Ruminations on the AB InBEV Elysian Purchase

, Ruminations on the AB InBEV Elysian Purchase

Elysian Brewing Company is a friend. Shortly after ACB’s launch started, the Executive Team came to Seattle to see what the Northwest had to offer. Before heading down to Bend, they were able to meet with a few breweries in Seattle, Elysian being one of them. We met with Joe and Dick, as well as a few of the other brewers. They welcomed us and seemed excited to show off the space they had built up in the Georgetown neighborhood. Immediately, we knew that they loved what they did.

And now they are no longer craft. The Brewers Association defines a craft brewery as one that (1) brews less than 6 million barrels per year, (2) has the majority of its total alcohol volume flavor “derived from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and fermentation,” and (3) ensures less than 25% of the brewery is “owned or controlled by an alcoholic beverage industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.”

Check. Check. Nope.

Technically, on the day the sale is finalized, Elysian Brewing will cease to be a craft brewer, and will become part of a company that owns a 47.2% share of the total U.S. beer market.

Which is why this news hits pretty hard. We love not only the beer, but also the people and the community they have helped build. And it feels like some of them aren’t completely happy with the loss of their craft status. Dick Cantwell helped to make the Brewers Association the organization that it is now, having been on the board for several years.

Dick spoke with D.J. Paul at Brewpublic after the news broke. I think that you can read the disappointment in his words: “I had a hand in crafting a lot of that message and drawing some of the lines and now we are on the other side of the line. You know, that’s just the way it is. I recognized the choices that we have made and what that means. I am sorry that I won’t be able to continue fulfilling some of the rolls there. But life can get complicated too.”

The next thing we ask ourselves is: why?

It’s pretty simple. It makes economic sense. Elysian will have access to more materials, they will get better prices on grains and hops, and they will join a much more robust distribution network. Their flagship beer – the Immortal IPA – may even end up being brewed in multiple places around the country. This 50,000-barrel brewery that currently distributes to 11 states will presumably gain distribution around the country. Not to mention the potential sales price that will most likely pay all of the founders a pretty penny (since we have not seen any financials, it would be irresponsible to comment).

Maybe the new ownership just wants to have their hand in the profits. Maybe they see where Elysian can grow and they just want to reap the benefits. Maybe they will leave the recipes alone, let the company run as it has, and not meddle.

For now, we will just have to wait to see what happens. All we know for sure is that with this news, there is a large piece of the craft beer industry that has been silenced, and there are a lot of people that are very unhappy about it.

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