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Trending: SAB/Miller & AB-InBev buy Northern Brewer & Midwest Supplies...


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#1 Big Nake

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Posted 11 October 2016 - 08:18 AM

Is this a hoax? The big brewery conglomerates are buying homebrew suppliers? Story is HERE.

#2 HVB

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Posted 11 October 2016 - 08:22 AM

I have not read that thread but I hind it hard to believe but I have been wrong MANYYYYY times just today!



#3 positiveContact

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Posted 11 October 2016 - 08:26 AM

that doesn't seem like it makes any sense.



#4 EnkAMania

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Posted 11 October 2016 - 09:01 AM

They own Great Northern Brewing Company, I'm wondering if someone is confused?  It would be an interesting acquisition. 


Edited by EnkAMania, 11 October 2016 - 09:03 AM.


#5 MakeMeHoppy

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Posted 11 October 2016 - 09:58 AM

Maybe in the haste to buy everything beer related up they 'accidentially' bought some homebrew businesses. Next up we'll find they bought the entire US crop of Northern Brewer hops ;)



#6 Big Nake

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Posted 11 October 2016 - 10:15 AM

I guess I just wondered if they thought that if there was revenue to be made in all things "beer", they would grab a few of the larger suppliers which would mean that they would have a hand in commercial beer and also homebrew. I have no idea what percentage of "beer consumption" is homebrew but I wouldn't think it would be enough to explain this.

#7 jimdkc

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Posted 12 October 2016 - 12:23 AM

I don't see anything that can be substantiated in that HomeBrewTalk thread. I'd have thunk that, if true, that would cause some ripples elsewhere on the interwebs. I haven't found anything anywhere else that doesn't go back to that thread.



#8 denny

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 09:21 AM

I have some inside info on this, but I can't really say anything yet beyond the fact that it doesn't make sense doesn't mean it won't happen.



#9 positiveContact

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 10:17 AM

I have some inside info on this, but I can't really say anything yet beyond the fact that it doesn't make sense doesn't mean it won't happen.

 

:blink:



#10 HVB

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 10:18 AM

:blink:

Quick .. get to page 3!



#11 neddles

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 10:51 AM

So… came here to say he has a secret, but he's not telling?



#12 Big Nake

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 11:01 AM

So… came here to say he has a secret, but he's not telling?

Evidently. I like how he says he has "inside info" like he's Tom Cruise or something. :P

#13 denny

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 11:24 AM

Evidently. I like how he says he has "inside info" like he's Tom Cruise or something. :P

 

;)  all I can say is that someone on the inside said something that could be construed as an answer.....:)



#14 Brauer

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 12:47 PM

Maybe they found some pocket change between the cushions and decided to buy them for the url for Great Northern, so they get listed first when you Google 'northern' & 'beer'.

#15 denny

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 12:55 PM

From today's Craft Beer News....

 

Beyond acquisitions that expand its core brewing business, AB InBev recently "partnered" with Northern Brewer, one of top online homebrew supply retailers, via ABI's global ZX Ventures "Disruptive Growth" group. Minnesota-based Northern Brewer is widely considered the largest online ingredient and equipment retailer for homebrewers across US, especially if considered in tandem with Midwest Supplies, with which it now shares ownership after each co took on separate private investors, according to multiple reports/sources. Both of those cos operate separate websites as well as brick and mortar shops in the upper Midwest, but do the majority of their sales online, we understand.

This deal just one more piece of largely secretive plans and activities of ABI's private equity subsidiary ZX Ventures. So far it invested in a number of cos with biz models tangential to brewing, including Owl's Brew tea-based mixers and radlers and Kombrewcha low-alc kombucha brands, as reported in sister-pubs Beverage Business Insights and Beer Marketer's Insights. The group "is pleased to share we have partnered with Northern Brewer. The team there shares our passion for brewing and commitment to the best ingredients," ZX's Global VP of Homebrewing Cassiano Hissnauer said in statement to Craft Brew News. "ZX Ventures is excited to enter the homebrew space to help Northern Brewer to grow," he added, as the 20-yr old homebrewing supply retailer "has built an extraordinary network and community of homebrewers." Terms of the "partnership" were not disclosed.

In fact, very little about deal being talked about. Note that AB has favored 100% acquisitions in all of its small brewer purchases within the US rather than partial stakes. But not much known about size or scale of previous investments made by ZX group or its overarching strategy other than "disruptive growth." For its part, Northern Brewer offering very little information too. It's "still a family-owned local business," according to its website, and isn't commenting on "any potential business partnerships" when asked by numerous interested hobbyists, hipped to possibility of a deal by a post to popular online forum Homebrew Talk. Unsurprisingly, reactions there vary from vitriolic conspiracy theories to what amount to shrugs and laughs: why would the world's largest brewer buy some homebrew shop in Minnesota?

