AB InBev is on an end-of-the-year shopping spree for major craft-beer brands.
Just days after announcing the purchase of leading Arizona microbrewery Four Peaks, Anheuser-Busch today announced the acquisition of Colorado’s Breckenridge Brewery.
Both businesses join Anheuser-Busch’s craft and import division, The High End, which now boasts seven breweries. These include Goose Island, Blue Point, 10 Barrel, Elysian, Golden Road, Stella Artois and Shock Top.
Available in 35 states, Breckenridge Brewery will sell approximately 70,000 barrels of beer in 2015, the company said. The brewery will continue to make its portfolio of beers, ranging from their Vanilla Porter, to Agave Wheat, to their core brands, seasonal specialties and barrel-aged beers.
“Breckenridge Brewery has a long history of innovation and they continue to brew new and exciting beers, from their specialty brews like the Mountain Series that celebrates the brewery’s origin as a ski town brewpub, to their planned nitro can series,” says Andy Goeler, CEO, Craft, The High End, in a press release. “They are innovative and have built an amazing business that’s enabled them to get their great beers to fans across the country. We look forward to even more growth together.”
The partnership includes the company’s new production brewery and Farm House restaurant in Littleton, and original brewpub and current innovation center in the mountain town of Breckenridge.
The current management group, Breckenridge-Wynkoop, will continue to own and operate its remaining businesses including: Ale House at Amato’s in Denver, Breckenridge Ale House in Grand Junction, Breckenridge Colorado Craft in Denver, The Cherry Cricket in Denver, Mainline in Fort Collins, Phantom Canyon Brewing Co. in Colorado Springs and Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver.
Anheuser-Busch’s partnership with Breckenridge Brewery is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016, subject to customary closing conditions.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
First Beverage Group acted as financial advisor to Breckenridge Brewery, and Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP provided legal counsel.
