(Fermentum founders Jamie Cook, Brad Rogers and Ross Jurisich: Courtesy Lion)

The sale of Australia’s biggest craft beer company to a Kirin subsidiary is seen as a betrayal by many, a betrayal not unlike the purchase of Goose Island by Anheuser-Busch in 2011

Here’s the deal…

Lion, which is a subsidiary of Japanese business Kirin Holdings, is primarily known for its mass-market beers. But it has also been linked to a raft of independent craft beer buyouts including: New Belgium Brewing in Colorado, Little Creatures (one of Australia’s original craft breweries and Fourpure in London.

On September 9, Lion announced plans to acquire Fermentum – a rapidly expanding Australian craft brewery group which owns Stone & Wood, Fixation, Forest for the Trees and Two Birds Brewery.

Lion has been waiting on approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission before that AUS$500 million acquisition could be finalized and on Oct 4^th that approval was granted.

The journey to this provocativeacquisition began when Brad Rogers, Ross Jurisich and Jamie Cook (all ex-CUB brewing vets) founded Stone & Wood Brewing Co. in Byron Bay, a popular tourist destination in New South Wales Australia.

Stone & Wood took off almost immediately becoming immensely successful, and was awarded ‘Champion Large Australian Brewery’ at the 2016 Australian International Beer Awards. That success led to the acquisition of other small Australian craft breweries, consolidating operations under the Fermentum banner.

Fermentum, who’s business model is similar to Canarchy Craft Brewery Collective in the US, has had expansion plans for some time. They were just looking for the right partner to grow with.

Fermentum Co-Founder and Chairman Jamie Cook said the combination of timing and finding the right custodian to take the business forward made their alliance with Lion the natural next step for Fermentum…

“We only looked for a custodian who would be committed to building the brewery and to support our work in the community,” said Cook. “Lion’s custodianship of Little Creatures, Four Pillars and New Belgium demonstrates they in fact learn from new businesses, and grow their impact and reach.”

With Fermentum’s 100% acquisition by the Japanese-owned beer giant now all but inevitable Australia’s craft beer community remains shell-shocked. Stone & Wood’s founders have taken considerable flak for past commentary on the importance of independent brewing and brewery sales have taken a hit since agreeing to sell their business to Lion.

The sale of Australia’s biggest craft beer company to a Kirin subsidiary is seen as a betrayal by many, a betrayal of a scale not unlike Anheuser-Busch’s acquisition of Goose Island Beer in 2011.