Top Supply Retailer's Close Contact with Homebrewers, E-Commerce Platform As a leader in US sales of homebrew suppliers, Northern Brewer buys and ships a lot of grain, hops and yeast as well as equipment ranging from plastic tubs to multi-hundred-dollar high-tech brewing, fermentation and draft systems. It also operates its own online forum for homebrewers to discuss recipes, troubleshooting and more, and runs an extensive customer service platform to answer questions. All in, that's a whole lot of data on the homebrewing community, often pointed to by craft brewers as a major source of innovation in brewing.

Then too, Northern Brewer also runs a fairly significant e-commerce platform, taking, processing and shipping orders from all over the country. E-commerce is already a much-discussed topic in the beer industry, with many wondering when large scale online beer sales may emerge and just how disruptive it will be to the industry when it does. Recently, king of online retail Amazon has been testing new concepts to expand existing Amazon Fresh grocery biz, including plans to build brick-and-mortar convenience stores, as Wall St Journal reported this week. Many expect Amazon to test online alc bev sales thru its Prime service (see Oct 5 CBN) and now major retailers Wal-Mart and Kroger are working to compete by adding digital and/or delivery capabilities, per WSJ.

Homebrew Retail: Fewer Shops, Less Profitable Due to Changing Homebrewer Patterns Homebrewing itself has become an increasingly popular hobby in the US that has grown right along with craft brewing. There were about 1.2 mil homebrewers brewing an estimated 2 mil bbls per year back in 2013, according to American Homebrewers Assn, an arm of Brewers Assn. Currently, there are just over 800 homebrew retail shops in US, as tracked by AHA, director Gary Glass told CBN. But that's down slightly from peak of 815-820 at end of last yr and beginning of 2016. That's first time AHA has tracked a decrease in the number of outlets, Gary said. He also expects to see a slight overall decline in revenue reported by these retailers this yr.

Behind those overarching trends, Gary revealed a couple of interesting patterns that counter the notion that the hobby overall could be in decline. The sharpest declines in outlets have been among older (5+ yrs in biz) brick & mortar stores, but AHA has also tracked revenue declines among online retailers. The strongest growth has been among new brick & mortar neighborhood stores. Members tell the AHA they prefer to shop at local homebrew stores (often referred to as an LHBS by homebrewers) over online retailers. So as new shops open, they're either taking biz from online retailers (when they're the first LHBS in an area) or older shops not providing as strong a service. Further, many homebrewers report moving to more advanced "all-grain" brewing, which mirrors process at commercial brewers more closely and eliminates use of grain extracts, which tend to be both more expensive and have better margins for retailers, Gary reminded. That switch alone will hit a shop's bottom line. Homebrewers also seem to be brewing less frequently, Gary said, which could, in part, be because there are so many more local breweries around.

Long-time homebrewers often report turning to the hobby in order to just have access to the styles of beer they sought. They also tend to be some of the most fierce advocates for independence in the beer industry. "You make a choice, a vote, a statement every time you open a bottle of craft or homebrewed beer instead of a can from a factory with an advertising budget that could swallow your local microbrewery whole," founder of Northern Brewer Chris Farley wrote for post titled "Good Beer is Your Right," still on the co's website. And judging by the doomsday scenarios and jokes about assimilation ("resistance is futile") already splattered across the Homebrew Talk forum thread, many homebrewers won't take kindly to news of ZX's investment. In fact, even before confirmation, concerns about the deal echo those raised after AB's acquisitions of small brewers: access to raw materials and increased buying power of an industry leader or better-funded competitors that could dig deeper in targeted local markets. Whether or not these concerns are well-founded, this investment clearly a striking move that further embeds AB into the heart of craft.



#16 HVB

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 12:56 PM

Damn... I just came to post that!

 

In other news .. Looks like Stone Brewing is doing a small layoff



#17 denny

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Posted 13 October 2016 - 01:19 PM

https://thefullpint....zens-employees/



#18 Genesee Ted

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Posted 14 October 2016 - 10:11 AM

Wow... I wonder what's up at stone. Overextended after the euro brewery maybe? Dozens is a lot of jobs

#19 HVB

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Posted 14 October 2016 - 10:17 AM

Wow... I wonder what's up at stone. Overextended after the euro brewery maybe? Dozens is a lot of jobs

I read one place 75 total!



#20 denny

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Posted 14 October 2016 - 10:18 AM

I read one place 75 total!

 

yeah, that's the number I heard




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