Mahou San Miguel raises its stake in craft brewer Avery

USA | Spanish brewer Mahou San Miguel has hiked its stake in Colorado’s Avery brewery by teaming up with its other US craft brewery partner, Michigan’s Founders Brewery, on the new investment.

Announced on 2 April 2019, Mahou, along with Founders, has purchased a 40 percent stake in Avery Brewing for an undisclosed sum.

It will be combined with Mahou’s original 30 percent minority interest in Avery that was purchased in early 2018, giving Mahou a 70 percent controlling interest. Strengthening the tie between Avery and Founders makes sense as Avery started contract-brewing for Founders earlier this year.

Brewery founder Adam Avery and his father, Larry, will own the remaining 30 percent of the business, but executives from Mahou will now play a bigger role in the “day-to-day” decision making, Adam Avery told Brewbound.

Mahou has owned a separate 30 percent stake in Founders since 2014. Boosted by its flagship brand, All Day IPA, Founders hiked its output to an estimated 670,000 hl beer in 2018. Avery, on the other hand, has not done so well. According to goodbeerhunting.com, Avery’s production flattened out in 2016-2017 at around 70,000 hl beer, after it witnessed a major drop in sales in its home state of Colorado.