Itβs happening! Anheuser-Busch InBev (Bud) is taking over the world. Just in the last half of December, Bud announced it was buying Tempe-based Four Peaks Brewing, Coloradoβs Breckenridge Brewery and Camden Town Brewery in London. Four Peaks is a nearly 20-year-old brewer with pubs in Tempe, Scottsdale and the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
This comes on top of InBevβs 2015 acquisitions of 10 Barrel Brewing (Oregon) and Elysian Brewing Company (Washington). The purchases come on the heels of Budβs rich incentive plan for its distributors to concentrate on Bud-owned brands.
Brewbound.com reports 25 craft brewers were acquired or had major investments made in them in 2015.
Iβve been observing the craft-beer business since 1980 and what is happening with the big guys buying the little guys is a paradigm change.
Whoβs next?
Financial technology company SmartAsset did a survey of craft brewing by city across the country. It looked at total number of breweries, per capita breweries, per capita bars and average cost of a point of beer. After crunching all those numbers, it ranked βbeer cities.β According to the survey, the best beer city is Portland, Maine, followed by Asheville, North Carolina; Portland, Oregon; Billings, Montana; and Denver.
I donβt know that I buy all the factors it looked at, but itβs still fun to look at these surveys.
I checked in with Allen Conger, owner of 1912 Brewing. Heβs been open just over six months and says theyβre βgetting into a rhythmβ and hiring some employees. Heβs been collaborating with others, such as Ermanos and Borderlands. And, heβs working on a whiskey barrel-aged offering in conjunction with Hamilton Distillers (Del Bac brand).
In addition to his tasting room at 2045 N. Forbes Blvd., near Grant Road and Interstate 10, 1912βs beers can be found at Arizona Beer House, Tucson Hop Shop, Ermanos and Borderlands.
BEER MUSINGS
Before Christmas I found a Sierra Nevada-Stone IPA collaboration (in a 22-ounce bottle). It was tasty. For Christmas I received a six-pack of Alpine (San Diego County) Beer Companyβs Pure Hoppiness. Darn good. I understand the IPA developed quite a following in San Diego, but distribution was limited. It was acquired by Green Flash and has greater production and distribution capabilities and is available in Tucson (mine came from the Tucson Hop Shop).
I had a heck of a time finding winter/Christmas beers in December. It seems like they used to be available around town. This year, not so much. I could find a few but not a large selection. Most brewers make at least one Christmas offering. I like to shop local, but I found the largest selection at Total Wine.
Itβs gonna be an interesting year for beer aficionados. Hoppy New Year!
