AB-InBev’s ZX Ventures takes over local craft brewer

Here they go again. ZX Ventures, a subsidiary of AB-InBev, has acquired the local craft brewer The Hand & Malt Brewing Company. The acquisition was inked on 2 April, according to local media.

This should boost AB-InBev’s portfolio of craft breweries to 35 around the world, including those in the United States.

Although ZX Ventures fully took over the company, its founder and president, Bryan Do, will retain his position. Media say the deal was valued at around USD 9 million and has been under consideration for a year.

AB-InBev owns the major Korean brewer Oriental and has already introduced the Goose Island brand by opening a brewpub plus taprooms in various locations. Still, it lacked a domestic craft beer brand that represents Korea.

Mr Do founded Hand & Malt with several private investors in 2014 after running two successful restaurants and working at Microsoft Korea, responsible for public relations, marketing and sales.

Some of Hand & Malt’s stand-out beers include a pale ale that uses perilla leaves instead of hops, and a sour ale, K Weisse, which is made with lactobacillus from kimchi, a traditional side dish of salted and fermented vegetables.

The brewery also operates a tap room in Seochon, central Seoul, and has been supplying restaurants and pubs around the country.

Hand & Malt belongs to the second wave of craft breweries in Korea. Craft beer first started in 2001 when the government eased the entry for brewpubs ahead of the 2002 Football World Cup. Dozens, if not hundreds, of brew pubs popped up everywhere, then died out fairly quickly and most went bankrupt by 2004/2005. Brewery openings picked up again in 2014 when the entry barriers for brewpubs were reduced again. The legal requirement for vessel capacity was lowered; excise was cut for smaller players and microbreweries were granted the permission to distribute outside their own premises and to general distributors.

As to the reason for selling his company to ZX Ventures, the 45-year-old Korean-American entrepreneur told a local magazine that he had limited financial resources to invest in new products when compared with larger players.

Following the acquisition, Hand & Malt will expand production capacity by building a larger factory next to its brewery located in Namyangju, Gyeonggi, and keep developing new craft beers using ingredients such as garlic, green pepper and pear.