A delicious merger took place recently
Redhook Ale Brewery of Woodinville plans to merge with Widmer Brothers Brewing in Portland to form a new company called Craft Brewers Alliance. It will be headquartered in Portland with management offices in both cities, officials said.
Existing breweries will remain, including Widmer’s breweries in Portland and Redhook’s in Woodinville and Portsmouth, N.H. The companies expect to continue making their existing beers, including Redhook’s ESB and Widmer’s Hefeweizen.
With combined production of 550,000 to 600,000 barrels a year, the new company will be one of the country’s largest craft brewers, just behind Sierra Nevada Brewing in Chico, Calif.
The deal is expected to close in the first quarter, pending approval from regulators, Redhook’s shareholders and Anheuser-Busch, which owns roughly a third of each company and will continue to own that much of the new corporation.
Ownership of the rest of the company will be split roughly evenly between the current shareholders of Redhook and privately held Widmer.
And now we’ll see if this means the price per pack comes down.
Mmmm, I could use a Blackhook or a Big Ben right about now.
Speaking from CraftBeerTown, USA, I have my doubts about this merger. Methinks it will simply result in the combined breweries becoming a Big Brewery, which will make Big Beer, hire a Really Big ad agency, and sho’ nuff, their products will begin to resemble Anheuser Buschs’ beers.
Bah!
I have switched my craft beer taste to Deschutes Brewery’s products several years ago. If you came to last year’s GBR and had the beer it the hospitality room, it was Deschutes Brewery brews.
And Phil, grab a Deschutes’ Black Butte Porter and have it for dinner. Yes, it’s THAT good.
I’ve had the Black Butte. Eh. I still like the Blackhook better.
If I had my way though, the Sam Adams company would make Holiday Porter as well as Old Fezziwig year around and not just during the Christmas holidays.