New Belgium buys San Francisco’s Magnolia brewery
This must be the Summer of Love for brewers. Or why are they snapping up San Francisco craft breweries? First Brooklyn Brewery bought into 21st Amendment brewery, then Sapporo took over Anchor and, on 10 August 2017, New Belgium agreed to purchase the assets of Magnolia out of bankruptcy for USD 2.7 million.
Magnolia was established 20 years ago. Its founder Dave McLean filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in late 2015. Since then, his two San Francisco breweries have remained open, but the future remained unclear.
Despite this, sales of Magnolia beer increased three percent in 2016 to 3,900 barrels (4,600 hl), according to recent Brewers Association data.
The purchase agreement came after Magnolia spent five months marketing the business to more than 100 potential buyers. According to US media, Magnolia received non-disclosure agreements from 24 interested parties and met with seven strategic buyers from large craft breweries and multiple smaller investor groups. The company would eventually determine that the offer from New Belgium was the “best and highest.”
Magnolia is in fact taken over by a group of investors. New Belgium secured a majority stake, while Elysian Brewing co-founder Dick Cantwell, who is the long-time boyfriend of New Belgium co-founder Kim Jordan, and whose Seattle brewery was sold to AB-InBev in 2015, and Belgium’s Brouwerij Oud Beersel have also invested in Magnolia as minority partners.
A fourth silent partner, whom Ms Jordan would not identify but said comes from the consumer packaged goods industry and is based in Portland, Oregon, is also involved in the deal.
Magnolia’s two brewpubs will remain open for business. The current capacity of Magnolia’s Dogpatch brewery is 30 barrels, and the Haight brewery’s a mere seven barrels.
Mr Cantwell will join as Magnolia’s new head brewer. He will work alongside Mr McLean, who now becomes a Magnolia employee, to oversee brewing.
The Belgian brewery Oud Beersel, located south of Brussels and best known for its lambic beers, could eventually collaborate with Mr Cantwell and Mr McLean on spontaneously fermented beers under the Magnolia label.
