Sweetwater Announces Acquisition Of Green Flash Brewing And Alpine Beer

On Dec 21^st Atlanta, Georgia-based SweetWater Brewing announced the acquisition of Mira Mesa, California-based Green Flash Brewing and Alpine Beer brands.

But the real story behind this acquisition may have more to do with the eventual distribution of cannabis beverages in the US than it does craft beer.

This journey started when Aphria Inc. a Canadian pot-producer purchased SweetWater Brewing in 2020.

It was a $300 million transaction involving both stock and cash, that gave Aphria, a publically traded company, entry into the US market and the infrastructure to advance its cannabis business in the states as state laws evolved.

Just two weeks after closing on the acquisition of Atlanta’s Sweetwater Brewing, Aphria reached an agreement to merge with Tilray, a Canadian pharmaceutical and cannabis company forming the world’s largest cannabis company valued at $3.8 billion.

On July 21^st the now Tilray-owned SweetWater Brewing announced that it had expanded its reach westward with a new brewery in Fort Collins and a taproom at Denver International Airport.

In its announcement the company noted that SweetWater’s westward move was at least in part, inspired by Colorado’s pot-friendly and outdoor-forward ethos. But it’s also a place where Founder and CEO Freddy Bensch, a part-time resident of the state, attended college and held his first brewery job.

Bensch announced that he’d be returning to Colorado, one of the country’s most progressive states when it comes to recreational cannabis, to oversee SweetWater’s move into an expansive 32,450 square foot space in Fort Collins that previously housed Red Truck Brewing Company.

But SweetWater’s February entrance into Colorado’s rich craft beer environment, a state already home to more than 400 breweries, might seem unnecessary, unless your real goal is to establish a beachhead for your primary product.

And Tiray’s core product is cannabis not craft beer.

Now comes news that Tilray-owned SweetWater Brewing was acquiring San Diego, California-based Green Flash Brewing and Alpine Beer, both companies that have seen better days. California is an equally pot-friendly state, but that said, the company will be moving the actual brewing of those brands to the brewery it purchased in Colorado.

“Green Flash and Alpine are fantastic OG craft brands, backed up by incredibly-rated beers which is something SweetWater is both proud and eager to expand upon and broaden their reach across the US” states Brian Miesieski, Chief Marketing Officer. “We’re excited to link up and head out on an exciting new journey with our new brothers-in-beery-arms.”

But given that Tilray is the largest cannabis producer in the world we suspect that what’s really at play here may be less about revitalizing two West Coast craft beer brands and more about opening doors for its cannabis-infused beverages down the line…