There is one less independent brewer in the US beer industry.
Michigan-based Bell’s Brewery said on Wednesday it is being acquired by Australian Brewer Lion, a subsidiary of Japan’s Kirin Group. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Lion will join Bells with Colorado-based New Belgium Brewing, which it acquired in 2019. Together, the companies will rise to the top of the U.S. craft beer market in off-premises __ or non-restaurant __ sales volume, ousting competitors like Sierra Nevada, Blue Moon and Sam Adams, according to Nielsen data.
The move comes amid a drop in US beer sales as young drinkers flock to seltzer and other options. Overall US beer sales fell 3% in 2020; According to the Brewers Association, a trade group for craft brewers, sales of craft beer declined 9%.
As a result, many craft brewers have joined up with larger partners in recent years. San Francisco Anchor Brewing was sold in 2017 to the Sapporo Group of Japan. Anheuser-Busch has purchased several craft brewers, including Goose Island, Wicked Weed Brewing, and Platform Beer.
Comstock, Michigan-based Bells was founded in 1985 by Larry Bell, who brewed the company’s first beer in a 15-gallon soup kettle.
As of 2020, Bell’s was the seventh largest craft brewer in the US and sold in 43 states and the District of Columbia. That same year, one of its signature beer, Two Hearted Ale, was named the Best Beer in America for the fourth straight year by Zimurgi, a magazine of the American Homebrewers Association.
Larry Bell said he decided to sell because he has health issues and is ready to retire. Day-to-day operations at their 550-employee company will be led by Carrie Yanker, executive vice president of Bells.
“I want everyone who loves this company as I know we’ve found a partner who truly values the importance of our incredible beer, our culture, and our roots in Michigan,” Bell said in a statement. Is.
Belgium’s new CEO Steve Fechheimer noted that he is also a Michigan native and a longtime drinker of Bells.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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