By Tripp Mickle
Anheuser-Busch InBev NV said Friday it is acquiring
Seattle-based Elysian Brewing Co. It is the fourth craft brewery
acquisition by the world's largest beer company in the last five
years.
Terms weren't disclosed.
Elysian is one of the Pacific Northwest region's fastest-growing
brewers. It went from selling about 5,000 barrels to 50,000 barrels
in five years, according to the Brewers Association, which
represents craft brewers. AB InBev said Elysian's flagship Immortal
IPA accounted for more than a quarter of that volume.
Recent brewery acquisitions have priced craft brewers at more
than $1,000 a barrel. The majority of the more than 3,000 craft
brewers in the U.S. remain privately owned.
AB InBev said it expects to close on the deal by the end of the
first quarter. In addition to the brewery, AB InBev also is
acquiring the company's four Seattle brewpubs.
AB InBev has made a concerted push over the last four years to
catch up with American consumers, who increasingly are trading
mild-flavored lagers like Bud Light and Budweiser for the more
flavorful India Pale Ales and porters made by craft breweries. The
company's beers still account for nearly half of the 200 million
barrels of beer consumed annually in the U.S., but volumes have
fallen nearly 9% over the past decade. At the same time, craft
brewers' market share has surged to more than 10%.
AB InBev bought its first craft brewer in 2011, paying $38.8
million for Chicago-based Goose Island. Last year, it bought two
more craft brewers: Patchogue, N.Y.-based Blue Point Brewing Co.
and Bend, Ore.-based 10 Barrel.
The acquisitions of 10 Barrel and Elysian give AB InBev a
portfolio of established craft brands in the Pacific Northwest, a
region that outpaces the rest of the country in craft-beer
consumption. In Portland and Seattle, the region's largest cities,
craft brewers claim more than 30% of the market. Craft brewers'
national market share last year was about 12%.
Write to Tripp Mickle at Tripp.Mickle@wsj.com
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