AB-InBev buys craft brewer Karbach – its 9th in the US
It’s the second time this year that AB-InBev has bought a craft brewer. The latest is Karbach, which is located in Houston and was founded only five years ago. Terms of the deal, which was announced on 3 November 2016, were not disclosed.
Karbach is on track to make more than 90,000 hl beer this year. The AB-InBev investment will push Karbach’s annual capacity to 150,000 hl or more by 2019, the companies said. The immediate focus will be to continue spreading sales and distribution across Texas
The opportunity to expand Karbach’s reach is alluring as the craft brewer’s growth has all come from the Texas market. Its beers are not yet available beyond the state.
The industry publication Beer Marketer’s Insights says the deal fills a notable gap in AB-InBev’s craft beer portfolio: a sizable position in the critical Texas beer market. The state is the second-largest US beer market, behind California.
Other recent deals in the Texas craft beer industry include MillerCoors’ majority stake deal in Revolver (August 2016) and the stake Heineken-backed Lagunitas bought in Independence (June 2016).
With Karbach, AB-InBev will own well over 1 million hl of acquired craft beers all over the country. What’s more, AB-InBev’s craft beer bets seem to have been prudent ones. The portfolio is continuing to post solid growth, even as the industry’s sales growth has slowed.
