Insiders are the first to know details of the merger of Lord Hobo and Lone Pine. The New England craft breweries are joining forces in the first deal of what the companies hope will become a broader platform focused on growing brands through investment in marketing and chain strategies.

Insiders are also:

• Learning about Molson Coors’ expansion of its ownership in ZOA, The Rock’s energy drink brand;
• Finding out why Molson Coors is shuttering production at Tenth Street and Leinenkugel’s, and the Leinenkugel family’s reaction to the news;
• And diving into September volume data from the Beer Institute. 

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Lord Hobo Brewing and Lone Pine Brewing announced plans to merge today, bringing together a pair of New England craft breweries under a single ownership structure. 

The companies declined to share financial terms of the transaction, which is expected to close in Q4, pending regulatory approval. However, Valterra Partners, the private equity firm that first acquired a minority stake in Lord Hobo in 2017, is the principal investor behind the new ownership group. 

Woburn, Massachusetts-based Lord Hobo and Portland, Maine-based Lone Pine said the merger centers on a strategy of creating a platform for the “breweries to invest in brand-building, quality and innovation” in their home states.

Highland Brewing owner and CEO Leah Wong Ashburn provides an update on how Asheville, one of the country’s great craft beer cities, is recovering in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. 

Last weekend, Highland brewed its first beer since the hurricane cut a path of destruction through Western North Carolina. Ashburn shares the steps the brewery took to return to operations, starting with ensuring that all of its team members were accounted for and had their basic needs covered, and then stabilizing the business. She also explains the importance of people visiting Asheville now, after the biggest month of business was wiped off the calendar.

Ashburn also discusses Highland’s first post-hurricane milestone, the release of Cold Mountain winter ale November 7-11. 

Plus, Jess and Justin touch on several headlines, including a craft brewery deal in Iowa, the vibes at the Massachusetts Craft Brewers Guild’s annual meeting, a leadership change at the American Cider Association and the pending closure of Revolution Brewing's Logan Square brewpub after 15 years.

Listen here or on your preferred podcast platform.

Molson Coors has acquired a majority stake in energy drink brand ZOA in a $53 million cash transaction, expanding its growing non-alcoholic beyond beer portfolio and adding to rising M&A interest across the energy space.

The deal, announced this morning during Molson Coors’ Q3 earnings call, closed last month. 

Insiders can dig deeper into Molson Coors’ history with ZOA, its 2025 plans for the brand and the “Big Dwayne Energy” campaign and its premiumization strategy.

Look for further coverage of today’s call and Molson Coors’ Q3 financial results later this week on Brewbound.com

Molson Coors will cease operations at the Leinenkugel’s Chippewa Falls brewery and the company’s Tenth Street Brewery in Milwaukee, effective January 17.

Brian Erhardt, EVP and chief supply chain officer, shared the news in a note to the company’s distributor partners Wednesday afternoon, noting that production from the two Wisconsin facilities will transition to Molson Coors’ brewery in Milwaukee. 

Brewbound Insiders can go deeper into the story, including what made the transition possible, Molson Coors’ commitment to Leninenkugel’s going forward and its latest scan trends. 

The U.S.’s total beer supply declined -6.7% year-over-year (YoY) in September, as built-up summer inventories (domestic production plus imports) fell back in line with depletion trends, according to Beer Institute (BI) chief economist Andrew Heritage.

The declines accelerated from the -4.4% total supply decrease recorded in August, with the latest trends driven by domestic tax paids declines, and the typically strong import segment falling into the red.

The latter was nearly flat in September, declining -0.1% YoY, according to data from the Department of Commerce. Imports’ break from pattern follows five consecutive months of YoY growth, with the last decline recorded in March (-4.5%).

Insiders can read more, including September numbers for imports, domestic tax paids and state shipments, plus commentary from Heritage on recent positive shifts.

Dogfish Head co-founder Sam Calagione will take part in a fireside chat at the 2024 Brewbound Live business conference this December in Marina del Rey, California.

The two-day event will take place December 11 and 12 at the Marina del Rey Marriott. Calagione will speak on Day 2, and will discuss craft’s imperative to remain vibrant and relevant with new legal-drinking-age consumers. He’ll also touch on the state of the overall beer and bev-alc business and the future of the Delaware craft brewery as it celebrates its 30th anniversary and five years since it merged with Boston Beer.

Calagione will field questions from audience members both in the room and online and may bring a surprise to share with the in-person crowd. 

Brewbound Live will bring together leaders from all three tiers for business-focused conversations on driving the bev-alc industry forward, data presentations, networking and brand building. Tickets are available now.

Check out the full agenda.

Take a peek at the speaker roster.

In addition to the mainstage programming and networking parties, Brewbound Live will feature opportunities for one-to-one conversations between brewers and bev-alc brands and retail buyers from chains such as Whole Foods Market and ExtraMile Convenience Stores and distributors such as Breakthru Beverage California, Reyes Beer Division and California Beverage Solution (Stone Distributing, Markstein Sales and Heimark Distributing). Registered attendees will be considered for meetings with buyers, as space is limited. Find out more details here.

Register today for Brewbound Live!