Big Brewers invest in craft breweries from the “ground up”
With most of the growth in the craft beer segment going to those “one-of” local breweries these days, it was only a matter of time before the Big Brewers like AB-InBev in the US and Lion in Australia would be trying their hands at local brewery-plus-taproom concepts too.
From what we have heard, Australia’s number two brewer, Lion, with craft beer brands like Little Creatures and James Squire, is planning to open half a dozen taprooms – five in Australia and one in Asia. They will each be a chain of one, meaning they will be locally themed without an existing corporate brand behind them. In plain English, this is what the corporate term “ground up” stands for.
The investment should be minimal as each brewhouse should only set them back by AUD 400,000 (USD 315,000). Estimated to eventually produce 3,000 hl beer per year each, these ventures could be hugely profitable on the basis that they can brew beer for AUD 1 per litre but sell it for AUD 15.
While Lion’s ventures are still in the pipeline, AB-InBev has already launched its first individual Latin-themed brewpub in Miami called Veza Sur. Located in the trendy and graffiti-infested Wynwood neighbourhood, Veza Sur Brewing Co. opened to the public in August 2017.
It does not seem to serve any food but that’s no problem as it collaborated with Baja Bao, a casual eatery fashioned as a giant food truck and operated by Miami’s caterer Pubbelly, which opened next to the brewery.
According to media, Veza Sur is itself a collaboration between Bogota Beer Company’s Berny Silberwasser; Chris and Jeremy Cox of 10 Barrel Brewing Company in Bend, Oregon; and master brewer Asbjorn Gerlach. Mr Gerlach is a German native with more than 24 years of brewing experience, who founded the Kross Brewery in Chile.
Punters may not be aware of this, but both Bogota Beer and ten Barrel are owned by AB-InBev, bought in 2015 and 2014 respectively.
In fact, the Veza Sur “collaboration” between ten Barrel and Bogata Beer is nothing but AB-InBev partnering with themselves.
Local media say the 900 sqm space includes a 15 barrel DME brewhouse with a capacity to brew 3,000 hl beer, and a 460 sqm taproom plus a terrace. The South American-inspired taproom includes a twelve metre bar made of reclaimed drift wood, 18 beers on tap, and a direct view of the brewhouse and tanks. The terrace, with a foliage-adorned outside area and graffitied walls, is a microcosm of Wynwood.
Beers on tap include session IPAs, a Belgian witbier, a coffee porter, a red ale on nitro, a guava Berliner Weisse, lagers, and guest taps. The brewery's signature might well be its Brazilian chopp, which is a chilled lager with a three-inch head traditionally served below the freezing point.
Veza Sur will also offer beer cocktails such as micheladas made in collaboration with BarLab, a hospitality consultancy from Miami Beach.
As to Baja Bao, it serves Chinese bao buns with Latin flavours. The idea is to place traditional and non-traditional taco fillings inside fluffy buns. Most menu items are priced under USD 10.
That Lion and AB-InBev are branching out into local taprooms should make independent craft brewers prick up their ears. These ventures represent far deeper levels of market targeting than one would ever expect from the Big Brewers.
Moreover, AB-InBev have managed to almost completely obscure their involvement in Veza Sur because it goes through 10 Barrel and Bogata. It’s another degree of separation that will confuse consumers who don’t follow AB-InBev’s craft brewery acquisitions closely.
In a few decades and after opening breweries and taprooms/pubs by using these sorts of collaborations/partnerships, people won’t be talking about AB-InBev at all. One commentator said that they don’t need to buy any more breweries because they now have enough ammunition to blast through the craft beer market one collaborative venture at a time.
If Lion and AB-InBev’s projects are well-executed and popular in their local communities, with there being no stigmatisation as a result of their being ultimately owned by Big Brewers, this could be the dawn of truly “crafty” breweries and yet another blurring of the lines between “true craft” and “mass craft”.
It seems we are entering a new era of beer, when the complicated aspect of ownership and “independence” will be a major point of debate and argument.
