Abita Brewery sells stake to private equity-backed craft venture
Is this the new succession plan for U.S. craft brewers? Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Co. is becoming a founding brewery partner of Enjoy Beer, an enterprise created to provide resources on a national scale to a select group of top independent craft brewers across the country, U.S. media reported on 7 April 2015.
Abita, which produces 190,000 hl beer annually and ranked 21st among U.S. craft brewers in 2014, recently completed a three-year, USD 30 million expansion that will increase its brewing capacity to about 500,000 hl.
To join Enjoy Beer, Abita reportedly sold a stake to this venture, which was set up by Harpoon Brewery’s co-founder and former CEO Rich Doyle.
Backed by an investment from San Francisco-based private equity firm Friedman, Fleisher & Lowe (FFL), Mr Doyle has launched Enjoy Beer, a consortium aimed at providing back-office support to independent craft brewers.
According to a company statement, “Enjoy Beer will create partnerships with additional top craft brewers who wish to preserve their local independence, while gaining shared resources in areas such as marketing, sales, purchasing, logistics, and finance in order to compete with large-scale corporate competitors.”
Reports say that Mr Doyle plans to find four or five other craft brewers with a similar profile, forming a consortium of proven craft brands that can share expertise and resources. Eventually, he wants his company Enjoy Beer to seek a stock-market listing.
