue.

When I was the beer buyer at BevMo, we brought in some of the Gluek beer in cans and they also sold us a beer exclusively (for California, at least) which we sold as a private label beer. That was Fat Cat Lager, which was a decent enough all-malt generic lager. I believe Randy Mosher did the label design.

Fat-Cat-label

Regardless of Gluek’s ultimate place in American brewing history, it’s always sad to see another old brand consigned to the scrap heap of discontinued brands, but then I’m sentimental that way.

A Rose Is A Rose Is A Rose

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As Gertrude Stein — who was born in Oakland — famously said, “A rose is a rose is a rose.” On the other side of that coin, an alcohol tax masquerading as a fee is a tax, and a terrible idea, no matter what you call it. Today’s San Francisco Examiner, in their Under the Dome section on City Hall Politics, is reporting that Avalos hopes renaming alcohol fee makes it more potable to business. Apparently small businesses don’t like the newly proposed alcohol tax, but supervisor Avalos has the solution. Forget addressing their concerns, admitting it’s a bad idea or even conceding he was duped by the Marin Institute, no. His answer is to change the name of the “alcohol mitigation fee” to “alcohol cost recovery fee” so that — and I quote — “businesses might find the proposal a bit more refreshing.” How stupid does he think people are? You have to wonder.

Widmer’s Craft Brewers Alliance To Buy Kona Brewing

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The Oregonian is reporting that the Craft Brewers Alliance (essentially Widmer, with RedHook and distribution of Goose Island and Kona) will purchase Kona Brewing for $13.9 million. Under the terms of the agreement, Kona will become a “wholly owned subsidiary” and Mattson Davis will remain at the helm, with brewing for the mainland continuing to be done at Widmer and RedHook breweries.