• 👑🌲 Lord Hobo Merges with Lone Pine Brewing
• 🎙️ Podcast: Highland's Leah Wong Ashburn
• 💰 Molson Coors Takes Majority Stake in ZOA
• 🫗 Molson Coors to Cease Ops at 2 WI Breweries
• 🗣️ Dick Leinenkugel on Chippewa Falls News
• 📊 BI: Total Beer Supply Declines Accelerate
• ❌ A-B Shutters Wicked Weed Spaces

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.

Lord Hobo CEO Simon Thorpe told Brewbound: “What we're striving to do is to create something that's quite different, which is a solution where we can thrive in craft, rather than just survive. The basic idea of what we're trying to build here is a platform that is focused very much on brands that can grow, that can stretch, can travel, can move across categories and brands that resonate with the consumer in a very deep way. 

“So if you compare us with other platforms that are developing, there are some quite strong differences.”

Conversations between Lord Hobo and Lone Pine started in early 2023, but Lord Hobo’s search for a partner has been going on for three years, Thorpe said. In that time, the company has screened 400 breweries and entertained “serious discussions” with 12 in 2023. 

Lone Pine’s deep Maine roots were extremely attractive to Lord Hobo, which recognized parallels to its own ties to Greater Boston, Thorpe said.

He said: “The important part of this is that it's not just at Lord Hobo, where we have brands like Boom Sauce, which really resonates at a deeper level, and 617, which is the local area code and really resonates inside Boston. You've got a brand in Lone Pine that really resonates in Maine and the whole of New England, and it stands for something that is aspirational to people in the whole of the Northeast.”

High school friends Tom Madden and John Paul founded Lone Pine in 2016. Madden and Paul will join Lord Hobo’s board of directors and will serve as the combined company’s COO and VP of sales, respectively. 

Lone Pine has grown to include a production brewery in Gorham and taprooms in Portland, Westbrook and Old Orchard Beach, which the company will continue to invest in. The Portland location, on Anderson Street in the brewery-dense city’s East Bayside neighborhood, has particular potential for expansion.

The Gorham brewery has been running at its full 16,000 barrel capacity “with really no means to do anymore,” Madden told Brewbound. 

Madden said: “Part of our instigation for seeking partnership has been that we've been operating this facility at a critical mass for about three years now where we've had to outsource a fair amount of our production into contract brewing, especially during our peak seasons.”

Lone Pine produced 17,917 barrels of beer in 2023, according to data provided by the Brewers Association (BA). Production was flat year-over-year (YoY), but down from its 2021 peak year of 21,179 barrels of beer.

Lord Hobo’s 2023 output was similar to Lone Pine, at 17,074 barrels, a -27% YoY decline, according to the BA. Production has declined from its peak of 47,145 barrels of beer in 2019.

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. 

Molson Coors CEO Gavin Hattersley said during today’s call with investors and analysts: “We believe ZOA is well-positioned, particularly as it plays in the better-for-you segment that is outpacing energy category growth. 

“With the support of its co-founder, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, we have built a strong foundation for ZOA over the past three years, and it's time to pursue the next stage of growth and scale. Taking this increased stake allows us to lead the entirety of the brand's marketing, retail and direct-to-consumer sales development as we drive brand awareness and distribution, leveraging the strength of our network.”

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. 

“We made the decision to close Tenth Street in Milwaukee in light of the sale of the Tenth & Blake breweries, as production at the facility included 19.2 oz. cans of those brands,” Erhardt wrote, referring to the sale of Atwater Brewery, Terrapin Beer Co., Hop Valley and Revolver to Tilray Brands earlier this year.  

“In the case of Leinenkugel’s, this move follows the gradual shift of production of Leinie’s brands from Chippewa Falls to Milwaukee as the portfolio has grown over the years; Milwaukee already produces more than 75% of total Leinenkugel volume.”

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. 

– Former Leinenkugel’s president Dick Leinenkugel in a statement on Molson Coors’ decision to cease operations at the Chippewa Falls production facility. 

Leinenkugel shared the statement with Eau Claire TV station WQOW following Wednesday’s announcement that the remaining production of the craft brand would be transferred to its Milwaukee production facility, which already produces around 75% of its beer.

Leinenkugel, who retired at the end of 2022, said: “I am deeply saddened by the decision of the Molson Coors leadership team to close our Chippewa Falls brewery and home. For over 157 years and six generations of family management, Leinenkugel’s has been brewing great beers for our legions of fans throughout Wisconsin and across the country.

“I feel for all impacted employees and their families in Chippewa Falls and trust that the Molson Coors leadership will do everything possible to ease their pain during this challenging time.

“I know the Molson Coors leaders don’t take these decisions lightly. It’s clear to me that they determined that the savings resulting from the closure were significant enough to justify this difficult decision.”

Leinenkugel added that it was “a sad day” for his family, employees of the company and its fans, noting that the brewery celebrated its 150th anniversary in Chippewa Falls in 2017.

He wrote: “It was the defining moment of my career in beer. Alongside my brothers, Jake and John, and members of our fourth, fifth, and sixth generations of family, we proudly toasted our beer drinkers, retail customers, and distributors to thank them for their loyalty and support. 

“Today, on behalf of the Leinenkugel family, I thank them again and will toast them this evening with a Leinenkugel’s Original and a tear in my eye.”

Leinenkugel’s president Tony Bugher told the Chippewa Herald that he did not support the decision, but understood the company’s reasoning for the move. He also apologized to the community and employees. 

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%).

As was the case during that previous decline, imports’ contraction is mainly due to a decrease in Mexican imports, which make up the majority of import volume in the U.S. Mexican import volume declined -0.6% in September, to more than 80.2 million gallons (nearly 2.59 million barrels). The decline follows +8.3% YoY growth in August and +7.3% growth in July. Year-to-date (YTD), Mexican imports have increased +9.1%.

Still, several top 10 countries by YTD volume were able to increase volume YoY, including No. 2 Netherlands (+5.2%), No. 3 Ireland (+23.4%), No. 5 Germany (+28%), No. 6 Italy (+25.6%), No. 7 Belgium (+31.5%), No. 8 Guatemala (+25.1%) and No. 10 Poland (+86%).

Insiders can read more, including September numbers for 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!

Anheuser-Busch InBev has indefinitely shuttered the Wicked Weed Funkatorium, a dedicated sour and barrel-aged beer taproom, and Cultura restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina, according to the Citizen Times.

The Funkatorium had been closed since September 27, in the wake of Hurricane Helene and a water outage in the city, the outlet reported.

Wicked Weed co-founder Ryan Guthy laid off the majority of its service industry employees during a November 1 staff meeting, per the Citizen Times. That amounted to around 40 employees, according to the outlet. Eligible employees received severance pay, as well as six months of health benefits.

An A-B spokesperson told Brewbound: “Following the impact of Hurricane Helene, Cultura and the Funkatorium remain closed at this time. We will keep you posted with updates and reopening plans for both locations as Asheville returns to normalcy.”

The closings are not intended to be permanent, the spokesperson said. 

A-B acquired the brewery in 2017.