Are Craft Breweries Selling Out?

In May, the Food Channel's Clay Risen, beer and spirits writer extraordinaire, identified two risks craft breweries face, either of which can make craft beer, well, just beer. A brewery can get too big (like Sam Adams) or it can sell out to one of the big guys (à la Colorado's AC Golden, which is actually owned by MillerCoors). Now the food website Chow, citing two recent beer industry acquisitions, is wondering whether the latter option has become the beer world's latest trend:

First, Independent Breweries United Inc., which includes Magic Hat, Pyramid, and MacTarnahan's, was sold to North American Breweries, a "national platform for investments and growth in the beer and malt beverage industries for KPS Capital Partners, LP," reports the Burlington Free Press. NAB CEO Richard Lozyniak said in a press release, "Our plan is to continue to grow these brands while maintaining a commitment to their heritage and superior quality."

Second, the sale of San Francisco's godfather of craft brewing, Anchor Brewing, was "officially completed last week," reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Read the full story at Chow.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2010/08/are-craft-breweries-selling-out/61720/